I’ve decided that August is a weird month. Even though it harbors my birthday, August has that desperate feel to it. Stuck between “Hurry up, let’s get this month over with” and “May summer never end,” I feel like I’ve been rushing around, pushing this month away, while embracing it at the same time. The fact that summer is almost over, school supplies must be purchased and you start to see Halloween candy & decorations all contribute to the cuckoo factor.
I did okay with my summer goals. I wish I had drawn more and finished those flippin’ classes, but I shall conquer them soon. I did some work on my big wholesale goal and plan for more progress this month. Getting my studio together was a long shot for August and so was organizing my home (I live with three males – you do the math on how big a job that will be.) But I’ve made some headway and plans are in motion. I feel good about where it’s going and that’s an accomplishment in itself.
September is packed! There are carry-over goals from the summer, but some hefty, lofty, shifty goals that I hope I can manage.
My holiday designs should have been done by now and when I go wholesale, I’ll be on a more stringent and earlier schedule. But since these designs will just be for my own retail site, I can be a slacker and finish them this month.
Both my boys are in grammar school this year. My 5-year-old is half-day PM Kindergarten, so I need to create a new schedule for myself. My husband’s schedule also changes at this time of year, so I’m going to have Office Hours. My door will be shut and I will not be disturbed. I will also be taking one day off a week (Sunday is the day) with no contact to my business, unless I have a pending order. These office hours will give my family some much needed expectations of when I will be unavailable for my other full-time job.
I applied for a holiday show, but it’s juried, and I’m not sure if I’ll get in. If I do, I’ll need to set aside some time to create inventory for it. It’s a pretty big show… I’ll keep y’all posted. I’m working on my first non-stationery home product and I’m hoping to have a prototype completed this month. Home goods is a direction I want my business to go (it’s on my biz plan) and I think this product is a good start. I’m sorry I have to be secretive (it drives me bonkers when other people do it), but that jinx factor feels pretty powerful.
I’m going to blog Monday through Friday for all of September. That’s ten posts per week! Yup, crazy talk. Read more about my plans here for this blog and here for the dog blog. And if I want people to read my posts, I need to get better at reading theirs, so I’m going to figure out how to read other blogs in a more timely fashion.
Good luck with your goals this month. I’ll be stopping by to check them out. If you don’t participate in The Meetup and would like to join, visit Liz’s blog, Athena Dreams here.
Good luck with your plans and goals. Mine are all stuck in my head. I’m not sure if writing them down would be a good thing or not. :-0 At the least, I know it would add organization to the chaos that exists in my brain.
Can’t wait to see your new projects and read all those blog posts 🙂 Good luck in September!
Hi Cyn…I am so excited for your goals and can’t wait to hear more about your secret venture…..As far as blog reading. I have bookmarked my favorites and only check them out once a day for about 15 minutes otherwise it becomes overwhelming and I get nothing else done. I will add you to my favs. as well as I am rooting you on for the 10 a week. Have a great month……Sarah
Loving #1! DRAW!
Good luck on your goals. Enjoy Autumn!
Hey Cyn,
Yay September…it feels great to have summer over doesn’t it. Back to work I say. Well you seem to be getting a lot done anyway. I look forward to all the changes this month, good luck will all the blog posting…don’t forget to draw!
Oh man, so much of this hits home with me! I, too, talked about “office hours” this month. Something that has always been a foreign concept, but I am starting to believe is vital to our success. I think having a half day kindergartner drove home the necessity of it.
As for the Cuckoo Factor… LOLOLOL! You are one of the most effective “methods” I have for reducing my Cuckoo Factor! Thanks for always being a great sounding board.
I totally agree with your description of August! You’ve set yourself some hefty goals for this month…but I bet with some great use of that new free time you’re gaining with kindergarten, you’ll knock it out of the park.
I’m sure your iPad is helping out with that blog reading…and ooh, secret product, can’t WAIT TO SEEEEEEEEE! 😉
Office hours sound wonderful! I need more structure to my days, so maybe I’ll consider something like this. You’ve got a pretty ambitious September, but I’m sure you’ll do great! Thanks so much for your kind words on my blog. They really touched me.
Can’t wait to see this Secret Product! I bet it’s going to be lovely!
Wow Cyn, awesome month you’ve set up for yourself, and you seem to be on the same track as Angie with the office hours, nice! OK, well, good luck with your super secret project 🙂 and everything else on your list, most especially the yoga everyday… I will be imagining you doing it everyday on the days I don’t feel like getting up and getting going, and it will be a great impetus!
Great goals Cyn! I love how you elaborate on your month with each goal post and really explain your through process, I need to do better about thinking each goal through. August is my birthday month too, Happy Birthday! Congrats on all the you accomplished and have a great month.
Wow! Two blogs a day! That’s ambitious. Good luck with it.
I love the cute designs for your Goal lists 🙂 Thankful that Liz’s meet-up introduced me to your work.
xoxo
I love goal no. 3! I’m a time management freak! Thank you for your nice words and good luck!