keep on track!

Okay, so lately I've been thinking a lot about procrastination and keeping productive. Actually, I think about this all the time. Mostly I'm scolding myself for not staying on track or not getting as much done as I wanted to. There have even been nights where I am lying awake in bed, freaking out about how much work I have and actually getting up out of bed and going down to work for a couple hours. To keep this from constantly happening, I need to be more aware of my work flow and stay on top of my tasks. Otherwise I'll never get anywhere in life if I keep up this horrible procrastination tendency I have (not to mention no sleep). (I blame the whole procrastination thing on the artist in me...even though I know I shouldn't really blame it on anything.)

Recently I've come across some helpful tips from others who have successful small businesses. Starting your own business has never been bigger than now. You can find so much information on the web. For me being a one-woman business, it can be hard to stay encouraged and continue working even when I don't feel like it. When this happens, what really helps me get through these times is reading "success stories" from others out there, especially women. Or even just reading tips on how to be a better business woman. I never thought I'd actually be interested in the business aspect (creating things is WAY more fun than thinking about running a successful business) but it's a huge part of staying afloat. My mind is constantly in a whirl trying to think about all the different things I need to keep up with. It's not just keeping up with production (though this is vital and one I slip up on much too often), it's also keeping good records and paying quarterly estimates on time. Ahhh...so much to think about! Now to get to the point of all this... I wanted to put together a list of some places on the web where I have been encouraged. This way I can go back here and be encouraged when there's no one around to tell me to keep at it.

Some linkage...

• How Do You Balance It All?::Design For Mankind
• Self-Discipline::Design For Mankind
• Getting Beyond the Busy Work::The Boss of You
• Biz Ladies::Design*Sponge
• We Are Small::moop {via Make It}
• Quit Your Day Job::Etsy
• 5 for 1::Shanna Murray {via Hei Astrid}
  

This list will probably grow as I find more links. If you know of any good ones, feel free to share them!

knitting, cold weather, budgets, books, kitties

{random kitty picture. who doesn't like random kitty pictures? she's a little feisty, but i don't mind.}

Lately I've been thinking a lot about budgets. I know, it's not exactly a fun topic, but I came to the realization that I really need to put one together for myself. My brother is a whiz at this sort of thing and he's always asking me about my business, so I thought I would see if he could help. I emailed him (as he's living in Russia at the moment) and he sent me a list of questions to fill out. That's one of the things I think I'll be doing this afternoon. It's the kind of task I SO dread. Money makes me ill, but it's also something I need. I've been reading The Boss of You, which is a fantastic book for anyone who is thinking of starting (or who already have started) their own business. I'm telling you, this book would have come in handy when I first started my business. As I'm reading the book I keep nodding my head "yes, yes, YES!" So much stuff in that book I can relate to. From hating money (but realizing one needs it and money isn't always a bad thing) to the whole reason for starting your own business. I never ever started a business so that I could make it "big." That has never, nor will it ever, be my intention. It was very simple. I loved sewing and I loved historical clothing a TON. I couldn't find anything else that I could see myself doing in the future, so I took it upon myself to begin a business that fit my needs and my skills. As with anything (be it college, experiences in life etc.) you gradually find what you are best at and what you enjoy the most. I think I'm still figuring this out, actually. But after all this time, I still enjoy historical sewing immensely. And the more I do it, the better I get and the more confidence I have in myself. (Confidence in oneself is always a plus.) ;-)

I think now I look at what I have done, nearing on my 5th year in business; asking myself where I want to go from here and what exactly is it that I want from my business. One thing they encourage you to do in the book is to jot down the reasons you have your own business and what exactly will make you feel that your business is a success. It could be as simple as paying rent and taking a month vacation a year or whatever. But they strongly encourage you to write it all down. I've never actually done this before, because it's easy to think you've got it stored up there in your brain, so there's no need to put it on paper. The problem is you tend to forget about these goals when times are stressful and little bit by little bit, you end up changing your goals without realizing it. So having a hard copy on a piece of paper to look over every now and then is a smart idea.

I'm not even halfway through the book yet, as I'm just taking a little bit at a time, trying to drink it all in slowly. But so far it's been very encouraging and I think it's exactly what I needed, to get "back on track" as far as the vision of my business goes. So go pick it up if you think it's something you might find helpful!

Okay, enough talk about that! Let's get onto something maybe a little bit more fun. Like...knitting! I finally took out my knitting from last year and began knitting one of the sleeves that was almost completed. I knitted two rows before I realized I made a mistake at the beginning. I ended up ripping that out and haven't started it up again. But it's one of those projects where I had to take the time to figure out where exactly I left off and how I was doing it. So now I feel like I've got a pretty tight grasp on all the directions once again. SO next time let's hope I don't make the same mistake. I've got the rest of this sleeve to do and then just one more sleeve. After that comes the blocking and assembling. I can't wait for this sweater to be done!

And because whenever I have one project to finish, I always begin another, I have been looking at a lot of different projects to start on. Here's my list so far! I'm not sure which one I want to start with, except I'm really fond of Jenny's slouch hat, so will probably begin with that. :)

• Le Slouch (pdf)
• Fingerless Mitts (pdf)
  
• 1930's Jiffy Sweater (scroll down)
• Mittens (pdf)
  
• Duchess Raglan (pdf)
  
• Leg Warmers
  

Doesn't it just make you feel so cozy? Since the weather is changing and it's starting to get a bit chilly, I feel like knitting everything at once. I'm not the greatest knitter ever, but I'd like to get better at it. Though with every hard project where I have to think a lot, it's nice to have an easy project to work on during movies or while meeting with friends over coffee. Now I need to run to the store and pick up some needles that I thought I already had. grrr. Another project: organize my knitting needles.