Friday, January 2, 2009

Pages and Pages of Plans!

Each night when I go to bed, I take paper and pen with me and continue working on my Goal and Goal Plan for 2009. At this point, I have decided that I need to get up at 4:30 a.m. in order to run my business, my home and take care of myself. I said before that I am a morning person. Working out after my full time job seemed to be going okay for a little bit, and then I got busier and it got pushed aside and I quit working out. The frigid weather and the treacherous roads came and I stopped walking the dog. Not okay.

My thought is that if I pull myself out of my workshop around 9:00 p.m. I might get to sleep early enough to not cringe when the alarm goes off at 4:30. Doing so would allow me a short 20 minute workout before I have to get ready for work, plus time to check my shop and e-mail. I didn't like walking the dog in the pitch dark at 5:30 a.m. Not that we live in a scary neighborhood, but you can't see a darn thing. I like to enjoy my walks, and even though it was quiet and peaceful and I enjoyed that....I didn't enjoy it enough to do it every day. So, the walks are going to get moved to right after I get home. Hopefully that will work better.

I am also trying to figure out a way to also talk to my husband of 36 years for at least an hour or so a day instead of flying in the door yelling, "Hello, how was your day?" as I dash into my workshop. I think I need more structure and more balance in order to be successful in business and in my life. So....that was discovery number one.

Next, I set up some things I want to accomplish each month and I am through May I think. Things like getting my Valentine's Day cards listed in my etsy shop, opening MyOtherShop with my new decoupage line, moving my Fun and Fancy Plates over to MyOtherShop, getting on Artfire, designing new businesses cards, getting a website up and linked to etsy, Mother's Day cards, a vinyl sign for my back car window and Father's Day cards. I also have somewhat of an idea how much money I would like to be bringing in each month throughout the year, by my plan isn't so much money based as it is the things I need to do. I believe if I do the things I have planned, the sales will come.

I also plan to schedule my time on twitter and the forums. I just don't have an hour a day to spend chatting. I know it is helpful and can be useful, but I think if I schedule my time, and I know I only have so much time, I will make it more constructive. Again, I think balance is the key.

With that said...my little duckies are turning out so cute and I am working on a great little birdhouse right now. I tried to buy one of many different things to make and put in MyOtherShop when I open it and then see what garners the most interest. I have sold a lot of different craft things over the years, but never decoupage. I'm not sure what to expect. I do know that being as picky as I am, the items are taking longer to complete than I had anticipated. I want some of the things to look old and worn, and meticulous sanding of paper edges takes time. Picky, picky me!

I promise that if I can get them sealed tomorrow I will get some pictures up this weekend.

Have you put your goals and your goal plan in writing yet? Have you started working toward your goal? If you have, good for you! If not....what are you waiting for...it's January 2, 2009!

8 comments:

Angela said...

4:30!!! Whoa! I could never do that! Aubrey and I are such night owls! But, on the rare occasion I am up early I really do enjoy it. The town just seems quieter and more peaceful. The people are even more friendly when you run errands early in the morning.

Jonara Blu Maui said...

put it in writing? maybe thats been my problem..keep it all up in here *points to her noggin* it's kind of a jumbled mess up there so maybe writing it out would be better.

getting up at 4:30 sure would help..but I don't think I can pull that off. You are definitely an early riser! Spending more time w/ your hubby too will be so nice. Definitely something important to schedule in there!

I wish you much success for the coming year :)

My Inspired Reality said...

Kathy, looks like you have a good plan going there:) Whew, lots to do I see. But it is all a balancing act isn't it? Somehow I think you are going to be good at it:):)

aliceinparis said...

I am a morning person too but 4:40? I don't think I could do it. Especially not in the winter months. Come June, it will be beautiful that time of day.

Artfire is something I am thinking about too, I've heard mixed reviews. I find that it is hard to browse through their listings. It seems a bit clunky/cluttered BUT people are happy with the way it is run and the advertising and promotion they are doing. Exposure in as many places as possible will always help your sales:)

You are inspiring me to take a closer look at my coming year:)
Cheers, Shelagh

Lanyardlady said...

Wow, so ambitious! I guess I'm running against the grain, but my plan is to focus solely on my Etsy shop and not sell anywhere else. I've felt so scattered lately, I hope this will help. And I can get up at 5:30 thanks to my dog, but not 4:30! Good luck, Kathy!

Mary Richmond said...

funny how writing it all down makes you realize what you can and cannot do in a day, isn't it? i did that for a summer's plans with my family years ago and it would have taken at least 3 summers to do everything so it made me laugh and also helped my family set more realistic expectations. if i did everything i want to do daily i would need a 36-40 hour day!!! knowing that helps keep me real. rest and relaxation are important, too.

good luck with your plans. sounds like you're off to a great start and i, for one, will be one of your happy cheerleaders! woohoo!

MamaCta! said...

That is so wonderful to make a goal to spend more time talking to your husband--the most important one, I think! I am going to make that a point this year as well. Even when we do have time together, we have 3 little wild ones who all want our attention. So hopefully we'll go out on more dates this year.

Good luck this year, it sounds like you will accomplish much and have success!

Lanyardlady said...

storybeader has a blog post about a web-based goal-managing program. have you seen it?

http://storybeader.blogspot.com/

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