Howdy Do It, week 4
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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Ok so this is week 4 of Howdy Do It! And while we’re still early in this journey, I will say I’ve had a couple small breakthroughs. Ok, so my piles are still in stacks everywhere, worse than they were last week. But because of this column, I have a whole new perspective that has really helped me feel like I’m more on top of things. Before this I honestly thought I just wasn’t always so good at handling the many spinning plates, finances, demanding clients, wacky hours, etc. But all of you, dear internet friends, you KNOW. We are in the same shoes. Frankly, we are even the same damned size. Finally understanding this lets me cut myself a little more slack, which has made everything a little easier. When I stopped to think about this, I realized there was a pretty big core issue behind it. Which brings me to this week’s topic: Guilt.
Somehow still, the 9-5 lifestyle is completely ingrained in my brain. If it’s between 9-5 on a weekday I feel like I owe it to the world to be ON and available every-where-all-the-time because that’s what most people do. Forget that I work as much and mostly more than 40 hours/week, at odd hours and intervals, through the weekends, and sometimes for entire days straight. Even if it’s a Wednesday and I’ve already logged a whole slew of hours on something that week and I want to take it easy for a day, I feel guilty. Which is pretty darn lame. At times when I’ve ignored this, my brain starts leaking out of my ears. I grind to a halt. Forced to not work anyway. More guilt. Ish.
By Aqua Velvet
So now I’m taking a little more of a relaxed approach and, surprise! I’m getting just as much done. Here’s some of the things I’ve tried that have helped:
- I don’t start working immediately when I wake up. If I were working in an office, it would take at least an hour to get out the door in the morning, plus commute time. So I think it’s fair I give myself a little of that time BACK before I break open my crack-top. Make breakfast, do laundry, generally ease into the day.
- Minimize/close all open windows before bed. The last thing I want to see first thing is what I was working on before bed.
- Quit or close email for a couple of hours. I will never forget to check it at some point later, but it really does help quiet things down so I can focus.
- I’ve been slashing my email blast subscriptions. I haven’t read some of them in YEARS and if I do open them, I scan and delete
- Separate my to-do list into parts: the HAVE to-dos, and the Should-dos. There is a huge, huge difference there.
- Cooking. It’s immediate gratification for me and it still feels like I’m doing something creative, even if it’s not fancy food. I think it helps my brain re-charge. I’ve had some great ideas lately when I’ve been cooking. My friend Jeremiah says the same thing about playing music.
Ordinary Eggs by Nea
So? What do you guys think? Do you have any other ideas or thoughts on this? I so enjoy your comments, it’s really nice to observe & be part of this conversation we’re having!
→ 8 CommentsCategories:Howdy Do It, business, photography
November 9th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Stretching! For some reason in the middle of a day at work or back in architecture school when I would have been sitting in the same chair for hours, it felt SO GOOD to get up and stretch! Maybe its the dancer in me but to just do some quick plies and leg stretches really feels so great and gets your blood flowing again. Eventually I hope to have a pilates routine but for now my 5 min stretch breaks in my office’s kitchen will work just fine!
November 9th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Loved this post. Ditto on closing down email for a couple hours; it helps me stay focused.
Another thing that’s helped me is, “Do the worst thing first” — just getting something out of the way that I’m sort of dreading makes the whole day run better.
-Angela
November 9th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
I agree with meg about the stretching. I am working from home now, and sometimes i forget to get up out of my chair for hours on end! I also like to start my morning with a walk, and end my day at the gym. Exercise is really important for mental health, and when you work from home sometimes it is the only time of the day for human interaction!
-thanks for this post, it makes me feel good that i am not the only one :)
November 9th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
It’s so easy to feel alone in the process of creation sometimes, especially when you’re working from home and have limited interaction with other people. These posts make me feel so much more connected with other designers and not as much like I’m a reclusive hermit weirdo. To know that there are others out there that are experiencing the same difficulties is such an immense help. Thank you both!
November 9th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
100% agree with the HAVE to-do and SHOULD do lists. I’ve put this into practice ever since i entered the “work force” and it truly does help! It’s impossible to to everything in one day.
November 9th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
Another great way to do the to-do lists is using the urgent/important matrix. I found this a really positive way to sort out what was really important to me and to help balance my work and life.
November 11th, 2009 at 9:45 am
This sounds like a terrific game plan! I especially love your 1-hr-start game plan — that absolutely makes sense to take time prepping for the work day, even if it’s not the same prep physically as before! It’s amazing what mental state does for you — unfortunately, I’m not in this same place in my life, but I do still find it helpful to (1) when I’m in the middle of a project that I know I’ll be wrapping up in a couple days, I leave everything as it is, everywhere. Which is a mess, yes. But then, (2) when I’m finished, everything gets tucked away, and it’s both physically, visually, and mentally a fresh new start for my next project. I like your minimizing windows approach (something about electronicially fresh each day is very nice), but hey, for physical projects, I like the mess :D Good luck!
November 11th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Yes! For the past month, I’ve been easing into working from home, and it’s been a constant mental struggle to create my own balanced schedule. Easing into the day is the way to start–and being sure to close up shop (and power down my computer!) at day’s end, just like I would at the old office.
PS I’m delighted to have just found your blog via annplified.com!