IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A MacBook Pro laptop keyboard beside a white piece of paper with a pen on top and mug partially in view. On the piece of paper the word August is on the top. Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5 is written down the left hand side.

My work and the work of all creative entrepreneurs are mostly self-driven, which means we are the sole motor keeping the projects going.

What happens when you have outgrown the motor you have been using?

You start looking for a replacement.

Theme Weeks.

Sounds and looks simple, and it is.

Instead of packing my days with busy work that may get me to my next goal or accomplished task, I have begun practicing looking at the month ahead and giving each week a theme.

These themes often only consist of one to three words encapsulating an idea, project title, goal or medium (radio, film…etc.)

By attaching a theme to the week, I am telling myself exactly what that week is about.

Busy work and often distracting work like social media, emails, grants, pitches, etc., can distract oneself from the primary goal.

With this new way of looking at my work week, I can focus on the most important task I need to move forward in a broader sense.

For example:

August Week 1: “Radio Pitch.”

No one knows what that exactly means, but I do. I knew what I wanted to see happen, my goal, and the project, and it kept me on task until I had accomplished all I could get done related to the intent that week. (Once a draft/pitch is sent off, you are in the waiting game.)

This has brought a lot of clarity to my life.

It’s incredible how fast or slow a day can go when you dread the list staring back at you. After implementing this new way of doing things, I have time left for professional development, reading/watching, passion projects, or simply stopping the presses, lying on the floor and letting my cat and daughter crawl all over me. At the same time, I process my next right step.

I plan on continuing this method into Autumn, and I have a sneaky suspicion it is here to stay.

Until the next work productivity revelation,

Onwards.

I adore the way Autumn arrives in Nova Scotia.

It is not an abrupt overnight happening but a slow and mindful appearance. A leaf here, a leaf there. Nights that end just a titch cooler than before, until….the evening's air kiss assures you that sweaters and thick blankets must be pulled out again.

The sun looks different in Autumn. It has a more warm gold hue when it dances on the walls. It doesn't burn, but it reminds you that it's still here. Still shining, despite the darkness that is creating shorter days.

With the arrival of Autumn and the 'back to school routine, I am rejoicing.

It means a recentering of my mind and spirit into work that I have been digging into.

Yes, there are the distractions of both good and practical things.

Friends visiting, approaching thanksgiving, and the Christmas season. Not to mention Halloween, extracurricular classes for the little, a pandemic to watch, and home projects before the winter months.

But there is also open space.

If I allow it.

Protect it.

Space to develop my filmmaking skills on a personal level with a new camera. Freedom to collaborate with a corporation I have been loving working with. Space to spin tales in the dark evenings, reflect on the year on weekend walks. Space to putter around the house while putting to order the project decisions I am being faced with.

The space is there.

But, it's genuinely, honestly, and quite realistically up to me to protect it.

There will always be someone who lays an expectation down at your feet. A circumstance to attend to, a phone call to answer, a text to reply, day to schedule, medical appointment to show up to, a chore to complete.

And the beautiful and often anxious-inducing truth is that you get to take a deep breath and decide what needs to get attended to and what is not going to serve you in the things you have to show up for.

This is an exercise in trust that there is just enough time for the things you are called for today. And for what you need to let go of in the process...there is grace for that too.

Touch the ground in the business of Autumn and say “There there, there is space and grace for you to do what you are called for in this season.”

Entering into 2019…

with more to balance and maintain has enforced the need for scheduling and I am working on embracing it in a more effective and succinct way.

What I am Using:

Moleskin Plain Pocket Size

I use these Moleskins to keep track of various aspects of my personal & professional life.
- Movement & Diet
- Inspirations (quotes, ideas etc)
- Seasons (Winter activities, recipes, etc)
- Work Log
- Home Maintenance & visions

Kate Spade Journal

There is a shortage of these journals as Kate Spade is releasing less of them yearly, but I make a point of buying them when I find them & I use a journal for each year for my personal notations / writing about life and thoughts.

Leuchtturmn1917 (A5)

I use Leuchtturmn journals for my yearly bullet journaling. I do not follow the ‘bujo’ method to a ‘t’ but I apply what works for my own methodology and it seems thats what Ryder Carroll was aiming for.

Fossil Watch

New to me this year, for less attachment to my iPhone when checking the time. Doesn’t hurt that I am addicted to metallic tone fashion statements.

Sharpie & Midliner Pens

Knowing that these are the pens I use simplifies the tools I reach for. Decision fatigue regarding finding a new pen: ‘be gone’.

WHAT I AM AIMING FOR & WHY:

Reducing my scheduling hours and methods is one of my main goals this year. As great as it can be to have time to sit down and schedule the week ahead it can severely stir up anxiety when given too much space to be dwelled on. It also can swallow up much needed rest and quality time with others.

I am giving myself a year to work on the craft of scheduling because I realize it’s a task that I am going to have to unlearn bad habits, try new methods & simplify again & again.

As I hone the craft of scheduling I am keeping these words close to me as a reminder:

Create. Cultivate. Curate. Centred.

Here we go…

With working on my own projects, taking on freelance work, balancing the mama life and maintaining family and friend relationships I have been meditating on

‘Flow’

How do I respect the flow?

What is flow?

Flow is tossed around within the creative and millennial communities as a term we use to describe what it means to be in a good productive working physical and internal atmosphere.

Flow Professionally:

Means I do my best to accept and actively do work during my prime productive hours.

For me, this looks like mornings for technical work, and evenings for creative work.

I have noted over the years as a student, freelancer & human being that from 1:40pm - 5:00pm I am a zombie of energy. During those hours I tend to dip in energy (no matter what food or exercise routine I do) and am apathetic in motivation. This could be due to the way my energy is at an all time high from 7am - 1pm, or that I tend to stay up till close to midnight most nights for creative and inspirational purposes.

Either way, I have learned over the years, and especially at this stage in my life, that working to match that rhythm produces my best work.

Flow Personally

Means I create routine and boundaries for the things in which I value and know feed my soul.

For me, this looks like having bi-weekly routines of date nights, friend dates, farmers market visits etc, while also making sure the times I am least energetic is where I am at rest, read, journal, etc.

Knowing yourself is a huge part of optimizing your flow.

As an example, I know I am a social introvert. I am stimulated by intimate settings with others, but too much and I am drained. I also realize that I do need that time to retreat and reflect in order for me to continue giving out in a healthy and high quality manner.

& with that…

I am at my best when I respect and adjust my days to match the work flow that brings me to where I need to be.

Optimizing your personal and professional work flow and respecting those limits is a way in which to produce excellent work that continues to grow in concepts and depth while also protecting oneself and the work from burn out.