31/365: A Zebra massage thingy. That’s all your getting today. It was late, I was tired and it was all I could think off. Roll on February and hopefully more creative photography!

30/365: Still not feeling love with my photography creativity.

Psst… this photo wasn’t taken on the 30th – boo! I totally forgot all about it and even though I made a mental note at night to get on it, before I knew it, I was off to the land of the sleep. However, as I’d already figured out what to take for that day, I simply took it on another one so I’m not counting it as failing. :)

29/365: Has a case of cabin fever today so I headed out to a local coffee shop called Second Cup (it’s actually a chain over here in Canada). I pretty much spent the whole day here. It was nice to take breaks from working to do a little people watching and just lose myself in the hustle and bustle of activity. This location will be my new working home over the coming weeks.

28/365: I rarely untie my shoes when I take them off. Do you?

27/365: Had a bunch of errands to run tonight. My enthusiasm for photography has waned a little lately (mostly due to lack of creativity and leaving it until night time) so I quickly snapped this on the way home and marked it as done!

26/365: Completely forgot to take a picture today. Thankfully a game of Monopoly saved me. Sadly this throw of the dice officially bankrupted me and gave the game to James. Oh well, at least I didn’t fail at Project 365, so I did win with something.

25/365: A rainy day here in Toronto. Need I say anymore?

I’ve gone back and forth on whether to share the truly personal sides of my life. There’s always that internal battle of how personal is too personal when you have what may be viewed as a business blog. Perhaps that’s true, but one thing I always respect… whether on blogs, within people, businesses or whatever is transparency. Yah, this blog represents my company to a certain extent, but it also represents me, Adele.

The last two years of my life have been one heck of an emotional ride. I’ve gone through a divorce, the death of a pet from extremely devastating circumstances (RIP Sock-a-Roonie), leaving a pretty decent paying job, a period of feeling homeless (I wasn’t but I didn’t have a bed to call my own for some time), buying a condo within 3 weeks because I was so desperate for said bed, meeting the man of my dreams, discovering my pop had terminal cancer (he’s currently in remission – yah!), losing friends due to circumstances beyond my control rather than losing something else on the other side (gotta love that double-edged sword)… the list just goes on.

Anyways, back to that man of my dreams. Those words sometimes piss me off. I often resent them to no end. Why? Because shortly into our relationship I discovered he had brain damage. He was born with a condition called ARND (Alcohol-Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder) which falls under the FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) umbrella. Perhaps some of you know of it, for those that don’t, to cut it short, his maternal mom (he’s adopted) drank alcohol while pregnant and this essentially damaged his brain permanently. You wouldn’t know it to look at him or be around him, he’s extremely smart and we’re fortunate in that he’s considered high-functioning, but I won’t get into the clinical side of this. Quite frankly, it often confuses me. All that needs to be said for now is that the section of the brain which allows the left and right side to communicate is damaged which causes a myriad of challenges.

So ya, sometimes when I look at the man of my dreams, I get pissed off. Not so much because I view him as “damaged” but because it could of been prevented. If the alcohol hadn’t been able to destroy him before he was even born, our life would be oh so different. I get pissed off because “someone” (god, fate, whatever floats your boat) put him in my life to go on this wonderful ride only to later tell me that that to make this work we’ll have to face challenges most would run from. I wish I had the words to describe these challenges, so rather than try, I’ll share with you a song that brings a lot of clarity to me when things are fuzzy.

Truth is, we’ve been on this huge mountain climb since the day we met. Sometimes the trip up it has been exhilarating – memories I’ll always remember – and sometimes we’ve stumbled and slid down the mountain a little. Yet we always got up, dusted ourselves off and starting climbing again. Even when our pain and fears were too heavy to carry, we kept climbing. I don’t know if we’ll ever reach the top of the mountain together and perhaps along the way one of us will be too tired to keep climbing, but hopefully, one day, we’ll both reach the top to experience it’s beauty. I’m told it’s the most amazing feeling of freedom there is.

P.S. I don’t know if I’ll keep this post up forever. Perhaps one day I’ll wake up and decide it is too personal. But for now, this is me, my life, the life of the face behind this blog, Adele, not modernemotive, but Adele.

P.P.S. I know in the grand scale of things, we’re pretty lucky. There are much worse battles to face, this world ain’t perfect, but sometimes, just sometimes, you have to be a little selfish and only think about your little world. You live in it after-all.

1. Sweet Bunny by Matilou 2. Love Gnomes by The Poppy Tree 3. Un The au Paradis 22/50 by The Nebulous Kingdom 4. I Love You This Much Print by Stephanie Fizer 5. Her Imagination Station by Corid 6. Bubblegum Betty Print by The Black Apple

Images © of their respective owners.

As I gear up to close my shop on Sunday, I’m thinking ahead and looking at how I can make that closure as productive as possible. The more I think about it and assess what needs to be done, the more I realize I’ll likely need to take the whole month to do it.

So, come February 1st, I want to have a plan in order. I’m very proficient at whittling away time online, and as much as I love to twitter with friends and do other social activities, if I’m honest with myself, I often drain away a little too much time. If I don’t put certain restrictions on myself, I know I’ll end up going around in circles.

So, in an effort to make February an awesome month of productivity, here are some of things I have planned so far:

1. Getting up as if I’m actually leaving to go to work
   By this I mean showering first thing (yet to strike that off my to-do list), putting on clothes (not that I work naked or anything but the PJ days need to go) and making myself look more presentable (even if it’s just for an audience of one). 

I truly think that by adopting a more professional state of mind, which lets face it can be influenced by our outer presentation, it’ll drive my focus better.
2. Working offsite 2 to 3 times a week
   I’ve been talking about working outside of my condo for too long. So, as I won’t need to stick close to home to process orders, I think now is a great time to get this particular working pattern in motion. 

On the odd occasion I have worked offsite, the elevation in productivity and inspiration is very noticeable. So, why I haven’t latched onto this realization and made it a ritual is beyond me. Coffee shops here I come!
3. Breaking tasks out by the day
   While I’m a pretty good multi-tasker in general, there are some activities I need to do undisturbed such as designing and – blegh – admin. Right now I’m not sure how I’ll break the week up but I suspect to start it’ll be 2 days of product development, 3 days of admin and business planning. I’ll then switch this up as items get scratched off the to-do list in their entirety.
4. Set some work hours
   I know self-employment comes with long hours and in part I have to accept that, however, I also know that I can’t keep going at the rate I’m going. As much as I love my business, if I’m not taking care of myself, how on earth can I run it? 

So, the goal is to stop working at 6pm every night and actually take the weekends off. Of course, there will be times when I’m on a roll (I think most designers can identify with this one) and it’ll go beyond 6pm, but I’m going to try and limit that. I have a life outside of this company and I need to be living it a wee bit more!

This is what I have so far. What do you think? I’m sure they’ll be more planning and I foresee many lists in my future.

I’d love to hear what you do to make your day as productive as possible. Do you set yourself schedules for certain things? Break work out by the hour? The day?

P.S. Yes, that photo is of my kitchen bowls. I was searching and searching for a suitable photo on Flickr and then realized I was spending too much time searching (told you I can whittle away precious time). So, as I wrote “circles” in the paragraph above it, I naturally had a Eureka! moment and used my kitchen bowls. Work with me here folks. Ms. Productivity will thank you for helping me battle her whittling time away tendencies. ;)

Welcome. Give us some background about yourself and your business.
Thank you so much for inviting me! I’m an artist who does a variety of things, really. I am a surface patter designer, an illustrator, a painter, and I do some graphic design work as well. I have a hard time putting a label on what I do– but my days are never boring, I’ll tell you that! I’ve been self-employed since I was 23 years old (with a part-time stint here and there)– but my business has morphed a lot since then. I really started selling online and becoming part of the blogging community about 2 years ago– before that I mainly sold my work at outdoor festivals and shows and in my studio. The change came when I moved from Boulder, CO (my hometown) to Atlanta, GA 2 summers ago- I began working at home, I didn’t know anyone in the area or know about any local shows, so I dove into the online community, and I’m so thankful that I did!

The decision to take the self-employment route is not always an easy one. What gave you the confidence to take that leap?
Quite honestly, I was sick of having meaningless jobs. When I graduated from college I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do, and I ended up moving back to Boulder (I went to college in Ithaca, NY) and working in restaurants. It was unfulfilling, to say the least. I just got fed up one day and quit my job. I’d recently gotten accepted into a big art festival, so I devoted several months to painting, I’ve always been good with money, so I had enough to keep me going for a while after I quit my job at the restaurant. I basically told myself that I’d see how the show went and go from there. And the show was a smashing success! I saw artists all around me making a living doing what they loved, and I thought “hey, I can totally do this!” Basically I think it was that first amazing show, a young “I can do anything” mindset, and a distinct feeling of not wanting to work for someone else that gave me the confidence.

Self employment can mean long hours, irregular income and other unpredictable stresses. How you do you handle it?
Well, I have a hard time separating my life and my work– they’re sort-of one and the same, so I WANT to work all the time! Sometimes it’s hard for me to realize that taking breaks is actually good for me, and that the work will still be there when I’m done resting. As for the income, I think I’m getting to a place where I just trust that I’ll have enough. I’ve had enough up to this point, and there’s no reason to think that’ll change. I think I’ve just accepted that it’s going to be unpredictable, and that’s ok. Mostly I just try not to resist the uncertainty of it all. Uncertainty isn’t bad– it doesn’t have to be uncomfortable If I can see it as exhilarating, if I can see how exciting that it is that I get to create my career and my future, that helps a lot. I much prefer the uncertainty of my path to having to go to a job I don’t love everyday, even if I was making a ton of money.

What’s a typical day like for you? How did you keep yourself organized to avoid procrastination and other distractions?
I have such a hard time avoiding distractions! The main ones I face every day are my 2 adorable cats who want constant attention, my email and stat checking addictions, and the refrigerator. If I could keep these at bay, I’d be much more productive! As for procrastination, I’m just not a procrastinator. I’m a major list maker, and I REALLY like getting those things crossed off the to-do list every day. I make tons of lists, and I revise them all day long. They keep me organized and on task.

So a typical day…. I wake up around 6:30am and eat breakfast first thing. I love breakfast! I have a fruit & veggie smoothie every morning. And coffee. Yum. I check my email and read some blogs while I’m having breakfast, and I think about what I want to post on my own blog that day. I try to be done with blogging and stuff by 8:00-ish, and then I get to work as soon as i can. Sometimes more of my morning is eaten away by distractions (constant email checking, etc.), but I’m working on not letting that happen as much. So throughout the day I basically work on a variety of projects: paintings, design work for clients (logos, website designs, illustrations, etc), creating surface patterns for an upcoming tradeshow (Surtex), updating my etsy shop, running to the post office and other general errands, sending and replying to emails, chatting with people on twitter… I bounce from one thing to the next, always working from my to do list. I usually take a break in the late afternoon to go to the gym, and then my husband and I always have dinner together. Most nights I work for a few hours in the evening as well (I’m telling you, I’m a workaholic!)– my husband is in medical school, which means he studies all the time, so we’re just a couple of worker bees. :) Then I usually go to bed around 10:30 or 11:00, and sometimes we’ll drag the laptop into bed with us to watch a favorite show online. That’s pretty much it!

Do your work from home? Or offsite?
I work from home.

It can get lonely working for yourself. Do you find yourself missing the companionship of a bustling office? How do you make sure you get social interaction throughout the day/week?
Gosh, no, I do not miss working with other people! I love working by myself. My husband often says he could never do what I do, staying home all day not talking to anyone, but I really love it. Plus, I chat with people on twitter a lot during the day, so that’s helpful. I have friends that I get together with sometimes, so that’s nice, too, but I really like being by myself. My husband and I chat all the time when we’re both home, so I definitely don’t feel lonely. Plus, I have 2 sweet kitties to keep me company all day!

Finding a work/life balance can be difficult with any job, perhaps more so with self-employment. Do you think you’ve found that balance?
Ummmmm, NO. I work all the time. I could definitely give myself more down time. That’s something I’m working on. I’d love to give myself one whole day off a week, but it’s really hard when my work is right in my house with me all the time! Sigh. I’ll get there one day!

What valuable lessons did you learn within your first year. Let’s start with the worst.
I’m going to go with the first year that my business was really online, since that feels more pertinent here.

I learned that sometimes people have to part ways, and that’s ok. I learned that I don’t have to listen to other people’s opinions of me and turn them into my truth. I learned that stress and worry affect my energy level, my mental health, the quality of my work, even my skin. I got horrendous eczema that has mysteriously disappeared as I’ve learned to let go, trust, and relax a bit. There was also a period of time where I didn’t produce much work that I thought was any good, which stemmed directly from my negative state of mind. I learned that negativity can quickly spiral into more and deeper negativity.

And now the best.
I learned how positivity and gratitude can change everything. An open and trusting heart full of possibility will bring unimaginable goodness into your life. I learned (and am learning) to trust myself and my uniqueness and that comparing myself to others is useless. I learned how generous, friendly, and open the blogging community is, and that by giving kindness to it I get that kindness back tenfold. Giving is receiving! But the biggest and most valuable lesson I learned, I think, is to trust myself and my ability to make my business sustainable. I learned to always be looking at ways I can improve and grow, and that attitude has taken me far from where I began.

Lastly, what advice would you give to others that are thinking about quitting their 9-5 job to pursue self-employment?
I would tell them that it’s absolutely 100% possible! If you want to do something you are passionate about, then there is always a way, even if it looks hard. If you want to do it badly enough, then you will make it happen. I don’t have any advice about whether people should keep their day jobs while building their business or to quit their job immediately and jump right in, because I think that’s a highly personal and individual decision, and there’s no one right answer for everybody. I just want to encourage people to see self-employment as a possibility. It’s truly wonderful, and there’s nothing like being in charge of your time and the work that you choose to do. Learn as much as you can, believe in yourself and your capabilities, get involved in the community around what you desire to do, and just get started! I think too much planning can cause stagnation, so I prefer to learn as I go in a lot of cases. I encourage people to just get started, even if it’s just with a teeny-weeny step. Because that will build momentum, and before you know it you’ll be on your way.

JESSICA GONACHA SWIFT ELSEWHERE
Website | Etsy | Blog | Twitter | Flickr | Facebook

Okay, so on the former, now deleted, modernemotive blog, I had a post inviting readers to introduce themselves. As it was so much fun learning about you, I wanted to do it again. I’m seeing reading new faces around here and I’d love to hear who you are. I thought I’d add a fun twist to it by asking you all to provide 10 things about yourself.

I’ll go first…

1. I’m originally from the UK but have been living in Toronto, Canada for 11 years now. I miss home all the time. I’m not sure I’ll stay in Toronto forever and if I don’t, I suspect I’ll either land in British Columbia or back in the UK.
2. I have a dream of one day opening a small boutique with eco-friendly products and a place to sit and enjoy some organic goodies/beverages.
3. I also have a dream of opening a small photography business.
4. I’d love to go on Survivor but know I’d never be able to handle the bugs or eating gross things.
5. I want to take guitar lessons one day. As a kid, I played the piano (oh and the violin) and was told I was a natural musically.
6. Whenever an ad comes on the TV featuring abused animals, I have to switch channels immediately as I’ll end up in tears.
7. If I had the money, I’d open a animal sanctuary.
8. Over my lifetime, career-wise I’ve wanted to be a journalist, paramedic and a marine biologist just to name a few.
9. Swimming with dolphins was one of the best moments in my life.
10. I have no formal education. I quit school at 16 before my final exams. I was never one to learn in a structured environment. While I don’t necessarily recommend it, I think I came out okay. :)

Now come on, don’t be shy, get listing your 10 things! Can’t think of 10? Then list however many you want. :)

24/365: It was a cold and rainy day in Toronto. Perhaps the perfect end to a long and stressful week. Though now I’ve reached the decision to close up shop for a bit, I see some light at the end of the tunnel.

23/365: His ‘n’ Hers essential bathroom accessories. ;) And no, I still haven’t started this bloody book.

22/365: Movie night popcorn! We watched 500 Days of Summer. I really enjoyed it. While not a “OMG, go watch it now” movie, it was definitely the type of movie I needed. It has a great score and soundtrack by the way, including the song above which I love!

21/365: Seems I take a shot on this corner (Yonge/Dundas) every week. This is definitely my favorite so far. I love the results you get with an high ISO sometimes.

20/365: I really didn’t want to take a photo today and probably took this just before midnight. The fact I took one of myself is actually ironic I suppose as I’m rarely in front of the camera. P.S. Self portraits are harder than they look.

19/365: Feeling bogged down by some decisions today so James coaxed me into a game of Monopoly. Hoping I’ll wake up with some get ‘n’ go tomorrow!

18/365: I woke up with a case of the blahs today and spent much of the day lost in my own thoughts. At times like this, tea is my friend. What do you seek comfort from when feeling a wee bit down in the dumps?

After posting that I often feel alone over here (in the working by myself sense), it got me thinking about what others do to break through that feeling. Obviously, many perks come with working for yourself, but there are some downsides to it too, such as loneliness.

There are really only two things I miss about working a regular job and that’s income security and a bustling office environment. I used to have so much fun at my old offices. You know, the office banter, coffee breaks, lunch dates and drinks after work with co-workers. While perhaps small in the grand scale of things, that break from work really does make a difference to your psyche.

Since working for myself, I’ve done a really poor job at maintaining those interactions. I’ve had plans to meet up with other self-employed friends for a work day together, intentions to work outside of my home in a coffee shop or just the simple task of getting out and about throughout the working day to people watch. I didn’t follow through with any it. It’s so easy to fall into a routine sometimes and no matter how much you lament about it, you’ll still don’t do anything to change it. Why is that? We are our own worst enemy sometimes don’t you think?

One of the questions I ask other self-employed folk in my interviews is:

“It can get lonely working for yourself. Do you find yourself missing the companionship of a bustling office? How do you make sure you get social interaction throughout the day/week?”

So, I thought I’d extend that question to all of you.

First of all, I just wanted to thank everyone who commented on this post (and on Twitter) for their most sincere and thoughtful opinions regarding my struggle about whether to close up my shop temporarily. The feeling of loneliness can be rampant around here sometimes, but you guys made me feel like I had co-workers again, albeit distant ones…and ultimately you all helped me make my decision.

I’ve decided to close up my shop on January 31st. Even typing that makes me slightly nervous, but regardless of that fact that sales have picked up again this week, scenarios outside of that are all pointing to the fact I need to close up for a while. I may keep up my current inventory as it’s ready to be mailed, but that will be it.

Obviously, there are still some doubts about closing but I’m trying to let the excitement I feel push those aside. The thought of finally tackling the to-do’s that have been plaguing me is uplifting and I can’t wait to get started. Right now, the plan is to only take 2 weeks, but if it extends to the whole of February then so be it. Of course, I’ll still be hanging out here so don’t be thinking you’ve gotten rid of me all together. Hehe.

If you were hoping to snatch up one of my Valentine’s cards or anything else, now is the time. As a thank you, kindly use the coupon code “BLOG-TY-20” to receive 20%* off your entire order (minus shipping). Shipping can often been combined to save you money, so please don’t hesitate to contact me first should you want more than one item. :)

And with that, thank you again. You all rock!

* Cannot be applied to items currently on sale or calling cards. Offer valid Saturday, January 23 through Sunday January 24th.

I’m very much in nesting mode right now and I’m starting to think about what I want to do to my own home this year to make it more cosy. I’d give a home to these sweeties in a heartbeat.

1. Green Linen Cushion Cover by Linen Me 2. Antique Replica Porcelain Milk Bottles by alyssa ettinger design 3.Blossoms Queen Size Headboard by Holley & Gill 4. Green Sprig Linen Apron by Jewelweeds 5. Choppy Fringe Heat Resistant Board Size by NatureDesign 6. Vintage Silverware Garden Marker by Monkeys Always Look 7. Indoor/Outdoor Concrete Planter by Tortoise Loves Donkey
Images © of their respective owners.