Here it is, a new year, and I'm just now getting around to posting the first update of the year. It's early yet, but it's already been a pretty busy year! Most of this has been due to just getting organized and ready for the new year.
-I've posted about my writing here. Still working on the same projects, but there has actually been movement. (Can you believe it?)
-Something I'm trying to implement this year is a rotating, weekly schedule. Since JLynnPro has multiple arms, I've decided to try focusing on one aspect of the business each week. For instance, last week was my handmade week. I worked on finishing up my latest box and a few other items I have in progress. Though other things did happen, I found that I got a whole lot done during my allotted studio slots. This week is my writing week. Next week--unless something urgent comes up--I will either concentrate on vintage or photography. I usually make that determination Thursday or Friday of the previous week, and it depends mainly on deadlines or obligations.
Why did I decide to do this? Well, as some of you reading this know (come on, I know I'm not the only artist that has many irons in the fire,) I tend to have several things going on at once. I carry an impressive backlog of tasks and projects. There are a bazillion things I could be working on at any given time. I found, looking back on the last 2 years, that I have a tendency to get sidetracked, so things were not getting finished in what I felt was a timely manner. More completed means more delivered, am I right? I figured that, if I focus on 1 arm of my business per week, I'd get a lot more done, even if I only get an hour or two a night to be in the studio. Having done it for 1 week (not a huge amount of time, I know,) I can say I think this is a correct assumption.
Now, the fact that I'm focusing on one thing in a given week does not mean that will be all I'm doing. What it means is that I will work on that task first and then, if I need a break or get tired or hit a stopping point, I will focus on something else. In the case of this week, I will go to my meeting tonight, and that will be my Writing Week Task. When I get home, if I have any studio time after my nightly household tasks are completed, I will probably work on the handmade items from last week that are very nearly done...etc. ...Or, if I get an order, I'll devote my energy to that. I'm sure you get the idea. Regardless of how much faster I actually complete projects, I can confidently say that doing things this way is far less stressful for me. This is very important!
-I am doing a 365 Project this year. While I am not able to shoot every, single day, I have managed to put up photos for all but 1 day so far this year. What I will sometimes do is either take 2 photos/pick 2 photos from the following day and use 1 of those, or I will just let it go. Sometimes, life gets in the way. It's not always practical (or allowed) for me to carry my camera with me. The D60 is bulky, and I don't have a strap for it, so it can be very cumbersome. What I may do is get in the habit of borrowing my boyfriend's point and shoot camera or maybe pick up 1 of my own. (Really, there are times when a P&S really is better.)
-I am planning on refining some of my product lines this year. I don't know yet exactly what that will look like, but I know that not everything I am doing is working for me.
-I will be doing fewer offline shows this year. I will also be looking for better ones (for me.) There are 2 that I will continue to do, because I am emotionally invested in them, but most of the rest will fall by the wayside. I did Fenton Street Market a few times last year, and I really like it, so I will probably return to that, but other than that and the 2 I mentioned, I don't think I'm going to be doing shows. I'm always open, of course, to new opportunities, but the shows weren't profitable for me in 2010, so I'm paring back.
-I am hoping to create a line of jewelry specifically for Sense of Fashion this year. I still have some of my jewelry available at Artfire , but I have enjoyed SoF so far, so I want to see how this goes. It costs me nothing until I sell something, after all.
-I will continue to create my decorated boxes, but I will be focusing on making them with my own photos. I'm even offering to make boxes customized with other people's photos! You will still see the occasional whimsical design, but the photo boxes are more in line with where I am trying to go, I think.
-I will continue to make bags and magnets, but they, like the more whimsical boxes and tins, will be occasional.
-The web site is still under construction. I'm trying to do things myself now, and it's my least favorite thing to do, so I don't focus on it like I should. I will be working it into my Weekly Rotation--1 week out of the cycle is reserved for office/admin/miscellaneous stuff. I can tell you that it's looking good and that I look forward to being able to finally unveil it! I will need testers! The announcement will go out on Facebook when I'm ready!
-Nothing has changed with my vintage . I'm still selling it, and in fact my first sale of 2011 was 1 of my silver serving pieces! :) (International, no less!) I did 1 show last year in the Fall. I think I will probably try a Spring show with it this year and go from there. I still have a huge backlog of items to clean, research, price, photograph, and list, and honestly, I'm looking forward to it.
-I am hoping to become more active and better about updating this blog. I'm hoping I can make it more interesting. I have a few ideas jotted down. It's just a matter of deciding on my blogging schedule. I'm happy to see that it sends traffic to my sites, and I'm happy to see that I still have readers, but I hope to be more consistent and creative with it this year. Bear with me!
As you can see, I still have a whole lot going on. My hope is that the schedule I've set up for myself will help me to be more productive. I still have a full time day job, and life still happens when and as it needs to, but I think this will streamline my processes quite a lot, and I feel good about it. I'll doubtless update you on how it's working for me.
I hope that each and every one of you is having a wonderful 2011 so far!
2 comments:
Wow! My first thought was, "that's quite a list" but then as I continued to read and think I realized that we all have lots of irons in the fire.
So good luck (and I think half the battle is figuring out what to do).
I look forward to reading all about it!
Yeah. It's a long post. Anyone who reads the whole thing deserves a big cup of hot cocoa! :P
Good luck to you, too. I hope it's a good year for you!
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