Archive for the ‘organization’ Category

Getting Organized – Part 4: The Brain Dump

Okay, so my middle grade students would say I could bring any topic at all back to dinosaur poop and pee. But the Brain Dump is different, and it’s highly useful. I’ve been doing this at least once a month (sometimes more) for the last year, and it has really helped me organize myself. I find that as I start planning for this coming year, before I can do my backplanning, I’ve had to do a serious brain dump and keep the paper close at hand for other loose ends that float to the top.

The idea of a brain dump is to sit with a blank sheet of paper and list everything – and I mean EVERYTHING – that you need to do, whether it is urgent or not. Don’t worry about order, don’t worry about whether things go together, don’t whether about if it’s several weeks away. JUST WRITE IT DOWN.

The advantage to this is to give your brain a break and a rest. Once you take everything that you are trying to keep straight in your brain OUT of it, you don’t have to worry about remembering it all. Now it’s down on paper, and you don’t have to keep thinking about that particular task, and the next one, and three more after that. It’s incredibly freeing and sets you up to be able to make sense of what needs to be done to accomplish goals.

Here are two examples of a couple of sheets I started with on January 1, as I plan out my month and my first quarter, as well as some longer-term objectives. I collected past sheets that still had items listed, and I started a new sheet with some of the newer items arising as a result of the new year.

Nothing is in any order. My main goal is to free up my mind from worry. I want to have everything laid out so I can use these lists to organize.  I realized yesterday as I was working on one particular area, that I really couldn’t just go into the backplanning process without doing this. Now, keep in mind this might not work for you, but I urge you to try it and see if you can relax a bit about getting things done without forgetting them.

I would love for you to share your thoughts – and lists – if you try this activity. Any suggestions for improving the process?

Next in my series of organizing for the New Year. This pic is of my wonderful students (who now are grown and many have children of their own….) for the musical “Peter Pan,” which I use here as an example of the concept.

Get Organized!

Part 3: The Concept of Backplanning

You did your dreaming….within all those dreams are some goals for this coming year. Now comes the time to put planning to work. I’ve used this system for decades – literally. I’m sure someone came up with the idea before, but to my knowledge no one else calls it “backplanning.” Because…..you plan backwards. It seems counter-intuitive to how we usually plan, but this method pretty much guarantees you will finish on time, without that last-minute unpleasantness crammed in to a few days. In fact….you could be early.

What I also like about this system is that by the time you are done, you have a plan in front of you that looks extremely practical, manageable, and something that doesn’t scare you before you even start.

One thing to keep in mind – your goals can be any length, from a week to a year.  I’ve used this method to plan getting ready for a trip in two weeks to presenting a middle school musical in 9 weeks, to my yearly goals. For the school musicals, I started with a 9-week calendar that was determined by opening night. Then I started backing up important dates, until I had actually scheduled auditions.

What I want you to do next is skim through this calendar, top to bottom, and bottom to top. There’s room built in for snow days and other things that might come up, plus keeping in mind the attention span of middle schoolers. And, I feel it’s do-able for me, the director.

• Friday, May 2 – afternoon and evening shows, strike set, cast party
• Thursday, May 1 – afternoon opening, evening show
• Wednesday, April 30 – dress rehearsal
• Tuesday, April 29 – tech rehearsal everything
• Monday, April 28 – tech rehearsal, lights and set changes
• Friday, April 25 – run through all acts, costumes and props
• Thursday, April 24 – run through all acts, props
• Wednesday, April 23, run through all acts
• Tuesday, April 22 – Act 3
• Monday, April 21 – Act 2
• Friday, April 18 – Act 1
• Thursday, April 17 – all musical numbers from all acts, concentrated
• Wednesday, April 16 – Act 3
• Tuesday, April 15 – Act 2
• Monday, April 14 – Act 1
• Friday, April 11 – Act 3
• Thursday, April 10 – Acts 2 and 3
• Wednesday, April 9 – Acts 1 and 2
• Tuesday, April 8 – Act 3 finish blocking
• Monday, April 7 – Act 3 blocking
• Friday, April 6 – Act 3 blocking
• Thursday, April 5 – Act 2
• Wednesday, April 6 – Act 2 blocking
• Tuesday, April 5 – Act 2 blocking
• Monday, April 4 – Act 2 blocking
• Friday, April 1 – Act 2 blocking
• Thursday, March 31 – Act 2 blocking
• Wednesday, March 30 – Act 1
• Tuesday, March 29 – Act 1 blocking
• Monday, March 28 – Act 1 blocking
• Friday, March 25 – Act 1 blocking
• Thursday, March 24 – Act 1 blocking
• Wednesday, March 23 – Act 1 blocking
• Tuesday, March 22 – Act 3 blocking musical numbers everyone
• Monday, March 21 – Act 3 blocking musical numbers everyone
• Friday, March 18 – Act 2 blocking musical numbers everyone
• Thursday, March 18 – Act 2 blocking musical numbers everyone
• Wednesday, March 17 – Act 1 blocking musical numbers everyone
• Tuesday, March 16 – Act 1 blocking musical numbers everyone
• Monday, March 15 – Act 3 music main roles
• Friday, March 12  – Act 3 music main roles
• Thursday, March 11 – Act 2 music main roles
• Wednesday, March 10 – Act 2 music main roles
• Tuesday, March 9 – Act 1 music main roles
• Monday, March 8 – Act 1 music main roles
• Friday, March 5 – read-through
• Thursday, March 4 – read-through
• Wednesday, March 3 – cast announced
• Tuesday, March 2 – auditions singing
• Monday, March 1 – auditions acting

Yes, there’s more behind the scenes going on before we even begin, but those pieces don’t involve a cast of 80 children. I need a schedule I can work with, students can take home for parents, and teachers will know when classes are disrupted.

Next: Using Backplanning for your Goals

Here comes Part 2 in my Getting Organized Series. You can follow along on the blog and get a head start before the posts appear on the Handmadeology blog. Share comments about your dreaming at the bottom of this post.

 Part 2: Dreaming the New Year

Now it’s time to think about this coming new year, regardless of when you consider your year to begin. When I was teaching, September was always the beginning of the year, not January. With retirement, my new year is the end of May. So you can do this at any time of the year, for however long a time period you want. Start with a month or two, or go for the whole year. If the process works for you, then consider doing a five-year plan. I promise you that this whole process really works!

First, though, you need to DREAM. If you need help in dreaming your goals, check out Dale Anne Potter’s website. She offers a lot of positive ideas for getting goals accomplished, and she has great resources. So does Alyson Stanfield, author of “I’d Rather Be in the Studio!”

I’m asking you to do away with limits on your thinking. No worrying about how much money you need, whether you think it’s actually possible to accomplish, or any other roadblocks you might place in your path. This is dream time. A year from now, what would you like to have accomplished? Just DREAM. Don’t limit yourself! And…don’t make it just about your business.

Here’s what I’ve come up with in my brainstorming, in no particular order.

• a second online gallery carrying my artwork;
• publication of the book by Linda Seward with my art quilts in it;
• a line of stencils for mixed media;
• two ebooks on marketing;
• an ebook on quilting marbled fabrics;
• finish the ebook for a friend;
• licensing some of my digital designs;
• at least four new patterns developed and available;
• at least three teaching gigs around the country;
• visiting Paducah to tour Quilt City;
• a trip to Kauai in the fall;
• visiting the Maritimes this summer;
• entry into at least two fiber/art shows;
• increase by 25% each the income from Ebay, the website, Etsy, and Cafe Press;
• another connection to the Martha Stewart folks for another article;
• additional writing and work done on my website;
• a visit with my foster son;
• visiting the old homestead in New Jersey;
• seeing my college buddy again;
• staying healthy;
• blog posts at least four times a week;
• articles in two art/quilt-related magazines;
• monthly lunches with my second mom;
• weekly Friday night dinners with my sister-friend;
• at least once a month something art/music-related to see;
• outdoor cactus garden established;
• and….a trip to Vienna to visit a friend.

Your list can be as long or as short as you wish. Please do not try and limit yourself, even subconsciously. I have found the key in planning is to shoot for the moon. You’ll get a lot farther into the atmosphere than if you try to keep yourself grounded on earth.

Also, DO NOT FEEL OVERWHELMED with this list! In the next installment, I’ll be sharing the idea of backplanning – something that I have used throughout teaching, especially when I was doing theater. Backplanning makes everything seem absolutely do-able – I promise.

Feel free to share your dreaming with us. Some of us might get inspired by something you mention and decide to include it on our list. You’ll head in to the New Year feeling very positive about what you’d like to accomplish!

Next: The Concept of Backplanning

I’m starting a new series over on Handmadeology, with organization and planning steps to help you plan this coming year. I’m also taking all my own advice along the way, so if you are interested, you can follow along on my planning and perhaps pick up some ideas of your own.

It’s the end of the year: fiscal, calendar, it doesn’t really matter. Most of us are already thinking ahead. Lots of ideas, plans, and probably a sense of “how can I ever make this all happen?” If that’s your mind frame right now, then this series is for you. Step by step, let’s help you plan out the coming year so that it seems both manageable and practical. The best part? You can do this planning whenever you want; you don’t have to wait for an official beginning. You just start, whether it be an individual project, a month, or the whole calendar year.

Step 1 is reflecting on what you FINISHED. What did you get accomplished this past year? Let’s start here. Make a list of what you actually completed this past calendar year (since that’s what most of us work with). Consider everything: sales, new customers, teaching gigs, social media, newsletters, art shows, gallery entries, website development, blog writing, travel, new art work (definitely do not leave out the actual creativity!). WHAT DID YOU DO FOR THE YEAR? Now celebrate each and every accomplishment. You made progress.

This has been a productive year for us, with sales up about 10 percent. About a third of the income was from our participation in StashFest, a fundraiser for the La Conner Quilt Museum. Etsy is hitting its stride. Ebay was surprisingly quiet, especially during the summer. I entered shows for which I created very specific work (and didn’t get in), joined SAQA and Visions Art Museum. I did a newsletter each month starting with April. I created a tutorial for the SewCalGal free motion quilting challenge, got our work accepted in a book, and corralled a feature in the Martha Stewart Weddings issue for this coming March. I completed a pattern and had it reviewed and samples made. I have three out of four of my small seasons quilts completed. I revamped the website with some major changes, and I took apart five old quilts and requilted them. I also took a few classes. There’s more, but this is a good start.

Step 2 is identifying what you DIDN’T get done. This is hard, and sometimes it can leave us with a sense of failure. Not so. Get it out or paper, have the pity party, get over it, and you don’t have to think about it as much. There were reasons why these didn’t get done: not a priority, not enough time, too much money, family and/or job commitments. Identify them and let them go. It’s okay if you are working full time and don’t have a lot of creative time or space. Part of what will follow in later steps will be adding realistic planning into your goals.

As I am half way through my second year of retirement, I am getting used to working furiously for three or four weeks, and then taking at least a week or two to just relax. It is such a nice change from trying to make art during a crazy school year and then getting really productive in the summer, usually the few weeks before school is due to start again. I did have loose ends: a few art quilts that didn’t get completed, so they are still UFOs; the seasons pattern for autumn STILL isn’t done; a brochure for guilds with potential classes still not done; a collector’s newsletter still waiting. But I am learning to let it go. The important things are getting done, especially before deadlines, manufactured or actual, so I have to stop worrying about things.

Step 3 is starting a list of all that you actually accomplish this year. Add to it throughout the year. Then when you reflect next year, you’ve already got your list.

I actually started my list in May. I wanted to be sure I didn’t waste my retirement, so I started keeping close track of all projects I completed, deadlines I made, and business progress. It helps to read it over each time I add something newly completed to it. I can see on a regular basis exactly how I am doing.

Step 4 is sharing what you accomplished, on a blog, your website, a newsletter….or in the comments here. Let me celebrate with you. Working in isolation is tough, and since we have a cyber community, let’s take advantage of it!

I cannot get over just how quickly this year is flying by. It’s nearly the end of November.I enjoy doing these posts because all the great stuff I find is now in one place where I can easily get at it! Here’s this week:

Some hints for pattern writing – something I’m very interested in, as I finish us two new ones.

From The Best Article Every Day comes an interesting look at past and present: World War II photographs superimposed on the present. Quite intriguing.

Also from The Best Article comes their Thanksgiving offering on “humanity.” Wonderful pictures.

Now here’s a mom with a great idea for a gift….not that I believe in zombies. From The Best Article Every Day, which you must read to see the whole transformation process of basic sweets……

From Dumb Little Man – advice about protecting yourself while working from home – not quite what you think!

From Design Seeds, another great color combination – this one is so restful. And I would love a quilt out of this.

I love Morgan Freeman. The Shawshank redemption is my absolute favorite movie. Here he is in a new add for marriage equality – very eloquent.

From the 365 Project, yet another set of gorgeous pictures.

Balluminaria 2012 by Cathy Donohoue

Wonderful little piece of history from the civil rights movement from Letters of Note. Short, succinct, and in your face…..

And…finally, in honor of holiday food season, one of my favorite videos by Vi Hart, recreational mathematician. How CAN you optimize your potatoes and gravy?

Have a great week! Let me know what you find online that’s really cool.

So it is the end of Monday, and I am slowly getting things done in marketing. The last two weeks haven’t been incredibly productive – things have gotten done if they have had definite deadlines. Otherwise I have been plodding along, thinking about things to do, but that’s as far as it went. Which is why this article from Dumb Little Man hit home. Sometimes it just seems like there is a huge roadblock in your way – in this case, an icebereg.

“Icebergs can be deceiving, because what you see above water level is only the visible part of it. However, in some cases the iceberg could be a huge ice mountain, where the majority of its size is hidden underwater. Do you now see the connection between a iceberg and those certain types of tasks on your to do list? The task may look insignificant outside, but there is so much more to it than you think. It’s the hidden part that fools us into underestimating a task and promises an unrealistic optimistic timetable for finishing it.”

I think making my lists sometimes turns into an iceberg….I am still playing catch-up with to-do’s from four weeks ago.

To balance this article is another one from Dumb Little Man about balance.

4. Give yourself mini-breaks whenever you can.

8. Allow yourself the freedom to say “no.”

So I’m considering the last two weeks a mini-break….that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

Well, it’s been an interesting bunch of days. After thinking I was on a roll, with blog posts in the queue and lots happening, I an felled by lowered ilium and severely twisted muscles and sciatic nerve in the left leg. To the point that I have been flat on my back, unable to walk on my left leg, kinda loopy from the pain killers, and hobbling for another visit to the chiropractor tomorrow. The lump the size of a golf ball (according to hubby) has disappeared, and things are on the mend, I was able to get a lot of loose ends done today, but I am still in a fair amount of pain.

Bummer.

A lot of good things have been happening, and now I have a couple of major deadlines to meet in the next two weeks that should drive some good traffic to the blog, website, and hopefully result in some orders. I just have to be able to do the work.

Two major guest-posts for blogs, a new online gallery, a major website revision, more fabric to make, and some patterns to finish. Momentum is developing, which is exactly what I want, bvut I need to keep up with it. Nice problem to have, especially if nothing is keeping you from working.

So I did a brain dump of everything I could think of that needed to be done this week…and then some. Lots of little things got done today, and tomorrow I will prioritize the major pieces after our marbling session. Usually I get all the little things done, ’cause it looks so good having everything crossed off. But THIS TIME I have to prioritize for my deadlines.

Should be a great – and BUSY –  week!

It’s Monday, and I’m trying to get back in the swing after a few days off…and actually a couple of weeks off from anything more intense than just sewing. I have been finding myself thinking a lot about this year’s holiday season….and it was 110 degrees today, so I’m thinking I’m nuts…..but the holidays are coming, and I don’t want to squander the opportunity this year. This week’s Handmadeology post will be about getting ready for the holidays.

That said, there was some great information from the ArtBizBlog and Alyson Stanfield today.

The first is about writing book reviews for your blog. I really should look at doing that, as I just picked up a couple of great ones on machine quilting, and they are making a difference in my latest quilting. It’s a distinct possibility that I will make one day a week a book review, and not necessarily about art quilts. There’s a lot of science fiction in my future….

The other blog post by Alyson is on organizing. I just downloaded  Evernote to my iPad, as I needed something for word processing during tutoring. I don’t know much about the program, but if I can use it for some other organizing ideas, then I’m game to try it.

Alyson references Tim Ferriss of the Four Hour Workweek, which I read about two years ago and proceeded to get very depressed. I was still teaching at the time, so there really was no way to look at four hours. However, the one piece that really stuck with me was all his information on outsourcing. Very intriguing, especially as I am headed in to some serious research for a potential book. Interesting read if you are ready for a drastic change…..

There was a very interesting post on the Personal Excellence blog by Celestine Chua, called 10,000 Hours on Bejeweled. She also had an earlier post on the 10,000 hours, based on a book by Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers: The Story of Success. I found this really interesting. First, I misinterpreted the title and was thinking she had spent 10,000 hours on a video game. Turns out it is all about succeeding at what you are doing. From her article:

“… the “outliers” – i.e., the most successful people of the world, including sportsmen, business people, musicians and scientists, to understand key factors behind their success. He found the key denominator to all their success isn’t natural aptitude as many like to believe. Having a high IQ doesn’t guarantee success : There is supposedly no difference in people’s propensity to success beyond an IQ of 130. The key denominator is actually hard work. A lot of it, in fact. About 10,000 hours of it. That’s roughly 3 hours every day, for 10 consecutive years, before any one of them began to be defined as the ‘expert’ in their field.”

Wow. We tell people we’ve had our business up on line since 1997. We’ve pretty much been very small in all that time, but this year we are starting to see really good momentum. The reason? We are working at the business and the art every single day. When I was teaching, I was really limited to how much time I had for sewing, and how we could work a marbling session in on the weekends. We needed to put in the time in order to grow, and now we finally can.

It’s been almost a year since I retired (May 27). During that time I have:

* created and completed, including photography, a piece for a major art quilt show;

* created and completed two commissioned art quilts and three very large table runners;

* created fat quarters (a LOT of them) for a show in La Conner, Washington, including the trip there and back (this is something I never would have been able to do had I still been teaching full time);

* took apart three small quilts and requilted them to better showcase the use of marbled fabric in traditional quilting;

* had two art quilts accepted in to a new book on art quilting;

* took three classes from Quilt University (and completely finished two of the projects);

* took a marketing class on line;

* redesigned the blog and made cosmetic changes to the website;

* set up a site on Fine Art America;

* got the Etsy store to finally start making some money, especially with gift baskets;

* spent a month working through internet courses on Facebook, Twitter, Dreamweaver, LinkedIn and Bridge on lynda.com;

* have work to enter for three upcoming art quilt shows and three magazine deadlines for work;

* started the ebook by completing the first tutorial;

* marbled fabric at least twice a week (and sometimes more);

* completed four months of challenges on the Free Motion Quilting Challenge through Facebook;

* worked through some licensing materials to continue pursuing possibly licensing deals;

* revised our company portfolio, including new business cards;

* presented a demo to a quilt guild in the northwest part of the city;

* joined SAQA and attended my first meeting;

* created two out of four seasons for a new pattern line; and

* redesigned my studio, not once but twice, since we had an unexpected move happen in February.

The funny thing is, I feel like a lot of time has been wasted this year, and I don’t mean down-time to enjoy being retired. As I wrote yesterday, trying out this new Pomodoro technique really looks like it can up my productivity, and still leave me time to veg as needed. I anticipate a huge growth year ahead…if I put in 5 hours a day, 5 days a week…….that’s at least 1300 hours for this coming year, and I think I will be putting in more. I need to actually do the marketing on Mondays, since I post about it on that day. If I take one day for marketing, that leaves the rest of he week for actually making art…and that’s what is ultimately important.

I’m curious to hear from folks – how many hours are you putting in making art?

I’m completing my first week of using the Pomodoro Technique for organization. A former student posted this website on FB, since she was looking for a way to manage all her graduate studies and teaching. I checked it out……

Now I’ve been into reading organization information for many years (decades) now, especially since I am always looking for ways to help students with homework and assorted assignments. Most “techniques” I find are too gimmicky – you spend more time worrying about what the stages are and if you’ve done it correctly, rather than letting it help you actually do the work. Remember SQ3R? Most of us don’t (Study, question, read, (w)rite, review….I think). I realized it was a problem when one student said, so which R comes next? That’s not a good tool to use.

But people make money pushing these techniques, and Pomodoro has tools to use that you can purchase. You don’t need to, although I did get a simple kitchen timer from the dollar store. They’re right, I did like the ticking telling me I was working…..

Basic technique: you break up tasks into 25 minute blocks. It’s that simple. Now why 25? That seems to be a good working estimate of time to stay focused and get stuff accomplished. You get a short 5-6 minute break after this session. Sounds very reasonable, and I like the fact that this technique is taking brain research into account. Years ago at a professional development workshop, the presenter suggested setting “odd” numbers of amount of time to work on something. Rather than 15 or 30 minutes, which are so familiar we kind of blow them off, he suggested saying things like 13 minutes or 4 minutes. These are different, and our ears perk up at the mention of an unusual number, and consequently it seems to give the task more urgency.

I think that’s what happens with the Pomodoro block of 25 minutes. It’s different, and we know we get a break at the end of it. There is a way to organize yourself by setting your to-do list by the urgency of the task and the number of Pomodoros you think it will take to accomplish that task. On Monday this week I made my master list for the week, and it included some reminders for things for the next week, also. I starred what was critical, and then I started making the Monday list. Same for Tuesday through Friday. In fact, doing this blog post right now is its own Pomodoro (two Pomodoros for longer, more involved posts with pictures).

I got stuff done I didn’t think I would for the week. I can track where I spent my time, and as artists, this could be very valuable in determining how much time it actually took to complete a piece. Save your sheets and revel in just how much you got accomplished. Now I didn’t get obsessive with the short breaks and the longer breaks, but I have a much better feel for how I mcan maximize my time, especially my sewing time. It seems like the tasks or to-do list just just slip away from me. I have a very definite sense of accomplishment for the day, and ultimately for the week. It might be worth a perusal to see if you like it.

If you try it, let me know. I’m always curious as to organization systems that people use. Drop me a note!

This is one of those Mondays where you find yourself doing everything on the business but creating. I am slowly making progress in that area, including a new system for scheduling the actual creativity (to a point…) and getting hubby to pick up more of the business loose ends. Making progress…..

From Kate Harper’s blog comes 38 Amazing Apps for Designers: worth taking a look, as there might be something you can definitely use. Web Elements by Visual Lightbox looks intriguing – and might save me some time.

Also from Kate: Free Photoshop Brushes for Designers. Both links take you to the original pages, but it’s great to see all the goodies Kate posts. I’m thinking the Free Floral Brushes from Graphic Design Junction (now I have to figure out how to download…..advice??)

Bamboo Textures in Photoshop – these also look cool….

And….How to be Funny  – excellent article on finding humor anywhere, especially if you are looking to write greeting cards.

Pinterest seems to be the rage, and I have been slowly checking out articles, as I am concerned about copyright. So from SewCAlGal comes Thoughts on Pinterest…..

And…a new spot on line to check out: Tophatter, which is daily online auctions. I “sat in” on one, and it looks like something I want to try…but it’s kind of at the bottom of my list ot to-do’s right now, as there are a couple of commissions that need finishing. Handemadeology put up this buyers’ guide.

The latest I have found was off a link from a graduate student friend who found Pomodoro, which is a new organizing system (new to me, at least). I’m trying it this afternoon, and I’m pleased to report I am getting a lot down for these few hours. I downloaded a timer as an app for my iPad, and I’m liking how the whole system is helping. I downloaded their free e-book this morning (and multi-tasked by reading it and eating some fruit). You could get really in to it, but I like the overall approach, which is not very gimmick-y. If you do use it, let me know what you think.

…and that’s the pomodoro……

You may remember that last Sunday I did what I call a “brain dump.” I had so many things floating around in my head that I needed to keep track of, and it was making me nuts. So I listed them all. Here’s last week:

email tutoring parent, email LN, change bed, reinstall Contribute, PD for AI, finish TAFA profile, take care of GoDaddy renewals, email long-lost teacher friend, write the review for C&T, look at Linqto, look at TalkFusion, finish blog post on vendors, finish blog post on quilts, blog post on MAS, email AI prof about video, Quilt Show renewal processed, install quilt album software, do paperwork for “quilt album ambassador,” finish January FMQ project and get it online, photograph new Etsy basket, plan for gift baskets for NW trip, complete Google + stuff, look at Facebook Timeline, score homework from class, mark quizzes from class, finish lesson for Monday, type new lab worksheet, get new business cards ordered, look at Redbubble, book proposal on academic coaching, check on bank loan, meet on company taxes, first newsletter, input names for newsletter, website revisions list, change copyright on website, update and reinstall Contribute, prepare for major copyright submissions, continue working on Visions piece, finish Visions piece, photograph Visions piece, marble this week, plans for deadlines in April since I will be gone.

And here’s my progress:

email tutoring parent, email LN, change bed, reinstall Contribute, PD for AI, finish TAFA profile, take care of GoDaddy renewals, email long-lost teacher friend, write the review for C&T, look at Linqto, look at TalkFusion, finish blog post on vendors, finish blog post on quilts, blog post on MAS, email AI prof about video, Quilt Show renewal processed, install quilt album software, do paperwork for “quilt album ambassador,” finish January FMQ project and get it online, photograph new Etsy basket, plan for gift baskets for NW trip, complete Google + stuff, look at Facebook Timeline, score homework from class, mark quizzes from class, finish lesson for Monday, type new lab worksheet, get new business cards ordered, look at Redbubble, book proposal on academic coaching, check on bank loan, meet on company taxes, first newsletter, input names for newsletter, website revisions list, change copyright on website, update and reinstall Contribute, prepare for major copyright submissions, continue working on Visions piece, finish Visions piece, photograph Visions piece, marble this week, plans for deadlines in April since I will be gone.

Progress, but I realized along about Wednesday that I was focusing on little things that could wait and ignoring the great big deadline for Visions. So Thursday finished the machine quilting, Friday blocked the piece, Saturday did the bindings and started with the embellishments. Now I have one small area to finish and arrange for photography this week – the BIG task that has to get done.

There are a lot of other things to do, but I am teaching this afternoon, midterms need to be scored and reported by Friday, we are marbling tomorrow, and I have one major tutoring session this week, and our arts meeting tomorrow night (where I hope to firm up the photograph….). But I don’t feel the need to do another brain dump, probably not until the end of the month when Seattle starts looming a lot closer.

There is a major marketing piece that also needs to be done this week. Last week I sold 25% of the items from my Etsy store, so I seriously need to restock with new fabrics. It’s a good problem to have!

Okay, I have 15 minutes before I have a solid three hours of uninterrupted time before I leave to go tutoring. There are so many things to do right now, and I feel like I am desperately running short of time to complete a major project. So I need to process this in writing – which I have found over the last few years (since I’ve been keeping the blog) that this really helps.

Deadline is February 13 for a major art quilt. Last night I actually said, “Well, maybe I won’t finish it for this show.” Bah! BIG BAH!! I can’t do that, because it has kept me in the past from a lot of opportunities. I need to quilt during the day, as the light is so much better. And I really don’t have that much more quilting to do….break to email my second mom about bringing the shredded money with her tonight to dinner so I can begin to do the lichens….

So where was I? I also need to get a newsletter done ASAP. I missed ALL of last year, and it is a major goal for this year, especially since we have had a lot of new followers. But reality is I can do that at night on the computer when all is quiet.

We have a big Etsy order to go out, and I finished up what I need to do there. I can see I’m getting bogged down with my “brain dump” from Sunday, doing lots of little things, when I’m avoiding the really big, DO ME NOW, piece.

So, I’ve done my yoga, dinner is ready for tonight, tutoring is set to go for this afternoon, it’s 11:oo, and I am going to go sew…..my goal is to finish the actual quilting this afternoon and perhaps start the blocking.

How do you handle times when you get bogged down? I could use some great insights and ideas……

Later, y’all.

Wow, it has been a crazy week since getting back from California. There was so much floating around in my head by Monday that I needed to do what I have come to call a “brain dump.” Get it all out on paper so I don’t have to keep worrying about remembering everything. then I can add to the list as new things come up, and cross things off as they a=get done (snort….).

So here’s the “dump” from Tuesday: email tutoring parent, email LN, change bed, reinstall Contribute, PD for AI, finish TAFA profile, take care of GoDaddy renewals, email long-lost teacher friend, write the review for C&T, look at Linqto, look at TalkFusion, finish blog post on vendors, finish blog post on quilts, blog post on MAS, email AI prof about video, Quilt Show renewal processed, install quilt album software, do paperwork for “quilt album ambassador,” finish January FMQ project and get it online, photograph new Etsy basket, plan for gift baskets for NW trip, complete Google + stuff, look at Facebook Timeline, score homework from class, mark quizzes from class, finish lesson for Monday, type new lab worksheet, get new business cards ordered, look at Redbubble, book proposal on academic coaching, check on bank loan, meet on company taxes, first newsletter, input names for newsletter, website revisions list, change copyright on website, update and reinstall Contribute, prepare for major copyright submissions, continue working on Visions piece, finish Visions piece, photograph Visions piece, marble this week, plans for deadlines in April since I will be gone.

And here’s what’s been accomplished…..

email tutoring parent, email LN, change bed, reinstall Contribute, PD for AI, finish TAFA profile, take care of GoDaddy renewals, email long-lost teacher friend, write the review for C&T, look at Linqto, look at TalkFusion, finish blog post on vendors, finish blog post on quilts, blog post on MAS, email AI prof about video, Quilt Show renewal processed, install quilt album software, do paperwork for “quilt album ambassador,” finish January FMQ project and get it online, photograph new Etsy basket, plan for gift baskets for NW trip, complete Google + stuff, look at Facebook Timeline, score homework from class, mark quizzes from class, finish lesson for Monday, type new lab worksheet, get new business cards ordered, look at Redbubble, book proposal on academic coaching, check on bank loan, meet on company taxes, first newsletter, input names for newsletter, website revisions list, change copyright on website, update and reinstall Contribute, prepare for major copyright submissions, continue working on Visions piece, finish Visions piece, photograph Visions piece, marble this week, plans for deadlines in April since I will be gone.

It doesn’t seem like much got accomplished, based on this list, but a lot of these are long-term, and now are reminders for me. Let’s see where I am next week this time.

So do you do anything similar to a “brain dump?” Inquiring minds…..

It’s Sunday, and I am taking a break from machine quilting this particular commission…..which is coming to an end….on about one-third of it. I have the three long table runners almost set for the binding….and I’m thinking I’m not hand-stitching these down – they’re going to get a “stitch in the ditch” approach to attach the binding. I still will have four smaller table runners – another sixteen sating stitch appliques, which I am finally getting to look pretty good – only took me 22 so far to get to this point!

More than an hour wrestling the long pieces around the machine makes my shoulders ache, so it is definitely break time for now – plus we are going to see the Japanese drummers tonight at Centennial Hall, and I have to finish a quiz for my class tomorrow.

Which brings me to my list….I had trouble sleeping on Thursday night – too many things running through my mind. When that happens, I know it’s time to make a list and clear the clutter from my head. Now I already have lists – marketing, goals, sewing projects. But this one is different…..

…hair appointment; eCompanion for lesson plans; call on email for a new student; call a gallery for a follow-up; drummers concert; blogs for Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday (before we leave for a few days up north with friends); schedule blogs for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday (while away); lesson plans for Monday’s class; clean out email; list for packing and trip; finish first table runner so stitch down binding; thread order called in; one of the banks for their screw-up; take care of questions on the new lease for next year; pay COBRA insurance; clean the bathroom; review goals to see how on track I am; newsletter addresses; Art From the Heart updates; schedule holiday gift baskets on Etsy; call cousin; work on affiliate ad for blog; revise artist statement; clean the patio; drop some FQs off at the LQS in preparation for a guild presentation; confirm shipping address for an order; order some black zentangles for a birthday present; hem hubby’s pants; cut fabric strips for at least three new fabric bowls to take with me on our trip; and create a quiz for Monday’s class.

This is everything that was swimming around in my head, and now it’s down on paper and i don’t have to worry about remembering any of it. It’s on paper…and I am keeping track of the paper – I have been known to lose a master list. How far am I? (I get to use the “strike-out feature for the first time….).

…hair appointment; eCompanion for lesson plans; call on email for a new student; call a gallery for a follow-up; drummers concert; blogs for Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday (before we leave for a few days up north with friends); schedule blogs for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday (while away); lesson plans for Monday’s class; clean out email; list for packing and trip; finish first table runner so I can stitch down binding; thread order called in; one of the banks for their screw-up; take care of questions on the new lease for next year; pay COBRA insurance; clean the bathroom; review goals to see how on track I am; newsletter addresses; Art From the Heart updates; schedule holiday gift baskets on Etsy; call cousin; work on affiliate ad for blog; revise artist statement; clean the patio; drop some FQs off at the LQS in preparation for a guild presentation; confirm shipping address for an order; order some black zentangles for a birthday present; hem hubby’s pants; cut fabric strips for at least three new fabric bowls to take with me on our trip; and create a quiz for Monday’s class.

There are a couple more things that will get crossed off by the end of today. Usually once a month I need to do what I call this “master list” so I can clear my head. My day-to-day lists usually only have about 5 critical things on them. But I will say I have slept better these last two nights.