I think everyone has trouble getting things organised. Whether you are back to school or starting a new job I think everyone can benefit from a few things that I’ve learned along the way.
I run a small design practice, and I won’t be taking on any new clients for a time. I’m more dedicated to my current clients now, and I’ve found a really fun ‘day job’ that gives me a nice discount on imported Italian coffee :)
I’ve always been a practitioner of the ‘smaller’ life, that makes me feel happier long term. I feel good getting back into a regular routine, meeting new people and enjoying my downtime now that I don’t feel compelled to chase that next job down. It is exhausting and I feel like it’s more trouble than it’s worth. Some of my latest clients that came in fresh with no previous contract last month were great, others not so much. So I’ve decided to stop taking new clients unless they come in with a reference from a previous client and 100% down.
Considering the small and happy life, it has really brought me a lot of relief. I was concerned with a thing that was outside of my control for a long time, and running my own business full-time the past 7 years has been an amazing experience. I do miss having a place to go every day, and although I do speak with clients on Skype or otherwise, it’s not the same as that one-on-one time you get in person.
Whether in your personal day-to-day life or your professional office life, you need some place to assemble your time. You can use an app or pen and paper works too. I learned this while I was a super important pretentious douche at an ad agency many years ago, which seems so far away from me now it’s pretty funny to me how I was so concerned with how other people thought of me.
Make a list. Figure it out in stages. I find myself at the beginning of the week, or at the end of a Friday, sitting down with my preferred beverage, (Sunday would be espresso, Friday night would be vodka) and writing out the thing that needs to happen. What needs to get done tomorrow, what needs to happen the next day, what needs to get done by the end of the week, and key things that need to get my attention before the month has ended.
Examples:
Things that need to happen today:
Take it easy! It's Sunday after all :) Walk 4 miles, buy some fruit for breakfast smoothies for the week, check out the closet and pull out some sweaters for fall
Things that need to happen tomorrow:
Run 5:30a- no later than 6:30a, Catch 8:30 bus to work, Go to ATM at lunch, Out to Dinner with friends after 5 pm, Last bus is 7:55 ish so be at transit centre at 7:45p
Things that need to happen the day after tomorrow:
(No run, rest!) Buy more espresso, check work schedule, touch base with client about new project this fall
Things that need to happen this week:
Check is client deposit cleared, pay phone, call plumber to set up an appointment to check pipes before winter
Things that need to happen this month:
Pay off credit card balance
This is just an example, but I do have a short list of things that I need to do every day or every week in order to feel like I have my life together. For instance, I’ve been committed to running again, I’m up to four miles now and I feel like running every day is too hard on my joints. So I’m planning on running 3-5 times a week with some yoga routines after or later in the evening before bed to relieve some muscle aches. So, Yoga basically every day for between 10-30 minutes and in the morning I like to follow along to a guided meditation on YouTube for at least ten minutes.
Doing things for yourself is not selfish, it’s a preservative measure to sort of adjust your attitude for the day and make sure you are your best self for those around you. Not everyone is on board with this idea and that’s okay. You just have to find what’s working for you and allow other people’s things to roll off your back.
I know it can seem at the time that you may not care about others if you are like me, I really have no problems anymore. I feel like I have no real reasons to be angry at anyone anymore, and if someone has a problem it’s their problem. I find it interesting that some people will have the same exact day as me and feel ‘overwhelmed’ or even the smallest comment can be seen as a slight toward them. Not everyone is going to care about your feelings, so it’s best to find some calm in the beginning of the day so you can be objective and neutral for the duration.
