How do you start the week off right?

{from Mateo and Tobias} 

Do you dread Mondays? Or do you get all fired up at the beginning of a new week?

I know there’s the old cliche of ‘the office worker who dreads Mondays’; but even those of us with passion-driven jobs or businesses can have our moments of dread when a new week starts.

Especially when we’re under the gun (which, let’s be honest, is OFTEN!) with so much to do… we can start off the week feeling a bit panicked and wondering ‘where will I find the time’?

The way I feel come Monday pretty much depends on how much work I have ahead of me, and how organised I feel! For example, I know this week that I need to:

  • Finish 2 Epheriell wholesale orders
  • Complete a stack of online orders
  • Complete a number of specific tasks for the next issue of *bespoke* (like laying out the draft so far to see what is missing, contacting past advertisers etc)
  • FINALLY finalise my Autumn/Winter collection and hopefully start photographing
  • Blog as usual

And more – there’s always more! – but those are my key tasks. I know this because I sat down with my day-to-a-page diary last night and actually thought about the week ahead, and what my priorities are.

I often get so caught up in just keeping my head above water that I neglect to do this. Taking that little bit of time to just STOP and actually plan ahead can make all the difference to your mental state and help to battle those feelings of overwhelm!

I like to use the ‘rocks-pebbles-sand’ approach made famous in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. I read this book for the first time as a teenager (I think my Dad may have given it to me!) and some of the lessons have stuck.

The process is this:

  1. Think about the week ahead, and decide what your key tasks are. These are the urgent + important tasks {rocks} that you MUST get done.
  2. Pull out your diary/planner and place these tasks into your week. Block out the time you think will be required to complete them.
  3. Any other pebbles/sand (i.e. smaller, less urgent tasks) can then be scheduled around these key tasks.
  4. Possibly the hardest part of the plan… stick to it!
I find that the weeks where I actually stick to this process go a lot smoother, as I’m not constantly stopping to think ‘what do I need to do now?’ – I just look at my diary and get on with it!

Do you have a similar process for organising your working week, or do you do something different? I’d love to hear about your process.

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Want more Epheriell-y goodness? Subscribe to Epheriell Designs! Also, you can follow me on  Twitter!



7 comments   Behind the Scenes, Crafty Biz

Behind the Scenes {Part 1} ~ My Studio

Welcome to my studio! Come in, come in (and please take your shoes off, it’s the habit ’round these parts).

Today is the first in a new series where I’ll take you ‘behind the scenes’ of my work and life to show you what the day-to-day of a jeweller/blogger/publisher is like!

Over the coming months I’ll share photos and videos of my studio and my work – including my tools, me at work, my design/development process, packaging, organisation, and much more. If there’s an aspect of my work that you’d like to know more about, don’t hesitate to leave a suggestion in the comments!

Let’s get started by having a poke around my studio – the place where it all happens! In this tour you’ll see one-half of a room (that which you can see in the picture above) – this half is my studio, and the other half is our little kitchenette/lounge area. For those of you who don’t already know, Nick and I currently live in 2 converted rooms in a barn on my parent’s property in the country, and we have plans to eventually build our own house here. However, we’re in no rush – it’s surprising how little space you really need to live (and work!) comfortably.

My studio is filled with my own work, but also with the art and work of so many other wonderful makers and designers. I won’t be able to name them all here, but I’ll try to tell you about a few pieces!

Let’s have a closer look at my jewellery work bench, where you can see I’ve got a ring in progress.

I bought this little collection of sweet ceramic dishes from Bleeding Heart Gallery – they’re by local ceramicist Kim Aitken.

Here you can see my dress-form Evie hard at work helping me work on a new necklace design. You can also see a whole lot of *bespoke* – ready for easy packing access!

I originally bought this to give to a friend… but I fell in love with it and so I kept it!

A few of my teacup succulents haven’t stood the test of time, but these ones are still going strong!

I bought this papercut from Trudy Florence at a market last year, where we discovered we were fellow Dutchies (I think both our Dad’s are Dutch)… she’s since moved to the Netherlands, and we’ve become online friends! The world is an awesome place.

It’s one of my life mottos, so I couldn’t pass it up.

Now we’ll move around to my computer desk – the one Nick made for me. I love all the little nooks and crannies to store stuff in!

My trusty year planner… SO vital to keeping me on-track and organised! But it’s kinda ugly, so I’ve surrounded it in Yellena and Matou en Peluche beauty.

I also have a brand-new super-sized desktop screen since this was taken, so my dear laptop is elsewhere. Ohh, can you see the proof for Issue 6 of *bespoke* there on the side of my desk?

Finally, my little art wall above the couch. All postcards, cards and small prints I have collected, as well as a few fave frankie posters. And on the heirloom couch (inherited from my grandparents) is a heirloom tulip quilt made by my great-grandmother.

 And that’s a wrap! You’ll see much more of this as I do future posts (and you’ll also see my soldering station outside). I hope you enjoyed this little tour around my space!

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Want more Epheriell-y goodness? Subscribe to Epheriell Designs! Also, you can follow me on  Twitter!



31 comments   Behind the Scenes