howdy do it
Howdy Do It came from “how do you do It,” the question Ellie & Margot found themselves asking about their freelance lifestyles, and so Howdy Do It was born, a weekly column about the things we do to keep ourselves organized, inspired and on track. Margot will be here on Mint each Monday, and Ellie will be over on Pitch Design Union at the same time.
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Oh man it’s crunch time for me this week! I’m eyeball-deep in a a couple big projects that both launching right on top of each other. More than ever I am trying all my Howdy Do It tricks so I can keep my head straight and my to do list on track. But I’ve been cutting a few corners here and there. I’m exhausted (yes I realize it’s only Sunday, Monday), there’s take-out boxes littering the coffee table and a huge pile of dirty laundry on the bed. Also, ahem, workout clothes do not count as getting dressed.
Sigh. You can’t always have it together right? But there are three things on my mind to help:
five.sentenc.es: “A disciplined way to dealing with email.” This to help keep me from drowning in my inbox. Sort of like how Twitter has a character limit, you limit your email responses to a few sentences. Also comes in two, three & four senten.ce varieties for the extra brief overachievers!
My new file cabinet (excuse the crappy iPhone shot)! Here she is, scored free at an office that was being demolished in my neighborhood. A most fetching hue of seafoam green, with retractable hinged lid and complimentary red, yellow AND pink folders, she’s quite a beaut I think. Old offices are the best places to score office supplies & materials! And I’m so excited to have more spots to put stuff!
Also a goal for AFTER these projects launch: paint the bathroom. Benjamin Moore Sea Haze 2137-50 and I have a date and I *will* tackle this one then. After only six months talking about doing it, crikey.
Let’s have it guys, what shortcuts do you take when things get bananas?
{Photo credits: Collaboration pieces from Eric Smith’s Live Now series}
Responses to “howdy do it”
A Merry Mishap
February 8, 2010 at 2:46 pmI like your paint choice, I have the hardest time choosing. I tried to paint our bedroom gray and hung the swatch in our room for a week to see it in diff lighting. After painting the whole room, it’s blue!:( oh well!
Christina
February 8, 2010 at 2:57 pmI really love the first one and the color palette!
margot
February 8, 2010 at 3:07 pmYeah, I think gray is one of the hardest colors to get right on a wall! Too much color and it won’t look like gray anymore, too little can make it look flat & cold. I’m hoping the lighter gray, with just a whiff of aqua will work…We’ll see!
Livi
February 8, 2010 at 5:05 pmthat last print is so true
Lyndsay
February 8, 2010 at 6:59 pmI’m not sure my shortcuts work as I always seem to be burning the midnight oil to get something finished in time… and I don’t consider myself to be THAT disorganized, but my time management is a little … lacking.
To help relieve the stress of an ZOMGTOOMUCHTODO!!! attack, I usually go through my to do list and give myself permission to not think about projects that aren’t due straight away. It helps me to focus on the ones that really do warrant the panic! It makes things a little tighter, deadline wise, but I’m yet to miss one.
Other shortcuts – pre-written email responses that I can just cut and paste (with a little bit of personalisation!), takeaway or lots of snacks instead of proper meals; yes, workout clothes instead of real clothes if I can get away with it!, wearing a headband instead of blow-drying my hair (which you’re on a deadline, taking 45 minutes to do your hair is a luxury, not a necessity!), talking to family on the phone whilst tweaking designs to send off to clients (I’m a bad daughter but it’s a good way to multi-task), using templates from other similar jobs (which I can’t get away with very often but gee, it’s nice when I can!), putting on a load of washing whilst I’m cleaning the kitchen (but lets face it, dirty kitchens are what kitchen doors were invented for!), and delegating whatever I can to someone else, just to clear a bit of mental space. Any job that can be getting done whilst I’m doing something else makes me feel so much more productive, and once I’m in the zone, I feel heaps better. I find getting to that zone is half the battle.
Hope you survive this crazy week Margot!
Sasha
February 8, 2010 at 11:26 pmi’m not too hot on the ‘organisation’ side of things but I can always rely on coffee…plenty of coffee.
Emelie Hegarty
February 10, 2010 at 11:01 amHabitat for Humanity Restores are great places to find old office cabinets and other random finds! You can sometimes bargain with them (I do!) and walk away with a treasure.
They’re all over the country and the profits go to a good cause.
http://www.habitat.org/cd/env/restore.aspx