Hey friends,
It's been a while and I hope you're doing well!
I've taken a bit of a hiatus from social media over the past few months as things have gotten busy and I try and work out changes that are happening in my life - but I'm pleased to say that I am (hopefully) back!
I recently came to the realisation that I needed to find ways to minimise certain workflows/processes to maximise my time and energy. I often feel frustrated at the end of the day when I do much less work than anticipated, so I've made it my quest to learn how to be more efficient, not just regarding my art practice but life overall!
Here are a some things I'm trying to implement at the moment:
- Re-organising physical spaces - I re-arranged my studio to make it easier for me to pack orders and print stickers by moving things closer together. I also bought some organisation supplies to make sure everything stays neat, tidy and easy to reach! 📦
- Spending money to save time - Sometimes there are items/programs which make your workflows quicker and more enjoyable - for me it was buying a vlogging camera (with a flip-out screen so I don't have to keep alternating between phone/DSLR/lenses), tape dispensers for my packing station, and even buying my iPad a few years ago made digital drawing so much easier for me! 💸
- Assigning tasks wisely - I'm using my "free" time to multi-task and do things that require little brain power while relaxing. e.g. cutting out stickers while watching TV. Also making sure that when I'm at home I prioritise doing things that can only be done at home. e.g. I can edit product photos wherever I am, but I can only take product photos at home. ✅
- Re-evaluating priorities - It's important to figure out what matters most to you, and then make sure your day reflects that. I noticed I was spending too much time every day doing chores, so I made the decision to lessen that time. While a sparkling clean home makes me happy, my art/health matters more to me. The apartment is messier now, but it doesn't bother me anymore because I spend that time on my art practice or exercising instead of doing chores! 🌼
- Choosing a focus - I've tried keeping multiple social media accounts and shops active at the same time, and it's caused me to burn out very easily. I realise I need to reduce my focus to only one or two things at a time. While I enjoy both, I've made the decision to post less on Instagram and focus on documenting my journey on YouTube instead. 💯
- Compromising - I love making YouTube videos but they take too long to regularly record, edit and publish (on top of having a full-time job, studying, and trying to sell my art). I've decided to reduce my content to a simpler format (which I hope you still enjoy) and see if this change will let me post videos more often! This is a quantity over quality situation, but I think it's important to be consistent if I want to grow. 🌱
If you're interested, I just released a video documenting this part of my journey (which you can find below), but there were a lot of things that were unsaid - so I decided to write more of my thoughts here. 💌
I hope this inspires you,
✨ abracadeborah ✨