Business
List Makers Anonymous
I’m an unofficial member of List Makers Anonymous. I’ve always been a list maker and note taker. You want me to outline a term paper? Yes, please!
So, it’s no wonder in those early days of sleepless parenting, when I wondered if I was going to survive with my brain intact, that I got really, scarily good at list making.
I had a “going to spend the day at my sister’s” list, an “out to the park” list, a “what’s for supper this week” list. My brothers-in-law made fun of me for the extensive camping list I’d made. But they weren’t the ones responsible for making sure all the essentials for two babies made it to the campground.
But it had nothing to do with trying to be a super mom. I was certain I’d lost the capacity for abstract thought and that if I didn’t document my thoughts, at the moment I had them, they’d be gone forever.
Poof.
My list making skills gave me back an ounce or two of sanity when I needed it the most. If you know what I mean just nod your head.
Tracking Constantly Moving Parts
Being able to keep track of so many moving parts is one reason I’m able to juggle so many projects at a time for my clients without missing deadlines or dropping the ball.
I have a wonderful OmniOutliner file called “Christie’sBigA**ToDoList” where I keep a running list of home, marketing and client projects. (Now that I’ve typed that file name, I realize it’s not so great, but it is what it is.) For those of you familiar with David Allen’s Getting Things Done, my organization is based loosely on those principles.
While I’m not so much afraid of loosing my thoughts anymore, I needed a place to dump all my thoughts so they don’t keep circling around in my head all day long.
Keeping Track of Client Work
For my client work I have created sections for each client. But, most of my list making happens in the Work section. Here I have three categories: Current, Waiting, Done. As you can see above.
Current = client & marketing projects that I’m working on this week
Waiting = client projects that are on hold, pending feedback
Done = hallelujah, projects that are done
These three lists help me cycle through my project quickly and keep things moving. When I’ve sent an initial design off to one of my clients for review, that project moves down to waiting. When I hear back it goes back into the Current queue.
I also use OmniOutliner to create checklists for different types of projects. For instance, I created a checklist for the quarterly magazine I design. The checklist helps me keep track of specific request from my client (like their preference to use percentage symbols) that I want to remember each time I design the magazine.
Do What Works
OmniOutliner works for me now because I do most of my work at home in my office. I don’t travel much and until a few days ago didn’t even have a smart phone. I also use BusyCal, which syncs with my Google Calendar to schedule my work (but that’s a post for another day).
I’m comfortable doing what works until it doesn’t work anymore. So, we’ll see what changes come (and what apps get purchased) as I integrate the iPhone into my list making life.
What about you? Are you a list maker or do you keep it all in your head? If you’re a list maker what iPhone apps do you love?
Little Bits of Focus
I have a confession.
I’ve been telling myself that I don’t have time to write a blog post, or take a walk, or sweep the kitchen floor because I’m just too busy.
Busy isn’t the problem. The problem is focus. Somedays it’s a lot easier to switch over to check Twitter, or see what’s up with my cousin on Facebook, or check my email, than to focus.
Here’s the thing, I know when I focus, even for a few minutes, I can get a whole lot of work done. What I can accomplish when I’m completely focused on the task at hand is amazing.
So I started challenging myself to focus using an online timer called e.ggtimer.com.
I simply put in the number of minutes I want to focus on whatever project I’m working on, press GO! and I’m off.
Just doing this switches my mind into work mode. It brings out something so deeply engrained in me from my days as a magazine art director. I’m racing the clock to meet a deadline. Must. Meet. The. Deadline.
The timer goes off, time has flown by and I have accomplished so much just by giving myself a little bit of time to focus.
What works for you when you need to focus?
Pep Talk
When I woke up this morning my first thought was, “I need a pep talk.” Then, “I need a personal cheerleader.” And finally, “I need a whole cheerleading squad.”
I imagined a whole varsity squad with puffy hairsprayed bangs and ponytails, dressed in black and gold (Go Tigers!) filling my office with personalized cheers:
“Go, Christie! Go, Go, Go, Christie!”
and….
“Design! Design! Christie, You Design So Fine! Go, Christie! Yeah! Go, Christie!”
Ready? O.K.
Then I remembered I do have a personal cheerleading squad.
While they don’t show up in my office to shake their pompoms and fire me up every morning, they are the reason why this year’s roller coaster mix of ups and downs, with a few extra whips and turns and highs and lows thrown in for good measure, doesn’t feel as threatening to me as it has in the past.
Last year I was feeling completely alone in my business. I wasn’t reaching out to meet new people. I was afraid to tweet. I had no confidence in my ability to make the money my family needed to support itself.
Heck, I didn’t even have a professional website (even though I’d designed and written professional sites for other people). I wasn’t sure I even wanted to be a designer anymore.
Rich, Happy and Hot
I was looking around trying to find some way to get myself out of my shell and interacting with the world and I found Rich, Happy and Hot B-school, an online business coaching class, with Marie Forleo and Laura Roeder. I just had a hunch that that program could be a catalyst for moving toward a better version of me.
So, I pulled out my credit card and plopped down money I didn’t have and made a promise to myself that I would put my all into the class.
For two months, I interacted with other people in the class, I tweeted and I participated in conference calls. People from the class responded, encouraged me and tweeted back. All the interaction made me realize how much I love helping women create their businesses and how important it is for me to be surrounded by positive people.
Since then, I’ve been actively building a better support system for myself, a cheerleading squad of my own, by reaching out to others instead of sitting here feeling sorry for myself.
Christie’s Cheer Squad
My squad is a mix of new and old. I have a husband who always listens to me talk business and answers all my very stupid tech questions. Two girls who know the names of my favorite clients and are now old enough to understand why they need to be quieter when Mom’s on the phone. I have wonderful new clients who see me better than I see myself and encourage me to grow my business.
I have online friends I’ve made by simply reaching out to say “hi!” Friends like Jenn, Liz and Lisa who are making their own marks on the world. I have a wonderful coach (@sallyhopesays) who gave me tools to deal with that negative voice in my head and encouraged me to set big, big business goals and to go for them.
I know that I can keep building my support system and finding cheerleaders. So, what about you? Who do you talk to when you need a pep talk? Who tells you you’re on the right (or wrong) track? Who encourages you to pick yourself up and keep trying?
Build Your Cheer Squad
If you don’t have support, get out there and build your support system. It won’t build itself.
How to do it:
- take a class
- comment on a your favorite blog
- start a conversation and tell someone what you do
- tweet at someone you admire
- hire a coach
Don’t let fear stop you. There are people out there who will get you and support you and cheer you on.
Having trouble? Send me a tweet. I’ll tweet back and who knows I might just be the cheerleader you’ve been looking for.