Archive for the ‘Organization’ Category

Creating for Stress Relief

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

I’ve talked before about how important it is to be creative because it’s not a waste of time but this past week I actually saw it in practice!

As you may know, last week did not go exactly as I had planned. Instead of going to Chicago for a week of relaxation and me time I instead spent the week with my family in Northern Ohio. I had a great time with my family even though I’m pretty sure my daughter had MORE fantabulous time getting super spoiled the whole week!

Even though it wasn’t exactly as I envisioned I got a lot done that I wouldn’t have gotten done at home (trainings, banking, budgeting) and I got to spend some much needed time with my mom, dad and siblings.

I also attribute my good week to the fact that my daughter’s babysitter roped me into crocheting hats for a local craft fair this Sunday! Two weeks to make 30-some hats, head wraps and hopefully some stuffed animals. Phew! Thankfully my mom and sister were there to help make some hats with me and make a dent in my quota.

I was pretty disappointed about my plans being messed up but being able to throw myself into my crafting was a great way for me to push through to a happier mood and see the bright side of my plans being changed.

Having that creative outlet was super important for me and maybe for you it will be painting or writing  or singing or designing vintage reproduction clothing(give me a call…). Whatever you creative outlet is let it be your way of calming down and enjoying yourself.

Oh and if you’re in the Hamilton, Ohio area and want to meet me in person and buy a hat from me, the craft fair will be on October 22nd from 10-4:00pm at the Hamilton Elks (4444 Hamilton Middletown Road)!

I’m rather excited to see how this goes! It may be a new blog post in the making; either “How to do a Craft Show right” or “How NOT to do a Craft Show” hehe

  • What are your creative outlets when you need to change your mood?
  • Maybe your creative outlet is being still and meditating. How is that feeling different than throwing yourself into a new project?
  • What are your tips and tricks for making a craft show spectacular?

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Posted in Be Creative!, Organization | 2 Comments »

Creating an Editorial Calendar

Saturday, October 1st, 2011

I am just going to warn you all now that there is going to be A LOT more going on in this general area this month and hopefully going forward. I signed up for a blogging challenge (or two…) so the plan is to blog every day for the month of October and I really think it will be great!

Great for ME because it’ll push me to write a lot more and try out some different topics.
Great for YOU because you’ll get so much more of ME!

The actual coming up with topics scares me so please be sure to mention any and all ideas you have for future blog posts and I’ll be sure to address them. For the topics I have in mind now, I’m using a super cool WordPress plugin called simply WordPress Editorial Calendar.

What this plug in does is it creates a calendar that you can plug ideas into and then move them around to different dates to get an idea of how your week or your month is going to look in a very visual way.

The only thing I have found that it doesn’t do is there’s no way to bring in a draft post that you already have created unless you go to that post and schedule it out for a day on your calendar. Totally not a big deal, just kind of a pain when you first start using the calendar.

 

You’re turn! I love to hear from you so what are your thoughts?

  • Do you schedule out posts ahead of time?
  • Have you used this plugin yet? How did you like it?
  • How do you think this could help you write more or better?

 

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Posted in Organization | 12 Comments »

Planning for the Creative Mind

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011

I’m getting some of my thoughts together for my upcoming class in Chicago (check out the end of the article for more info!) and it got me thinking that “business planning” can be integrated into so many other places!

Want to move to a new house? You need a plan.

Want to get your budget under control and live debt free? You need a plan.

Want to stop a group of Bynars from taking over your starship? You need a plan.
(I’ve been re-watching Star Trek: The Next Generation from the beginning so stay with me…)

Basic business/life/starfleet plans are comprised of three basic parts; Vision, Budgeting and Implementation. (Business plans specifically also need the Research and a Marketing portions)

Found on Pinterest

Vision: What do you want to see happen with this project? What do you see as the end all and be all final product? For moving to a new house it might be having the backyard or the screened in porch of your dreams. If you’re getting your budget under control, find that sweet spot where what you are making is covering all your expenses with a little extra for your savings account and a night out on the town.

Budgeting: Remember budgeting is more than just money, we all need to budget our time as well. Buying a house takes money (uh, duh…) so creating a detailed budget before going to the bank for pre approval is very important. When you have hostile aliens on your bridge and you need to get to them before the auto destruct destroys the ship in five minutes, budgeting and using your time wisely is very important.

Implementation: Putting it all together and setting things in motion is sometimes the hardest part but if you have a strong plan behind you things can go much smoother. Also, with this step think about who you can bring on to help you out. Do you have a friend who’s great with numbers take a look at your budget and get their opinion? Maybe you need to trust that your first officer is going to have your back when you finally transport to the bridge to take back control. (If you didn’t know I was a nerd before you certainly do now…hehe)

It’s much harder to buy a house or budget your time or save the universe without taking the time to gather your thoughts, take a breath and think. Make sure you are doing that each time you have a problem that needs to be addressed or even a goal that you want to see come to life and things won’t seem so out of your hands and out of your reach!

In my class next month we go through the ins and outs of how to create a business plan that fits your personality so let me know if you would be interested in learning more about creating your own plan. I really love this topic and would love to put together some virtual events or an ebook but would love to hear from you so that I can cater it to what you would like to learn the most about!

Homework for this week:

  • What projects, problems or goals are you putting off because you don’t know where to start?
  • How can you use the basic parts listed above to kick things into gear?

Bonus Pimping Myself Out Section

 

What:
Business Planning 101

When:
Wed Oct. 12th
7-8:30pm

Where:
Catalyst Ranch

Cost: $20

(nope not a typo! It’s a rediculously low price for all the awesome I’m going to be bringing!)

I’m SO excited to share with you my FIRST in person workshop on how to create a business plan that fits YOU!

Whether you are beginning your business or creative endeavor and don’t know how to make the first move, or have been in business for a while but feel a bit disconnected and unorganized, this class is a great start!

We’ll go through the basic parts of the business plan and actually create the first sprouts of your plan in class so that when you leave you’ll have some awesomeness that you can use to add and grow your plan!

I am offering this class in association with a neat little site called Dabble so please go check them out and if you’re in the Chicago area check out their other great classes!

Hopefully if the live event goes well I’ll try to do a local class or a virtual class as well!

Let me know if you have any questions and feel free to share this event with anyone you think would benefit from it!

Posted in Organization | No Comments »

Music and the Art of Procrastination Maintenance

Thursday, September 1st, 2011

I've chosen disco

Found via Pinterest

This month has been full of music for me! I hadn’t been to a concert in a LONG time (yes, I know I’m old…) and this month I got to see two of my favorite bands, A Perfect Circle with my husband at the beginning of the month and Incubus with my good friend Emily this past weekend! Each concert was awesome and amazing in their own ways but both put me in very different frames of mind afterwards. A Perfect Circle is a little bit rock and a little bit “sad bastard music“, so afterwards I was a little introspective and a bit meloncholy but I LOVED the concert so much. This past weekend after the Incubus concert I was again introspective but a lot more energized because they have songs that make you think but also put on a much more energetic concert.

Being empathetic and understanding how music afects your mood and ultimately how you work is an important peice to the work day balance.

Today is going to be interactive so get out your notebook! (Yes, YOU. Don’t give me that face, you’ll enjoy it!)

  • Take a a minute or two and wrtie some situations or emotions that you come across on a normal basis at the top of each page. For example, my notebook has “When I’m scared to do something”, “When I have the blues”, “When I’m writing”, “When I’m in a nasty mood and need to shake it off”, and so on.
  • Now, start thinking about the songs you love and start writing them down. Go through your iTunes, write down songs from the radio, think of bands and then narrow them down to individual songs. You can start off with a long list of your favorite songs or you can start placing them in categories as you go.
  • Once you have at least 10 songs in a category, go to your iTunes or to Spotify and start creating your playlist! You could also go to YouTube and create a playlist there as well and watch the videos along with the songs if you need the visual to get up and shake your booty! : )

So now you’re asking, “This is great but….why did we create these playlists?”

Being a Creative is all about being creative in everything you do, even if it doesn’t feel very “creative” at the time. So now when you have a rewrite that needs to be finished by Monday or you need to get the house cleaned before your in-laws show up, you can crank up your “When I need a kick in the butt to get things done” playlist and push through! Or maybe you’ve been staring at a peice of paper, canvas or cloth for a good hour and haven’t made anything, put on your “When I need inspitation” mix and you’ll get the creative juices flowing!

Your playlist will be completely different than my playlist or even your friend’s playlist because we all experience music in a different way, but that’s the fun part! Here’s a peek into my “When I need to dance and shake my cares away” playlist on YouTube! I am warning you though, you will feel a tingling sensation and the urge to move so be prepared for awesome dance moves.

Posted in Be Creative!, Organization | No Comments »

Keep it Simple, Silly

Thursday, August 11th, 2011

 

Every Day I'm Shufflin

“Every Day I’m Shufflin” photo by Fully Sick Rapper found via Facebook

 

More is not necessarily better.

Sometimes more is just more.

I’m coming to that realization in my business as well as in my personal life so I’ve been working through a plan of attack on how to become more minimalist and focus on what truly matters in my world.

In case you haven’t been stalking me online for the past few month I will update you on some personal victories in the world of Sara:

Now when it comes to business, minimizing might sound like the ravings of a madwoman.

“What do you mean by minimizing your business?! Don’t you want to be successful and make lots and lots of money!”

Umm, well of course I want to make money (Duh…) BUT the difference is that I don’t want to stress myself and my family out in the process. What’s the point of making thousands of dollars a month if you’re too busy and stressed out to enjoy any of it? That’s where I was a few months ago and I promised myself that I would get on a path to simplifying my business to leave room for me and my family as well.

Quality over Quantity
I’ve found that having quality clients and projects to work on is much more valuable to me than having tons of wishy washy clients and boring project that don’t completely fit me. I also think I’m putting out a higher quality of work than I was when I was crazy overwhelmed and that’s good for everyone involved!

The Money will Come
Yes, not having the same amount of clients or projects as I have had in the past has taken it’s toll on my wallet but that’s ok because now I can focus on how I can build some alternate revenue streams to keep me calm and awesome but still make me some money to pay on that really expensive piece of paper I got from The Ohio State University….

For example, I am planning a live seminar in Chicago on creating a workable and non-sleep inducing business plan for Authors and Artists (more details coming next month!). Plus I have some ebook/ecourse ideas floating around in my head that I just need to put onto paper and now I have the energy to put towards these projects that I didn’t necessarily have before when I was overwhelmed with clients and projects.

If Momma isn’t Happy, Nobody is Happy
Taking time away from my business has been the key to harmony in my house. As much as I love the show Mad Men, I didn’t like how I was turning into the overworked and irritable female version of Don Draper. As sexy as he may be, I was not happy with my crazy work schedule and my short fuse because of my work schedule. Plus, with my new eating plan I can’t just chuck back a scotch every time I have a problem.

Now, I have the freedom to play with my daughter when she just HAS to have a race with her cars in the kitchen and still have time to work on projects for clients. I even have time to step back, re-energize myself in my business and work to help my tribe by writing articles!

The slower speed may not be for everyone, some people thrive on the always moving and high energy pace of work. I used to think that was where I thrived as well until I took it to the extreme and burnt myself out. Now I know that there can be a happy balance and having more than one priority in my life is entirely possible just by keeping it simple.

Weekly Exercise:

Here are some questions to ask yourself when thinking about bringing on a new project (in your business or in your personal life):

  • Does this project light me up inside and make me do cartwheels in the front yard?
  • How much time will this project take away from something important in my life (work, family, hobbies, etc)?
  • Is it worth that extra time and energy and will you be rewarded in the end?

 

My blog posts are first published in my Tuesday newsletter, Your Creative Buzz,  so if you’d like to get these posts early with extra awesomeness be sure to sign up! 

Posted in Organization, Random Thoughts | No Comments »

Creating a Happy Place

Thursday, August 4th, 2011

Whether you’re an artist creating your new masterpiece or an author putting the finishing touches on your new novel, everyone needs a happy place to get those creative juices flowing. (Note: Your happy place may or may not look like this.)

This past week I’ve been reorganizing and setting up my “office” – in my bedroom….


This is not my office but it would be awesome if it was….

 I know it’s far from the perfect solution but it’s MUCH better than where I was before, in the middle of the living room! Until we get the basement finished and I can have my own room with a door *sigh* I am making this work and enjoying the “privacy” (which just mean that my daughter only comes in to see me every 5 minutes as opposed to every 2 minutes…)

Now that I’ve been up here for a week or so I’m really excited about how much better I feel with my semi private working area. I still have some decorating to do and we’re planning on building a little divider so that I’m not staring at the bed and longing for a nap while I’m working on a client proposal but the work is so much easier now.

Here are a few things that I have been working with and some things to consider when setting up your own work area!

• Color
Take a color/style quiz and find out what your happy colors are! I originally thought that blue and green were great business colors and would get me working hard, but I found that I need to be in a bright and energetic room in order to get my juices flowing. The plan is to paint one wall creamsicle orange and then use a light blue as an accent color! So excited!

• Lighting
You may already know that you need a bright room to get your writing done OR maybe you need a dim mysteriously lighted room to get your deep thoughts rolling for that teen vampire novel you’re working on… If you’re like me, I need a really good lighted area to work so I situated my desk in front of a bright window and I’m still searching for the perfect lamp to add to the corner. So far, just being able to look outside and see the sun has energized me and kept me going throughout the day!

• Music
I really like having something in the background when I’m working so music is a big deal for me when I’m doing something tedious or something where I’ll be writing for a long period of time. Create a Pandora playlist of good background music or create a genius mix of your iTunes songs! Podcasts are a great idea as well but be sure you don’t get caught up with the topic and get distracted from your work.

• Set Up
Do you work best at a desk in an office OR do you work best outside under a tree? Do you love your laptop OR do you love your dual monitor setup? Try out a few setups and see where you do your best work. For me, I would love to be able to work outside all the time but I get too distracted by crazy neighbors or barking dogs or creepy bugs… SO I have my window now and it helps me have the nearness of nature but still allows me to focus.

Weekly Exercise:

Where do you do your best work? What can you do to make your office area work the best for you?

Try out some new set ups, colors or a new kicking office soundtrack and let me know how it goes down there in the comments!

Posted in Be Creative!, Organization | No Comments »

“Stressed” is “Desserts” spelled backwards

Sunday, December 20th, 2009

Typical One year old
+
Working from home on client projects AND re-branding project
x
Not enough time in the day

= One crazy stressed out Mom/Wife/Woman!

Everyone has those days when things get overwhelming whether it’s your job, your family or the dog that won’t stop humping the neighbor and digging tunnels to China in your backyard (I love my dog, I love my dog…) If you don’t know what I’m talking about, Congratulation! I hate you. I award you no points and my god have mercy on your soul.

I started my business to help alleviate some stress in my life because riding a bus into the city everyday meant a 10 hour work day (if I worked overtime it was longer than that) and the childcare would have been redicutarded expensive. Now, I LOVE my job and am so happy I decided to stay home with my daughter and watch her grow up. I get to work with people I want to work with, work when I want to work and see Aerith with her funny little dances and giggles as she watches the dog chase his tail outside!

BUT

Now I have new stress that I hadn’t planned on. Watching Aerith is a full time job, being a good housekeeper is another full time job and running my virtual assistant business is a full time job. I hadn’t really considered the fact that I would have three full time jobs but here I am, and some days I want to quit and run away to distant shores and open a mom and pop porn shop!

SO

I have devised a new strategy to help me ease some of my stress and hopefully make me a happier person in general (which I’m sure everyone would enjoy). I started planning out my meals ahead of time, focusing on one area of the house at a time to clean and yesterday I signed up with a local babysitting service called BabySitEase to give me some ME time each week. This babysitting service is a big step because trusting someone else with my daughter might be the hardest thing I will ever do but I need to do this for my sanity and hers.

If you are getting overwhelmed by life and you are a planning kind of person like me I invite you to come along with me on my journey of organized chaos!

  1. Write it down. Write down everything that is making you stressed out. Making dinner, cleaning your office, going through emails; whatever makes you want to run away screaming when someone reminds you that it has to be done.
  2. Plan it out. Instead of waiting until the last minute to make dinner, plan out your week’s meals so you don’t have to come up with something off the top of your head. If social media is overwhelming, plan out times during the day that you check your accounts and/or schedule out your Tweets for the day, or the week, ahead of time to make sure you’re still involved.
  3. Make time for yourself. Make sure to schedule in YOU time. YOU are the most import part of your business and your family because if you don’t work, it ain’t gonna work. Even if it’s just a weekly coffee break to a near by coffee shop or a Sunday bath/spa night, make sure you get a chance to decompress after all the hard work you do all week.

I’m going to try and tie in songs or movies with my blog posts from now on because I think it will be fun! SO, I shall leave you with this creepy version of “Once in a Lifetime” by the Talking Heads as performed by Kermit the Frog. (Yup, it’s just one of those things you need to see…)

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Posted in Organization, Parenting | 4 Comments »

Getting Organized with Google Calendar

Monday, July 27th, 2009

Google Apps

Google Calendar is one of the most popular online scheduling systems out right now. With Google Calendar you can add events, share events with friends and set up reminders for yourself about future events! One of my favorite options is the option to have a reminder sent to you phone via an SMS text message!

Here are some personal ways that I use my calendar to stay up to date with everything in my life:

Check your calendar every morning!

I have my calendar linked to my iGoogle, a dashboard that allows you to view several applications such as Gmail, Google Calendar, Twitter, Google Reader, top news headlines, etc. That way I can see what I have coming up in a glance at my agenda. It makes it so nice to have everything in one place instead of having to sort through all those tabs and windows!

Set up “to-do” tasks and have them repeat every day!

I used to work at a leading clothing retailer as a Loss Prevention Supervisor and between running and tackling people I was in charge of the Test and Checks! The Test and Checks were a series of duties that needed to be accomplished either daily, weekly, monthly or yearly. I LOVED this system so I started implementing it into my personal organization and scheduling routine. I have a document set up with columns labeled Daily, Weekly, Monthly and Yearly. I then decided what needed to be done when; Check Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are Daily Tasks for me while checking Feedburner and Google Anylitics are Weekly Tasks. You may have completely different time tables for your tasks and that’s ok! This is supposed to help you and if you don’t feel the need to check LinkinIn everyday maybe set up a column for Bi-Weekly or Twice a Week, whatever works for you!

DWMY

After creating your document and deciding on your task list, go to your Google Calendar and create additional calendars for each of your columns. To do this, look at your main calendar page and locate the box on the left hand side that is titled simply “Calendars”. There will be small text links on the bottom of the box labeled “Settings” and “Create”, click on “Create”. On this screen you can create a new calendar with a name of one of your columns, lets use “Daily” for this example. After you have created your new Daily calender return to your main calender page and create a new event.

Let’s say we wanted to create an event to remind us to check our email. Be sure to click the box that states this is an “all day event” and create this event in your Daily Calender by using the drop down box called “Calender”. Also, be sure to make this an everyday repeatable event by using the “Repeats” drop down box. Include any description or reminders you would like and save the event. Now when you return to your main calendar view you will have an event everyday that reminds you to check your email. Continue to do this for every event in your column and then create new calenders for your additional columns and add events! So easy!

I also like to check off my activities throughout the day and you can do this by clicking on the event you have accomplished and choosing to delete the event. A box will pop up asking if you would like to delete just this occurrence or the entire series and choose to only delete this occurrence. Now you have checked off your task and can see what still needs to be done that day!

I think this is a a great way to organize my tasks and remind myself to do all of the simple tasks that I sometimes forget to do when we get busy. I encourage you to try this out!

organize

Do you have a scheduling system that you use that you’d like to share?

Did you try this system out? How did you like it?

Have a Great Day!

Posted in Organization | 4 Comments »