Time Management Tools for Creative People

I am a procrastinator. I am a dilly-dallier and I can lose hours a day to Facebook and interesting news articles.

I am trying to be come a good time manager and goal setter this year. Last fall I started a practice that I have impressively continued into 2016 (I start things with good intentions often, soon to abandon them to distraction). It's called Morning Pages. You can read more about it in my previous post on Morning Pages.

Morning Pages: A master tool for getting out of your head and on to paper. More space in brain for thinking & productivity!
Basically you spend time with yourself and a journal in the morning. I use it to write down things I am worried about that are blocking my mind from being productive. For me that is usually paragraph form. Then I write down today's to do list - bullet form (with a line in front so I can go back and put a check mark in it another day, once complete). I also use it for brainstorming ideas, setting goals and this year I am trying to write myself daily affirmations. This feels a bit awkward to me but I am hoping the idea will grow on me. Otherwise I am a big fan of Morning Pages and look forward to writing each morning.

I am also revisiting a time management technique I had read about a few years ago but never implemented, The Pomodoro Technique. You know those vintage kitchen timers that look like tomatoes? Well that is your main tool. (Pomodoro is Italian for tomato). I've been trying this for a week and find I lose significantly less time to Facebook (I call that a good tool already!).

Pomodoro Technique: A master tool for keeping on top of the clock and not losing time to distractions. 
I am only starting to use this technique but can say a week into it I feel more productive and in control of my day. I have not wasted hours on Facebook like I am often prone to do. I am also finding time in the breaks to do other tasks I have been putting off. The basic idea is you set a timer for 25 minutes and then after 25 minutes you take a 5 minute break to do what you want. Then after 4 pomodoros (sessions of 25 minutes) you get a longer break. I have been taking 30 minutes. Each session you complete mark a check mark on some paper so you can keep track of your groups of 4. The more advanced use of this technique involves carefully planning the tasks you need to accomplish in a day in to how many pomodoro sessions it will take you to complete the tasks. I am not that good at estimating time at this point and am happy just using a timer to keep myself on task.

Additionally, though I have yet to decide if I like it or if it is necessary for me; I am trying one of the techniques used in Bullet Journaling called the Daily Tracker. Which I am hoping will help me develop a more managable routine and gain some work/life balance. I have dodged routine for most of my life thinking it boring, but as I am navigating working from home, I am craving it. I learned of this technique from a post by Retta Richie Holbrook, an artist. If you sign up for her mailing list she is giving away a 2016 monthly tracker with her original artwork on each month. I know there is so much more to Bullet Journaling beyond the Daily Tracker technique, which some day I may explore or incorporate into my Morning Pages, but for now I'm dipping my toes in the Daily Tracker to see what I think.

Daily Tracker: A master tool for sticking to routine and completing daily tasks. 

I admit, I can be a bit of a space cadet and not eat until dinner or miss my every other day shower (ew I know). Or good things like drinking daily lemon & turmeric water first thing in the AM, or using my new blue light to combat the chronically grey winter skies here. Basically you have the numbered days of the month at the top of the sheet and blank spaces down the left side to add your routine items you wish to track. Then there is space across the grid to put X marks as you accomplish the tasks you have set for yourself.

Wish me luck on with my time management goals for 2016. I hope they help me make much more YazBerry Jewelry to share with you. Maybe you'll find some of these useful too! Happy New Year!

I Orderded a Glowforge 3-D Laser Printer!

I am going to own a laser! I have been stewing over this for a month. Should I buy one, can I justify the pricey purchase? Do I really need this? Making lists of pros and cons...the only thing ever on the con list is the price...so today I placed an order for a Glowforge 3-D Laser Printer


If you want one for 50% off the retail price you can pre-order for another 15 days or so (check the website to be certain) and you will get $100 off if you use my link and so will I! I just pre-ordered a Glowforge 3D laser printer. It was an earlybird unit, so it was half price. They still have half-price units available, and this link is an EXTRA $100 coupon. Please, help me pay for this thing so I can make you amazing creations.

There are sooooo many things I can make with this and want to make. This tool will replace many processes I currently do by hand. Cutting of leather lace, cutting of vinyl records, cutting of fabric pieces. It will also bring in the ability to etch and pierce so many things! My favorite feature is I can hand draw anything, and place it in the Glowforge 3-D Laser Printer and it will cut that design into anything! As many times as I want. No need to train myself on Computer Aided Drawing though I would like to learn someday.

Wow, ok, so I am considering a GoFundme/Kickstarter Project which will have amazing laser cut gifts at the different donation levels. Stay tuned.

 Here are images of some of my work I hope to improve by using the Glowforge 3-D Laser Printer:

Finished my prototype for my Benjamin Franklin Kite necklace. I am very happy with this and will be making a series of these where each is a one of a kind. Price to be determined.

A photo posted by Virginia (@yazberryfashion) on Sep 23, 2015 at 6:15pm PDT

Current Read: The Handmade Marketplace

I just opened a new library card at my hometown library in Northfield, MN (my old one had expired several years ago since I hadn't been living here). I love the library. My favorite sections are DVD's and the new release book section. Even when I was in high school I enjoyed perusing the new release book section. As I am sure you can imagine, with my new card in hand, I charged right over to that section to see what they have.

One thing I have always enjoyed about the Northfield Public Library, is the abundance of arts and crafts books. Living in the woods, we made regular use of those books to keep ourselves entertained as kids. That said, of course there were a few gems in this genre on the new release shelves.

I got my paws on: The Handmade Marketplace; How to sell your crafts locally, globally and online, By Kari Chapin. It was published this year and is filled with valuable information for independent artists and crafters. Heck, I bet any business owner looking to learn how to better market online would benefit from this book.

With $3.49 to my name at the moment, I am looking for any information I can to grow my handmade fashion business. This is one of my favorite topics to read about online and I try to find out what I can in my free time. The $3.49, numerous rejections from office job applications and frighteningly lethargic sales on my Etsy.com store this holiday season are what provoked me to give this book a careful and thorough read. It is oh so timely I stumbled across it at the library.

This book is current and a wealth of information for anyone looking to improve their small business marketing efforts. I'm reading it armed with pen and paper and have nearly filled a small notepad with ideas...lots and lots of ideas and tasks I wish to execute sooner rather than later.

One of my favorite bonus aspects of this book: it fits in my purse!

Available on Amazon.com.