To Everything Its Time and Season

Time Flys Mrs Owl Pendant

By Glazed Black Cherry 

I though the above pendant was quite appropriate for what was on my mind today. Make sure you check out her shop - it's full of fun stuff!

So what is on my mind? The changing seasons, how life transforms over time, planning, time management, balancing acts, and all that fun stuff. What do I mean? Well, as my readers know, I took a break from my shops and I'm currently working hard to get them back into shape. Part of doing that is figuring out how I'm going to manage my time spent online. 

Every small business owner and artisan faces the same challenge. How do you find the time to create, sell, promote, and live the rest of your life? Right now I'm balancing my shop, life with my hubby, my writing, and my health. Granted, that's the old mix I was managing before, but things have changed some.

I learned last month that I have osteoarthritis in my hips and knees, in addition to the wrist and shoulder that I already knew about. Yes, I'm way to young to have this condition normally. It's the result of spending three years on prednisone because of my asthma (which I now, thank God! am off of!). 

This means I have to rearrange my thinking patterns. I'm used to the old, "If it hurts, rest it," mindset. Makes sense right? Not with arthritis. If I don't move enough - I'll hurt more! If I'm hurting really bad, I probably haven't been moving enough. Well, unless I recently did something to put extra stress on my knees, like dancing last week, in which case moving is still necessary because I'll hurt even more if I don't move than if I do! 

Now, this isn't a pity me post. I'm just sharing so you can understand my thought process. In fact, learning the "why" behind my pain means that I'm managing it much better, doing more than I have in a long time (like dancing!), and feeling better! 

The only downside is that I need to limit my time online. The first step to that was realizing that I need to get up and move, (clean, take a short walk, dance in living room, something!) every 45mins to an hour. If I don't my joints will just lock up and I'll hurt. 

The next step is figuring out how I'm going to get done the things I want to at my computer! This biggest challenge is managing my time with my teams on Etsy and Artfire. For now I'm not going to be dropping out from any of my teams, and I'm going to start interacting more with them, but I'm going to have to be careful how I do that. Here's the steps I'm going to take:

1. Move my Etsy Beadweavers from receiving every e-mail to receiving a daily digest. (already done!)

2. Follow the bloggers in their Etsy thread (cuz their my original peeps) but don't try to keep up with other threads.

3. Make a list of the commitments I have on-line. Etsy teams, Artfire guilds, writing forum mod duties.

4. Contact the leader of the team I'm not sure I'll be able to stay on. 

5. Put posting items and blogging before networking/chatting/visiting blogs!

Is there anything you should be doing to streamline your time?

Tuesday's Tips #3

I had so much fun talking about blogging in last week's Tips that I'm going to do it some more today! Today's focus is on building relationships. That's why I chose the pic above. It's a picture of me and two of my closest girl-friends. Left to right we have Kat, Bethie, and myself :) That was taken Valentines Day Night. My hubby and I had gone out for a date earlier that day and he quite sweetly let me go out in the evening with my single girlfriends. Isn't my hubby sweet?

Ok, talking about my wonderful hubby is NOT the point of this post. Don't get me wrong, I could go on and on, but that wouldn't be much of a tip now would it?

Seriously though, building relationships is key to having a successful on-line business. I'd say probably 90% of my sales are to people that I've built some sort of connection with. That's a pretty high number! 

So how does that apply to blogging? Well there are a few things you can do. 

1. Reply to your comments! Go to their blog or e-mail them back. Even if it's just a quick "thanks." 

2. Find other blogs to follow and don't just read and leave, give them a comment! 

3. From time to time do a post that requires reader interaction. That could be a contest or even just asking a simple question. 

Lastly - be consistant! I try hard to respond to all my comments in some way shape or form, and I think I've really seen a difference since I started doing that. Now sometimes I won't respond to a comment if I'm really sick, or if that person has been catching up on my blog and left me four comments in a day, but I do get to the majority of them. Some times with a response to their comment, other times by leaving them a comment on their blog. 

Thought for the day: Time invested in building strong relationships is time invested well :)

Time Management - Don't Forget to Take Care of Yourself!

This is my last post, for now, on the Time Management series! I'll be returning to the promotions series sometime in the next day or two. 

I've been amazed, as I've worked on this series, how appropriate the timing has been for me, as well as many other people!  A lot of my etsy friends have commented that it's really giving them the ideas or the push that they need, and there's nothing better that I could hear! I'm glad that my work can help you guys out, even in small ways :) 

For me, it's been a helpful reminder as I deal with life being hectic.  Not only are we headed into the holidays, I have a lot on my plate with my personal life.  I've found that, since I started making my to-do lists again, I'm getting a LOT more done! It's still frustrating at times as my health likes to throw a wrench into the works, but with my lists I'm staying pretty on top of things for the first time in awhile :)

One thing that I've realized is very important, and I mentioned this in an earlier post, is to remember to take time for yourself.   What that means is probably different for each of us.  It could be snuggling up by the fire with a book and a cup of tea, or taking a nice hot bath, or even just taking a few minutes to enter a contest! Whatever it is, don't forget to carve out a least a few minutes each day that are just for you, doing something for you! You'll thank yourself :)

Want something fun to do? Go enter this AWESOME soap giveaway that A Good Witch Too is doing - you could win 6 months of soap to wash the wicked away with!  Here's just one of the lovely soaps she has in her shop - isn't it tempting?

Cuban Coffee Bean

Time Management Series - What YOU Have to Say! Part 5

 This is the last of the "what YOU have to say" series! Only one post (for now) left in this series! I say for now because I'll probably revisit the subject again at some point after I get back into my promotions series.  So without further delay...what YOU had to say :)


Jhk Editions said: Similar to some others, I carry a notebook with me everywhere to sketch/write down ideas when they happen. And at the beginning of each month, I book days on my calendar (usually on weekends) to work in my studio, and I don't schedule anything else on those days. I'm trying to give my art time as much credence as I do my day job.


Lil Bees said: One thing I do is only write item descriptions once--I save them all in a document, and then copy and paste...I post a lot of similar items, so that saves me a lot of time for those. Also I use the 'relist' feature as often as possible, (just changing out a few details and the pictures) because then it already has the tags and so on, and that saves me time.
I also take pictures of multiple items at once...just one after the other. That means I only need to set up my background/get out the camera/adjust lighting once...

In terms of the bigger picture, I set aside one day as week as no-net day! That's the day I focus on crafting a lot...then I post the items all the rest of the week.

Seriously though, I have kids. I am not half as organized as I sound. I have about 8 projects going on at any one time...right now I am in the middle of 4 knitting projects and have two partially sewn cloth diapers sitting on my sewing table, not to mention lots of other things cut out and pinned but not even out on the desk. LOL!

Time Management - What You Have To Say Part 4!

When I started doing this segment on Time Management I just thought it was a natural branch off of the Promotions series that I was doing (which I will return too!).  As I've read your responses and thought more about it myself I've realized that its the perfect time of the year to be thinking about time management!  We're all headed into the Christmas season.  A time of year that's busy for anybody, but even more so for on-line sellers!  I hope the tips that I'm passing on from other etsy sellers are helping you as your headed into this busy season.  Here's another set of tips - from you guys!


New Orleans Tiles said: Read the book Getting Things Done

Originally, I read it for my day job, and it made me extremely more productive (I consider myself to be pretty organized anyway, but this book launched me over the top).

The book literally changed my life. Made me extremely more productive inside and outside of work.

Here's a link

http://www.davidco.com/store/catalog/Getting-Things-Done-Paperback-p-16175.php



The Jump Off said: Well, I work a full time job in the medical records dept of the hospital. I'm a
single mom of 3, and then my two shops on Etsy :D My day is pretty much like this:

~5am - email, blog, promo threads, etc
~6-7am kids up ready for school (big time saver - the kids eat breakfast at school)
~then from 8-4:30 I'm at work
~until 6 post office, grocery store, fabric store
~until 7-7:30 homework while im cooking and eating.
~8 while the kids get baths I'm back online
~9 Kids in bed so I work on orders until 11 then from 11-12 I pkg and address and get everything ready to walk out the door - I put all pkgs and book bags in the car.

NO CLEANING OR LAUNDRY DURING THE WEEK

On weekends I'm up early, walk the dog and I carry a note pad with me for sketches and ideas while my brain is fresh. Come in and clean hard for 2-3 hours. I Try to be sewing by 11 am. (Another time saver - the kids fix their own breakfast, either cereal or oatmeal) On weekends I try to work on new ideas. Usually I stop at 1-2 and we go get lunch and chill for a while then come home and hit it again heavy. I stop at around 7 and cook dinner. Then I sew all night - the kids stay up and just sleep where they fall - LOL! Sunday is spent cutting things out b/c I can do it from the bed - I watch TV all day Sunday during football season and I can put my cutting mat on my bed and cut out while I'm chillin in my Pjs all day!

My big thing is - this is my schedule but if something happens I don't freak out or stress out - just decide I'm off schedule and that's that - no worries! Deal with the issue at hand and get back on tomorrow. :D


The Pumpkinhaus said: I have a fixed schedule that really centers around homeschooling my 5 year old daughter. I have also set up my house so that I am able to be with my children (5 and 1) while I am creating for my shop, packing up orders and answering convos. My mind is constantly making lists, I am very much a list person. A mental list person, once I write it down, it loses something for me.

I also put supplies in "like" piles or bins. So that everything for one project is together. That way, when I go somewhere, I always take my project basket. I never, ever leave the house without something to do. I knit, embroider, cut fabric everywhere. I was this way long before etsy, I have just kicked it up a notch or two in the last year!

Time Management Series - What YOU Have To Say Part 3

Continuing on with our Time Management Series - here's more of what YOU had to say! For anyone who hasn't been following along, these quotes are taken from a forum thread that I did a little while ago on the topic :)



Little Odd Me said: Because I have product that can be replicated (photographs) and I do markets as well, keeping on top of my inventory item by item is crucial. I need to know what is selling, how much of it has sold, and whether I need to order more soon. This is extra important coming up to this rush season. Being disciplined to mark each item down at least on a sell-sheet as I sell it is crucial. It saves me a ton of time.

Being organized. All those photos in my stock inventory have their place. I set myself an aim of being able to set my fingertips on any one of my stock items within one minute of recieving an order if I am at home, and thirty seconds at a market/fair.

Changing my time management with the seasons. I have several hundred pieces of packaging ready to go for the year end. I did them during my slower summer months.

My natural rhythm is to do a bit of everything, so I will often set a playlist of songs up on the computer to run for half an hour or an hour. I set up my list of tasks and set a goal to try and accomplish before the end of the song. Then I move on to something else with each new song until my tasks are completed. (Speaking of which, the song is nearly done, so I need to get onto packaging some orders for posting tomorrow!)



virtuallori said:Count me in with the meticulous list makers and timer users.

I live by my calendar, which also contains (most of) my to-do lists. I have to write it down, pen on paper, so it's in front of me. I should mention that I have a full-time freelance editing and project management business in addition to my jewelry business, so time juggling has become an art for me.

I usually start the week by taking a few minutes to review everything that *must* get done that week, those things I would *like* to get done that week, and other things. I make a general plan for how I will spread out the musts over the week. I tend to leave the likes and the others loose, to fit in when I can. Some things have to be done on certain days or within certain time frames, so they get written in on the calendar on the appropriate day, regardless of their priority. (If it's low priority and doesn't get done, so be it.) I do a mini version of this each day, looking at what needs to get done and making a plan for how I will approach the day. It doesn't always work out that way, but it sets me on the right path.

I also make supplementary to-do lists for long-term goals and piddly things that pop into my head while I'm doing other things. I keep a spiral notebook on my desk to capture these. I'll break them down and move them onto the calendar when appropriate.

I use timers, too, although sometimes the "timer" is the amount of time it takes the water to boil or a batch of pendants to etch or some other naturally occurring interval. The studio is a mess, so see what I can do with it in the time between my cousin calling to say she's on her way over and when she gets here.

The most important piece of advice I have for someone wanting to get a better grip on their time is to break larger projects into smaller chunks, then work through the chunks systematically. "Prepare for next month's show" is not a doable to-do. By breaking that into "make price tags," "order new business cards," and so on, you've created manageable to-dos that you can accomplish in short bursts of time. If I write "edit 400-page book" on my list for this week, I'll be overwhelmed, but if I write "edit chapter 1" on Monday, "edit chapter 2" on Tuesday, etc., it's easier to handle and I feel I'm making more progress.


Summers Studio Etc said: I make a yearly long term goal list, break that into months, and then schedule each week day by day. I used to do project management and this works for me. And I love making lists, I even put things on the list that are already done just to get the satisfaction out of crossing it off. Oh and this is not as rigid as it sounds. It is really more of a framework that keeps me on task. When the long term goals go out of whack I make little adjustments. Its a pretty fluid process.

Time Management and Relaxation

Slinky Red Necklace

As I've been talking a lot about time management there's one thing I've said several times and, I realized today I wasn't listening to myself! That is, it's important to find time to relax.  If you let yourself get to stressed out, then you will lose your creative edge.  Besides, it's just plain not healthy in general!

I've had a really long couple of days, and I was really tired by the time my dear hubby and I got home today!  The good news is that we're pretty sure we've found an apartment :) Which is really exciting! We're going in tomorrow to do paper work :)

So as I sat down this afternoon I had a million projects that needed to be worked on, and I wasn't too motivated to start working on them, I was just too tired! So instead of catching up with my dear etsy bloggers team, instead of turning on my twitter deck and chatting, instead of writing, I simply turned on a Firefly episode and pulled out a weaving project.

Wait! I'm sure you see the inconsistency in this.  Yes, I know, I'm a work-a-holic. I've been told that many times. You don't need to remind me!

The plain and simple truth is that I find bead weaving really relaxing.  Well, as long as everything is going well with the project and I don't get too many thread tangles that is :P That's one of the reasons I fell in love with it in the first place.  I have many health problems and beading allows me to spend hours sitting still, relaxing, and letting go of my stress.

My usual problem, though, is that I usually work on my projects while sitting at the computer.  Which means I'm constantly getting interrupted because I get distracted by e-mail notifications, the forums, and twitter! As you can imagine that can be highly unproductive.  I'm working on this because I think it's a bad habit.  So I'm doing a lot more of ignoring e-mail and twitter for a period of time to work on a project.  Usually, though, it's been work for 15-20 mins, check everything, work again :P  I get a LOT more done that way, but it's not that relaxing.

Today I left a note for my etsy blogger friends so they'd know why I was gone, put up a quick comment on twitter, and simply bead wove and watched Firefly! I even had my laptop pushed far enough away that I wouldn't be very tempted to try and type!

It was sooooo relaxing! And I'm loving my project :) It's a combination of two goals I have for myself.  I spoke in an earlier post about my goal to try and complete one bead weaving project a week.  The necklace at the top of this post was my successful completion of that goal this last week :D

I've also had an idea for doing a line of bracelets that will fall under the "Geekery" section of Etsy! I have a LOT of ideas for this line, which is why I'm simply heading it under Geekery and not by the different shows ect.  The very first piece in this line is the bracelet I designed with the God Send symbol from the hit TV show Heroes.

I've also been working a series of other designs, but I needed to buy more seed beads before I could start. Today I finally got the last piece I needed to start on my first bracelet based off of a vidoe game! I should have it ready to show by next week.  No pictures tonight, I'm just too tired! I will tell you it's going to feature the character Link, from the Legenda of Zelda series.  It's an early version of Link, and my geeky brother helped me make sure that I had the details right.  I may be a geek - but he's and uber-geek and way better at the precise details than I am! Plus it's fun to involve him :) He's my geek consultant! 

I also have ideas for bracelets based off of Mario, Spiderman, Batman, Star Trek, Star Wars, and eventually, moving into the realm of dragons and faeiries :D That will take time though! Especially because these take a LOT more work to design and I'll probably alternate week by week doing a geek design with doing "pretty" or something else design that takes a little bit less planning!

Oh yes, and I'm also working on my first project for Team Big Damn Crafters, my team dedicated to the memory of the show Firefly (that I'm watching at the moment), and those will also end up listed under Geekery. :) And anything else that ends up being appropriate...

Can anyone say crafting ADHD? LOL

I'm also planning on learning an entirely new technique for me this week :P

For all those who've signed up for the newletter, I was planning on sending it out tonight, but I forgot my notes over at my parents house.  So I should be sending it out tomorrow.  Not signed up yet? There's a widget at the top of the blog! Make sure you go through the confirmation process so I get the notification! If you'd rather not do that, simply e-mail me at jedimarri@gmail.com, and I'll add you to the list! Incedentily, that's the e-mail address these will be coming from :P

Ok, off to chat some more with my Geek Consultant and work on my Link bracelet :)

Time Managment Series - What YOU Have to Say Part 2

It's amusing to me, as I'm writing about time management, that I seem to have less time and energy than ever! So this series has been stretched out a little farther than I originally planned. I may end up weaving in some of my posts on promotion that I've been planning because I'm getting too excited about them! Maybe a bit of alternation between the two themes? You'll have to stay tuned to find out! Here's today's three featured artists.  Only three today because two of them are long and I don't want to take up too much of your time :P

LazyTCrochet said: I recently organized all my shipping supplies and set up an area where it's easy to package, weigh and label everything. I love having adhesive shipping labels also. It saves a lot of time and tape.

Opulent Oddities said: Buying in bulk. Multitasking online. (right now I'm also on ebay and flickr). Getting a stamp for my address. Having a workspace with my stuff all dragged out so I don't have to put everything away neatly when I'm done, to pull it out after every project. With my workspace, I can stay in the middle of something and walk away without putting it all up.

You asked for it ... this is my weekly schedule:

Time management is the key to any successful business venture. This is how I came up with a fairly even balance.

I figure on a 5 day working week with 24 hrs in each of those days. That's 120 hours. My crafting is my business so I only plot out 5-day weeks (soon to be 4-day weeks as I start to downsize my 'work'). Weekends are MINE -- catch-as-catch can and generally involve family, outings with grandkids, craft fairs, out to dinner and a show, etc.

Next, I deduct the hours for sleeping / eating / family relaxation / housework, etc. (i.e. 5 days @ 14 hrs per day). That leaves me with 50 hrs per 5-day week. There's just the 2 of us now so my housework is minimal throughout the week. I usually spend 2-4 hrs on the weekend doing heavy cleaning.

Lets say I can produce the basic knits for 10 scarves, bottle cozies, specialty bags or baskets in 2 hours (machine knit) x 5 days so I deduct 10 hrs from my week's hours leaving me with 40 hours and 50 items. This is my minimum I expect from me. I want to produce a AT LEAST 30 scarves / baskets / mittens / hats or whatever each week - or even up to the 50 possible items per week. There's room in that knitting time to experiment with various stitches, creating new items, testing out patterns I 'wrote' in my head, even cleaning the knitting machines. I don't count sewing up time, those are my 'take-along' projects when we travel, have appointments or just while we watch TV in the evening.

It may take me a total of 10 hours during the week to do any starching of baskets, embellishment of my knits, working on pictures for my catalog, sorting through various supplies. So now I'm down to 30 hrs for the week.

I spend approximately 1 hour, 3 x per day online in chat rooms, posting in forums, reading emails, reading newsgroups and just goofing around. So that's an additional 15 hours off my weekly schedule. I'm down to 15 now. A good part of this is promotional, but more often it's personal time.

I do some volunteer work once per week through the Hospice and that is a 5 hour shift including driving time. So now I'm down to 10 hours.

The balance is spread out doing SPECIFIC, TARGETED promotions online and locally.

I have the Speed-Up Alarm clock on my computer and when I'm getting online to do stuff either personal or business, I set it for my allotted time. When it goes off, I have to stop. Otherwise, I'd be on here all day every day! <big grin> And I'd never have a single basket, scarf or whatever to sell! heheheh

Marge in Reno

TiLT Creations said: Wow Marge! Wish I could make that much in one week...but there'd have to be more hours in the day ;)

Time management for me gets tricky (as it does for most people)...the toddler's schedule is only so concrete to work around.

Monthly: mark the calendar for appts and other family obligations - then mark days when my work will fit.

Weekly: Set the items I want to make & breakdown into cut, iron, sew & finalize days. It takes 2-4 hours per bag (less if I have made that style many times, more if I am drafting a new one), so only 5-10 max per week...usually ends up only 3-5 though.
I don't usually do a whole day off b/c each day I only get a handful of hours to work.

Daily: 3 hours of preschool = 1/2 hr online - multitabbed to get etsy, entrecard, project wonderful, craftster & email. Clean for 1/2 hour. Sew & such for the remaining 2. Repeat the same after 10pm when all the kids are in bed.

With the youngest being able to entertain himself for a while now, I try to fit in blog & extra computer time (including biz paperwork & home quicken and such) when he is eating lunch or napping.

With a smaller house, there is less room to keep things out, so that alone can be a time sucker. Plus, the toddler is oversensitive to sound, so no sewing when he is awake. Besides, the machine is in the family room - so if anyone is in there, sewing is kept to a minimum. And no ironing with tiny hands around.

I keep hoping for a "catch up" with sleep to avoid daytime resting, but my internal rhythm works best with a split. And like someone said earlier - everyone's body is different, so what works for one, can't for another.
And don't forget the to-do lists!!!!!!!! If you can find them :)

Time Management - What YOU have to say!

Ok, you've heard my top two ideas on time management, writing up a promotions plan, and to-do lists, so now it's time to hear from other people! I had a thread going in the forum on time management and I got some tremendous feedback! So instead of trying to re-write what everyone else said, I'm just going to let you hear from these great artists :) And...I'm going to show off some of their work at the same time! Because I love showcasing other artists :) So here goes! Click on the picture to view the listing :)

Pixiebell said: One VERY big time saver, for me, is a subscription to stamps.com! I have several international sales a month. My post office is ridiculous in the winter months, due to being overrun with snowbirds in our community. I used to spend 45 minutes in line a couple times a week just to mail off those parcels. Now, I can print first class international postage from home, complete with custom information.

No more post office, ever! Saves me time, saves my sanity, gives me more time to create!

D'Elle Jewelry said: I'm cleaning up when starting my uber slow computer, doing small tasks in between. I'm also an ai technician so while waiting for the next client I do bits and things in between.

I also think buying in bulk is time management and stress relief.

But biggest thing is not spending to much time on forums, something I just can't teach myself.

Unique Commodities said: Well.. I can tell you what I am SUPPOSED to be doing regarding time mgmt though I can honestly say I have not followed this in a while.

1. Initially I sat down and wrote out a business plan that incorporated my personal life, sent it to a couple of mentors & got their feed back. Based on that I came up with a specific schedule and plan . One of my favorite quotes is “You must work your plan if you truly plan for it to work”.


2. Based on my own personal lifestyle and schedule, I decided on the below schedule

Mondays/Tuesdays/Thursdays/Fridays – For three hours each day - Promote, Promote, Promote myself and others! Communicate on Blogs, Twitter, team forums only. Follow up on any inquiries and outstanding orders to be processed; create one jewelry item even if it is only one pair of earrings

Wednesdays – OFF DAY – Only communicate on team forums, blog and twitter if I have time

Fridays – Hang out with my friends! Have fun! Relax!

Saturdays – For 3 to 5 hours, create 3 to 5 pieces and photograph creations; Post on Etsy if time left
Sundays – Church in the morning, After 4 pm and for no more than 3 hours, Create 1 to 2 pieces , photograph remaining creations; Post on Etsy


A few things that I do to help me stay on track with my schedule are

I write a list of 6 most important things to do today.
Then I prioritize that list with 1 being the most important.
I oftentimes don't get all six items done but those items become my priority for the next day.
I generally have someone to hold me accountable to my plan...to ask how is it going so I can stay on track.

Paper Displays of Affections said:
Ways I keep sane:
make to-do lists (know my priorities!)
fold origami while waiting in line/on the train so assembly goes faster later at home
have standard packaging and weights
print labels off paypal (no lines at the post office!)
keep a list of ideas so I know what to make even if I don't feel creative

Jen's Closet said:The simplest idea, but it works for me! I put the timer on for 20-25 minutes, I cannot go near the computer during that time, or do any Etsy related stuff-just cleaning or whatever, then I can take a break, for whatever amount of time, like 10 minutes, and can do whatever I want. I'll keep that up and before I know it, I have a lot done!

Head Bitch in Charge said: So glad to hear Im not the only one with a time management problem!

One thing I am very good at is limiting my time online. I must be off by 10am. If I have a lot to do or want to mess around longer I just get up earlier.

I'm not very good about following my own rules so I must allow for flexibility. I try to work in solid 3 hour blocks. That way if I feel the siren song of something else pulling my attention away, I can just look at the clock and tell myself I only have an hour and a half left.
So roughly my schedule is 8-10am online, 10-1 work, take and hour or so for lunch, errands, and puttering. Work another 3 hours and its time to stop for dog walk and dinner.
I often have high hopes of working after dinner but I rarely do, so I don't count on it.
Work with your natural rhythms and optimize your schedule around it.

Time Management - Using To-Do Lists

I sat down to start working on this blog - and realized that I hadn't done my to do list for today! Now, granted, it's Sunday and I usually take the day a little easier than other days of the week, but still, I'm slacking! So I stopped and wrote that up before I went any farther working on this blog. It doesn't do me any any good to talk to you guys about using to do lists as a time management technique if I'm not following my own advice after all!

My personal view of to-do lists is that they are an extension of your daily planner. For some of you this might mean you jot down a few things that you really need to get done right there in your planner, for some of us this is something far more extensive!

I don't know about you, but I have a lot of things I'm juggling every day. Paperwork, part time job, a million and one things etsy related, friends and family, and more! My planner alone just doesn't cut it. My planner helps me with seeing the big picture, remembering what day I had planned on focusing on what promotional technique, appointments, and anything else that's scheduled ahead of time. That's step one.

Step two is to expand from my planner and create that day's "to-do" lists. Yes, I said lists! Now that may just be my own weird way of organizing it, but I have two lists that I write every day! My first list is my "real life" list. That has any appointments that were in my planner, any bills or other paper work I need to take care of that day, house chores, anything like that. The second list is my "etsy and fun" list. I put down everything that I do daily, and anything that I want to get done that day specifically.

Usually my lists get created some time in the morning as I wake up. I usually have the fun of crossing one or two of my "daily" things off as I write them on the list :) So why do I write them down? I love the satisfaction of seeing something's been done! It also helps when I look back over my day and I can see all that I've done, even the things that got added to the list after the fact. It helps me keep things in perspective.

One of the important steps to creating each day's to-do list is to check the lists from the day before. Anything that didn't get done the day before MUST be transferred to the new list! Unless I know there's no way I'm going to get it done that day - and then I start the next day's list early. Yes, I know, I'm drowning in lists! But it keeps my head screwed on straight.

Do you have to use my system for lists? Do you have to write down every little thing like I do? Certainly not. Do what works for YOU. Here's some other ideas:

1. Write one to do list for the week and post it near your work station. List major goals. Cross them off as you go.

2. Jot quick notes of what you want to get done that day in your planner - if there's not enough space use a sticky-note!

3. Use a white-board! Then you can simply erase what you've accomplishd, your being eco-friendly, and you get to watch your list SHRINK!

Would you like someone else perspective on to-do lists? Great! Because I have one :) This is what Mary Richmond had to say about her approach to to-do lists:

"I am a big believer in prioritizing my todo list....I put the most important thing I have to do that day first on my list--even if it is onerous and I don't really want to do it ;-)

So my list looks like this

~ must absolutely no foolin around, must really, reallydo today

~ should do today or i'll be behind or someone will be unhappy

~ would like to do today because i wanna do it

~ if there's time to do this today that would be cool

~ doesn't have to be done today but should be thinking about it

At the beginning of the week I make a master list, I write everything in under different days and then I prioritize each day. this only takes a few minutes but I let the master list build over the previous week...I just add notes, etc. as I go along

As for promoting? Be realistic. are you getting results? What will get you better results? Look at what you're doing and do what works best...."

BOTTOM LINE: Yes, to-do lists can seem tedious and they do take time to make. However, if you find that your not being as productive as you'd like, this is a great way to get yourself back on track! You'd be amazed at how much you can get done when you just have a plan :)

Do you have a system that works for you that's not listed here? Tell us about it in the comments!

Time Managment - One Approach

Chocolates Daily Planner by edesse designs

If you've read any of my blogs on promotion techniques then you know that there are a LOT of things that you could be doing, right now, to promote your on-line business. Actually, you don't have to have read any of my blogs, your probably well aware with out them! Each of these promotions techniques has positives and negatives associated with them, but the one thing they all have in common is that they take TIME.  Time is precious. We only have so many hours in the day and in this internet world it's real easy to look up at the clock and realize an entire afternoon (or night!) has gone by with out realizing it!  So what's a business-savvy artist to do? Or maybe more importantly, what's an ARTIST to do? We're not always known for being the most business-minded people, after all, we're right brain thinkers! We're known for our intuitive leaps, impulsiveness, and above all, creativity. Unfortunately the reality of trying to make money off your art is that, well, sometimes we have to anchor our right brain thinking a little and venture into the world of the left brain people. I hope the following ideas help you to do that :)

The credit for this idea goes entirely to my friend Jenny of GoGoKioko :) About a week and a half ago I started a thread in the etsy forums discussing different promotion techniques. I had done my first blog post on the topic and wanted more input! So the research began.

Jenny was one of the very first people to reply and she shared with us that she has an actual promotions schedule! I LOVE the idea :) Here's what Jenny's looks like:

"I am working on not promoting willy nilly. I have a promotion schedule-
Monday- Flickr, blog, entrecard
Tues- Indypublic, Deviantart, Project Wonderful
Wed- Blog, research new promoting opportunities, entrecard
Thurs-Deviantart, Project Wonderful, update Craigslist
Fri- Blog, Flickr, entrecard, research new

I also Twitter and post on the forums (though I don't really consider either promoting, just enjoyable!)"

I'm working on figuring out my promotions schedule. I'm thinking that it's going to take awhile for me to really get it cemented, but I'm going to work on it! As I continue to update in my promotions series I'll occasionally revisit this topic and let you guys know how my schedule is developing :) Right now my schedule looks like this:

Daily activities: Responding to e-mail and messages, keeping up with my various team forum threads, Entrecard drops, post to my treasury blog, post in this blog, create, and list when I have new items! I also respond to any thing quick on project wonderful, I don't really do daily management, but if I have an ad pending I pop over quick enough to respond to it.  I also twitter through out the day, but that's kind of for fun and I only keep up with the tweets when I have time.  More info on these daily activities will be forth coming in my promotion series :)

Non-Daily Activities:
Monday: Manage Project Wonderful ads.
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday: Post artist interview in this blog, e-mail next weeks interviewee, set up article to also post to Skwiggazine. Read Skwiggazine :P Run promo thread for teambdc.
Saturday: Update Flickr. Talk in the Etsy Forums.
Sunday: Talk in the Etsy Forums.

Right now my activities are weekend heavy because the week itself is pretty full with the rest of life. Plus I'm adding activities in as I have a chance to research them :P I tend take the time talk in the forums mostly on the weekends because that's when there seems to be the most activity and when I seem to find the threads that are the most interesting :P Technically I'm always in them with the team threads though...

Ok, so by now you may be thinking "that's fantastic for you and Jenny, but what about me?" Good question! Remember how I said yesterday that each person is different? That concept is highly applicable here! I know Jenny manages her business around being the Mom of two wonderful, active, boys. I don't have kids to worry about, and I don't have an out of the home job like many people either. What works for her, or for me, may not work for you with your full time job, or fussy little baby. Here's some ideas to get you started on tweaking your OWN daily schedule :)

1. Write down a list of everything that you currently do to promote your shop. Having troubles thinking of what your doing? Check out this post for a list of ideas :)

2. Break up your list. Separate it into items that you think are important to do daily and items that you can do maybe only a few times a week.  Carefully evaluate each item on your list as you do so.  Some of them you may be able kind of split up. A good example of that would be how I manage my project wonderful advertising. I'll go to the site to respond to any e-mail notifications of ads pending on a daily basis, but I only actually go fiddle with my ads and campaigns once a week. 

3. Don't forget the rest of your life! Your not just an artist and etsy shop , your a mom/wife/daughter/husband/son/employee/whatever! Make a list of the REST of the things in your life that you need to get done.  Both daily and things that are done weekly.

4. Compare your promotions list and your "life" list.

5. Meld the two. Don't forget to leave time to actual create and time to relax and have fun!

6. Keep the list somewhere that works for you. One idea would be to post the daily items next to your computer or work area so your daily reminded of them, and then put the "day dependent" items down in your planner.

Whew - anyone else tired? Me too! Don't worry - only one more step to go!

7. Above all, be flexible! Go back and re-evaluate your plan periodically. What's working for you? What's NOT working for you? Add things, cross things out, don't be afraid to try a new plan!

Oh yes - and I mention planners? Planners are a great thing to keep but they don't work for everyone! I use my planner for keeping track of dates and dead-lines and then use to-do lists to break down each day a little farther. Speaking of which - tomorrow's topic is on to-do lists! You didn't think I was going to go off on that tangent today did you? I could, but I think I've probably given you more than enough to think about for one day ;)

Time Management - A First Quick Look

As I've been talking to people about different promoting techniques for their shop, the one thing I hear over and over again in one form or another is, "how on earth am I supposed to balance all this promoting to get my name out there and still find time to create?" I think that's great question and one that should be addressed before I spend any more time talking about how to promote your shop! We all have busy schedules, for one reason or another, and learning to manage our time well will do a lot to lower our stress loads and increase our productivity!

I have so many things I want to talk about that this is going to be a little series in and of it's own. Look at is a foundation piece for the series on promotion that I've been starting. Also, as I get farther into that series I'll end up revisiting this topic a time or two to let you know how my ideas are developing!

A few things that I think are really important to say right off the bat are these:

1. Every person is different. I'm going to try to include a lot of different ideas and quotes in here because what works fantastic for one person might not work so well for another because of personalities, life situations, or even the craft it's related too!

2. Prioritize. No matter what system you end up using to manage your time, it's really important to make sure you know what's most important and what you can let slide.

3. Forgive yourself and be flexible. You know, sometimes things happen and you just can't stick to your original plan. That's ok! If your prioritizing well then hopefully you won't find your self in to much of a bind. Be ready to adjust your day's schedule, and your week's, for those unexpected events that come up in your life.

4. Don't forget time for fun. This is important in any well-adjusted persons life, but I think in some ways it's even more so in an artists life! Why? Because your work will often be directly affected by your emotional state and your stress level. Treat yourself right, give yourself some time for fun and relaxation, and your creativity will flourish as a result.

Coming up tomorrow: Time Management - One Approach

Have YOU commented on my forum thread yet? I would love your input! I'm gathering feedback about time management techniques. Who knows? You might even end up in one of these blog posts! Check it out at:
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5879690

Morning World!

Sadly, I didn't blog yesterday, but I'm not going to apologize for it! Why? Well, I had a rather busy day yesterday and my plan was to come home from running errands and blog then. Instead, I came home and my hubby and I watched a movie, and Chuck, and cuddled all evening! We needed that snuggle time so I don't feel guilty for abandoning the etsy/blogging/internet world for awhile!

My treasury closes just before 10, my time, this morning, and I'm pretty much figuring that there won't be any more sales in it at this point - so here's my closing picture of it!

I didn't get much crafting done yesterday. I spent maybe an hour weaving on a pink and brown bracelet that I hope to have finished and listed in the next day or two depending on how the rest of life is going. I'm also hoping to finally have the time to write my blog on time management :P Go check out this thread that I've started on the topic and give me your two cents! Who knows, YOU might make it into my next blog post!

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5879690

Last, but not least, here's my newest creation that I posted up Sunday night: