Okay, so yeah - I haven't been posting here for a while. But things have been going terrifically well - I think spring fever has finally gotten to me, and I've been clearing out all sorts of junk, both emotionally and physically. Not only was I finally able to get rid of some old-relationship baggage I'd been carrying around with me for years, I was able to finish the zen kitchen's website after six months of stalling, I rearranged my office to be LITERALLY 100% more productive (I actually have a reading/sketching/laptop using nook now!), and I've been able to start tearing through the pile of magazines and books that have been staring me in the face for months.
The further upside of all this lovely productivity is that the weather has been wonderful, so I've been forcing myself to get out and enjoy it for at least an hour per day, and that has not only improved my mood, but I've been seeing increased smallness as well!
Okay, so now I have to head out for brunch with my boyfriend, but thanks for letting me fill you all in on this recent goodness!
Showing posts with label productivity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label productivity. Show all posts
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Monday, April 2, 2007
Happiness abounds
Okay, so I haven't been feeding myself that well lately (damnable PMS!) but today, I am in the best mood ever. In a meeting with a potential client (where I was more authentically me and truly effective and clear at What I Do than I've been since I started this business), I realized what I'd been missing - it was that authenticity piece, and that chance to bring a truly well-rounded suite of services to the zen kitchen's clients. For the first time since I hung up my shingle almost a year and a half ago, I was able to communicate with clarity and conviction what I am for my clients - a creative problem solver. Someone who can listen to the challenges you're facing in your business and come up with ideas that can help you turn those problems around. And not only can I come up with the ideas, I have the design talent and creative vision to help you solve those problems on every level, from brand design and print/web pieces to new and simple ways to enhance your customer's experience with your brand. I feel so alive and happy now that I want to squee!
All right - must be productive. But I thought I'd share that as a change from my last few days of whining.
All right - must be productive. But I thought I'd share that as a change from my last few days of whining.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Productivity Notes
Okay, so can I just tell you for a moment how much I love my new laptop? This week has been a flood of meetings and time spent outside the office - under normal circumstances, I'd get absolutely nothing done in that circumstance. But now, with my sexy Mac PowerBook (17" screen too - hazaah!) I've been able to get a fair amount of work done on some major projects with little inconvenience - and, my ultimate goal of being able to camp out in a coffee shop for a couple of hours while I work has now been achieved. In fact I'm doing it right now (tee!)
The last few days have definitely taught me a few things about productivity. Every morning this week I've had somewhere to be in the morning, which ended up requiring me to get up earlyish, take a shower and leave the house. As I went through the day, I've noticed that I'm getting a lot more done - I've been getting where I need to be, I take my files with me on my iPod (which, by the way, makes a PERFECT pocket-sized portable hard drive), and work on things in coffeeshops between meetings. I'm spending a bit too much money this month (okay, WAY too much money), but overall, I'm getting a lot more work done.
I've also noticed that I'm more productive with a clean, sparse desk - so over the next few weeks, I'm going to be looking for more space to store the stuff that tends to overcrowd my desk, and organizing the zen kitchen's office to get rid of the clutter and make it a truly work-friendly environment. I'm thinking I might move more of my crafty stuff into the dining room (I prefer doing crafts there), but I'm not completely sure about that yet.
It's going to get really busy for me soon, so I'm glad to have a moment to get this stuff done now!
The last few days have definitely taught me a few things about productivity. Every morning this week I've had somewhere to be in the morning, which ended up requiring me to get up earlyish, take a shower and leave the house. As I went through the day, I've noticed that I'm getting a lot more done - I've been getting where I need to be, I take my files with me on my iPod (which, by the way, makes a PERFECT pocket-sized portable hard drive), and work on things in coffeeshops between meetings. I'm spending a bit too much money this month (okay, WAY too much money), but overall, I'm getting a lot more work done.
I've also noticed that I'm more productive with a clean, sparse desk - so over the next few weeks, I'm going to be looking for more space to store the stuff that tends to overcrowd my desk, and organizing the zen kitchen's office to get rid of the clutter and make it a truly work-friendly environment. I'm thinking I might move more of my crafty stuff into the dining room (I prefer doing crafts there), but I'm not completely sure about that yet.
It's going to get really busy for me soon, so I'm glad to have a moment to get this stuff done now!
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
On productivity
Over the last few days I haven't felt as organized as I could be — my apartment is pretty much in order, laundry and dishes are in good shape, office is pretty well organized, but something feels... off.
What I'm realizing is that, now that a few of my jobs have either been buttoned up completely or are still waiting approval, the only thing left is to work on my own stuff. And that, for whatever reason, always makes me incredibly lazy.
It's time for an action plan. Over the next month, I'm going to be focusing on revamping the zen kitchen's website, re-evaluating the marketing plan for the studio, and working out a business plan for a couple of other business/personal things I want to get started.
In the immediate, it's time to break the insanely overwhelming task of revamping the website into its smallest possible chunks. Home page: done. The rest: well, still needs to be done.
Okay; let's get going!
What I'm realizing is that, now that a few of my jobs have either been buttoned up completely or are still waiting approval, the only thing left is to work on my own stuff. And that, for whatever reason, always makes me incredibly lazy.
It's time for an action plan. Over the next month, I'm going to be focusing on revamping the zen kitchen's website, re-evaluating the marketing plan for the studio, and working out a business plan for a couple of other business/personal things I want to get started.
In the immediate, it's time to break the insanely overwhelming task of revamping the website into its smallest possible chunks. Home page: done. The rest: well, still needs to be done.
Okay; let's get going!
Sunday, November 19, 2006
A Productive Weekend
Today, in the interest of getting ahead of things and avoiding the inevitable guilt that ensues when I spend time during the week on marketing my studio (don't worry - I'm trying to get over it), I spent the better part of the day making much needed updates to the site , preparing some files for an upcoming call for entries, and getting my monthly e-mail newsletter ready to go out on Tuesday.
The day was positive on several levels; for one, I was up and out of the house to meet a friend for breakfast at 9:30 (a triumph for Sunday - I'm usually not up until somewhere around noon!), after which I went to Advance Auto Parts to top off my car's various fluids, dropped off some plastic shopping bags at the local Shaw's for recycling, and picked up a few things I needed at the store. By noon, I was back in the studio and getting to work. I even managed to get in a 40 minute walk, 40 minutes of yoga, and a quick dinner at Charlie's Kitchen in Harvard Square.
What I'm learning from all this is two things: a) I really do get a lot more done when I wake up early (imagine what would have happened if I had gotten up at 6 - I would have been done even sooner!) and b) I'm much more productive overall if I have at least a few hours a day where I'm not interrupted.
So, starting tomorrow, I wake up at 6, start my day with yoga, breakfast and a shower, and I don't check my e-mail or answer the phone until 11am.
The day was positive on several levels; for one, I was up and out of the house to meet a friend for breakfast at 9:30 (a triumph for Sunday - I'm usually not up until somewhere around noon!), after which I went to Advance Auto Parts to top off my car's various fluids, dropped off some plastic shopping bags at the local Shaw's for recycling, and picked up a few things I needed at the store. By noon, I was back in the studio and getting to work. I even managed to get in a 40 minute walk, 40 minutes of yoga, and a quick dinner at Charlie's Kitchen in Harvard Square.
What I'm learning from all this is two things: a) I really do get a lot more done when I wake up early (imagine what would have happened if I had gotten up at 6 - I would have been done even sooner!) and b) I'm much more productive overall if I have at least a few hours a day where I'm not interrupted.
So, starting tomorrow, I wake up at 6, start my day with yoga, breakfast and a shower, and I don't check my e-mail or answer the phone until 11am.
Friday, November 17, 2006
A terrific day
Today has been great. I didn't get up as early as I would have liked, but I got a lot done today in terms of finishing up jobs for my clients, I ate very well, and I exercised twice — once for half an hour on the elliptical (I do find that daytime television is essential to the enjoyment of using the elliptical, particularly those judge shows and/or Springer—yes, Springer), and once just now, when I did 50 minutes of yoga. I feel amazing.
I'm coming to realize a few things about my time management skills (or lack thereof): I would get much more done if I started my day earlier. By this, I actually mean much earlier — Jeff Fisher mentioned in my HOW Forum post on the same subject that he starts his day at 5:30 AM and takes a nap at 4pm. That way he can get all his work done in the morning with no distractions, and he is finished by about noon and can move on to administrative and marketing stuff. I'm pondering this for my own daily routine—although I would probably have to alter it a bit. What I realized today is that I really need to do yoga earlier—if I could feel this amazing every morning, then I would get a lot more done, and if I had a few hours of really productive time first thing in the morning before clients started e-mailing me, I think I'd be a lot more productive on the whole, and I'd be able to feel like I've finished work early enough—not to mention I'd be able to get in all my various daily distractions (exercise, making meals, cleaning up, reading books, etc.). This, of course, also lends itself to much less stress in my life, because I actually feel like I'm getting everything done and I'm still doing what I need to take care of myself.
So, I'm going to give it a try starting next week. This means some major changes—primarily making it a point to get to bed by 10 on "school nights"—but I think I can make it work. If I could wake up at 6am to watch the Flying Nun and DangerMouse when I was a kid, I can certainly get up at 5:30 to get a more productive start to my day.
I'm coming to realize a few things about my time management skills (or lack thereof): I would get much more done if I started my day earlier. By this, I actually mean much earlier — Jeff Fisher mentioned in my HOW Forum post on the same subject that he starts his day at 5:30 AM and takes a nap at 4pm. That way he can get all his work done in the morning with no distractions, and he is finished by about noon and can move on to administrative and marketing stuff. I'm pondering this for my own daily routine—although I would probably have to alter it a bit. What I realized today is that I really need to do yoga earlier—if I could feel this amazing every morning, then I would get a lot more done, and if I had a few hours of really productive time first thing in the morning before clients started e-mailing me, I think I'd be a lot more productive on the whole, and I'd be able to feel like I've finished work early enough—not to mention I'd be able to get in all my various daily distractions (exercise, making meals, cleaning up, reading books, etc.). This, of course, also lends itself to much less stress in my life, because I actually feel like I'm getting everything done and I'm still doing what I need to take care of myself.
So, I'm going to give it a try starting next week. This means some major changes—primarily making it a point to get to bed by 10 on "school nights"—but I think I can make it work. If I could wake up at 6am to watch the Flying Nun and DangerMouse when I was a kid, I can certainly get up at 5:30 to get a more productive start to my day.
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