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Trying to do this thing I call a dream job and being still everything else I was before, wife, kitty owner, chauffeur, house keeper, fight breaker upper… all the hats a mom wears and now all the hats a business owner wears, I’ve learned a few things this year that I want (need) to keep in mind for 2012. A year I hope will bring great things! These might not all be nuggets of wisdom but all true for me 
No one can make YOU confident but YOURSELF. That is certainly a daily struggle I have. Going forward into unknown territory and having the confidence to know that it will work out and it all takes time. No one is going to sit with me and cheer me on with pompoms and tell me I’m awesome, I have to believe it on my own.
Its all gotta get done… but it all doesn’t have to be done today. When my to-do list is longer than the book I read at night its hard to even want to look at it let alone do what needs to be done. Maybe you’re like me and if your To Do list isn’t all checked off ToDay its hard to feel like you’re getting anything done. To Do and Today should not look so much alike btw, its totally not helpful. Learning to prioritize is a must!
Asking for help is ok and sometimes a must. I’m stubborn. SO stubborn in fact that I can annoy myself by being stubborn but alas I’m too stubborn to admit that… don’t let my hubs read this! I could say “I am strong willed” but that’s just giving stubborn an expensive make over at the mall. I hate asking for help, it makes me feel like I’ve somehow failed at the task or just in general. Even if I know I’m not suited to it and would do a poor job if I bulled thru. Luckily I’m getting better. Hubs does certain things for me that would make me want to muffle my screams in a thick pillow (the accounting is a prime example) and I’m happy to let him as I still get the knowledge needed minus the agony of doing the deed. But that took a long time to relinquish. Stubborn can have a death grip sometimes and I have to know when to loosen it.
When packing orders, don’t put the invoice IN the sealed inner envelope before you label it. This one is silly to say out loud but OMG so true! We had this pile of orders we were stuffing at once and the pile became less of a pile and more like an avalanche. It took me 3 times as long to sort everything back out and 1 still got messed up. That one event changed how I do one whole part of my business!
Its the little things that make the job wonderful. Yes, getting a 2 page spread in Papercrafts with nothing but Odd Girls on the pages would be nothing but amazing but the issue would come and go and it would be done. Though probably framed in my office. Talking to people, the sweet notes left in the customer comments of orders, interacting with my team and allll the new people I get to meet, talk with and friendships that grow from it are the best part hands down! But a spread wouldn’t hurt 
No one is going to push you but yourself. If I’m not motivated I don’t have anyone to look to with puppy dog eyes and say “motivate me!” I could look at my cat but she would just give me that cat look that tells you where to go in no uncertain terms with language too harsh for a sweet kitty to be using. Making goals, posting reminders, making my dreaded to do (today) list, bouncing ideas around (even if its just in my head), working on new sketches… all of these things keep me excited to do it every day. Even just knowing what the future could bring if I work hard enough gets me out of bed and right to work.
Take some time off! That one needed an exclamation point. I don’t know where I read it recently but it said that your brain is like any other muscle, it needs to be worked but exercising it only helps it grow if you let it rest too. Days off, even lunch breaks or grocery shopping are needed. I struggle with this and don’t do it enough or some weeks at all. Its a regular question at our house “did you have lunch today?” Sometimes I can’t honestly remember but I know if I do I feel way better. Sticking to a end time for the day is another struggle that needs addressing in 2012. My brain won’t turn off! Time off is time for family and time to take care of yourself.
I’m sure there’s more, and maybe I’ll come back to this sometime, but these have been big ones for me. I’m sure I’ll have to relearn them in the coming year too. Did you learn anything important in 2011?
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Let’s repeat next week! 
I’m working on adhering to my new work schedule I created for myself. Its not a super rigorous schedule but it will include me NOT checking my email most afternoons (My name is Kristy and I am an email stalker) more than a couple of times. Basic gist of it as I know no one probably wants to be bored with the mundane details is computer work (email, editing, packing orders etc) in the morning, then TAKE AN ACTUAL LUNCH BREAK, then in the afternoon draw and color. I find that I get super caught up in the paper work and business bits and don’t draw enough. Correcting that right quick! I can check my email after lunch then right before DD gets off the bus then before dinner then DONE. Now that I have a smart phone I don’t have to stalk the computer lol. Wish me luck!
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