5 things to do to beat your Monday Morning Rush
Ever have one of those mornings where you feel just overwhelmed with the start of a new week but you feel like you haven’t even finished off last week?
I know the feeling. As an Artist who works from home, I can tell you that it’s not a 9-5 type of job.
Working from home whether you are an artist, writer or practically any job that gives you the freedom to work from home can be a challenge.
Your workload doesn’t really have a quitting time, nor are you afforded the luxury of a day off. Your hours can start very early like 5 am and last on through the wee hours of the night.
At least for me there are blogs to write, images to edit, art pieces to finish off, networking and more promoting of my work. Sometimes these efforts won’t see a result until some time has passed but I do it anyway. I know eventually there will be someone who sees my art and loves it enough to want it in their home. So I keep on keeping on.
Here are 5 things I do to help me stay on top of the Monday Morning Rush and I thought I would share them with you.
1. Keep a daily log of tasks accomplished and a reminder of what I still need to do.
I will be doing one thing when a task pops into my head. “I could do this…” or a mental reminder of something I want to do. “Don’t forget to do that…”
Whatever it is, I jot it down on a small note pad that I call my “Daily Planner”. It’s a simple small notepad with lines and three columns.
First column is rather narrow and is listed as Priority Ref: I just jot down A for Urgent, B for important and C for Reminder.
Throughout the day as I am going about my business, I look at the list and tackle the urgent ones first. The second column is wider and allows enough space to write a few words of the task at hand.
The last column is narrow like the first one and is listed as DONE, narrow enough for me to just put a check mark. And believe me, it feels great when I see all those check marks down my list.
It gives me a sense of accomplishment.
“DO is the First part of DONE” taken from the cover of my Daily Planner.
2. Tackle the things you have the least desire to do first.
It would be just grand if I could spend my entire work days and hours just creating. It’s what I love to do. However in this day and age especially for creative people like me, I know that just isn’t feasible. I need to spend as much time promoting my work as I do in creating it. No one will toot my horn, so I know I have to do it. I will do the work that I least like to do early in the day so I can breathe and relax while doing the things I most want to do.
3. Break up projects into smaller tasks so as not to get overwhelmed.
Just last week, I took over an art group on Fine Art America. It had approximately 100 members. My responsibilities include growing the group, reviewing images to be added to the group, holding contests for the group members to participate in and create discussions for members to participate in for networking, support and resource sharing.
It’s proving to be a big job. Since last Thursday when I first took over this group, we had about 104 members. Since then it has grown to 188 members just this weekend. That means a lot of images to review and add to the group. So what I have decided to do is every time I go to Fine Art America to do some work, I check for the latest images to review. I would much rather spend a few minutes reviewing 10-15 new images several times a day than spend an hour or more reviewing say 80 or 90 images.
4. Streamline your work/promotion efforts. I have several ways in which I am trying to get my work out in front of people. Here is my list.
This blog where I write about my art and other things.
Here is my facebook page:
Bricadena Art
Promote Your Page Too
This is where I am involved in other groups such as:
Artsy Fartsy International (Click below to view)
and Commission me-Where Artists and Buyers meet. (Click below to view)
COMMISSION ME – A group where Artists and Buyers meet
Pinterest account where I have my art pinned to show others what they could have decorating their homes. (Click below to view)
Google+ is not yet set up but is in my Daily Planner List as A-for Urgent to set up this week.
These sites are where I can create links and combine my efforts to involve 2 or more of these vehicles, and I do that regularly.
I also want to make sure that all my efforts to network and promote come directly from me, so I do spend a lot of time behind my laptop, but I know in the end it will be worth it.
5. Get to sleep EARLY on Sunday.
This is very important as it really helped me this weekend. I make sure to get to get a good nights sleep on Sunday Night. I went to bed early last night and I can just feel the difference it has made for me in terms of alertness and feeling refreshed and ready to take on the rest of this week.
6. Know that Monday is your chance to start fresh.
Okay, I was going to give you just 5 but I had to throw in one more. Realize that today is a NEW day.
You can pick up where you left off and don’t beat yourself up for what you did not finish last week.
It is now time to start up again and do the best you can.
By doing the best you can, you can feel rest assured that you are on the right track.
Until Next time and HAPPY MONDAY!
Brigitte Cadena
“All Life is ART, if you look closely”
Bricadena Art & Photography
BRICADENA ART 