My life after the holidays...

The end of last year/beginning of this year has had a bit of a different vibe for me, and I am currently finding myself struggling with burn-out, and looking forward to some much needed relaxation.  In the past, I've had a bit of a rest between summer show season and the holiday season, then a small break before my wholesale show in January.  Then I fill orders from that show in February and March, which is a little more slow-paced...then when those orders are finished I can rest, design, catch-up on business-y things, and gear up for the shows in May.  An artist's year is pretty unique!  And of course we are our own boss...which means lots of wasted time, and lots of over-time as well!  Self-discipline is a constant struggle for many self-employed people, and I am no different.

As my business has grown, that break I used to have between summer and the holidays is no longer there, so I'm pushing all the way through the end of the year now.  And then this year after Christmas, I put the challenge upon myself to create a body of work consisting of one-of-a-kind pieces that I could photograph and use to apply for art fairs.  I worked pretty intensively on these pieces, and was able to work up to my deadline to have them photographed and apply to the first round of shows.  Whew!  After that project was complete, I realized that my wholesale show was just a week away.  So off to work on preparation for that, then the show itself.....

After the wholesale show, in the midst of starting on orders, I decided it might be good to have a Valentine's Day promotion.  "Bring on the work!" I say ;)  So here I am, making sure I get all orders made and out the door.  I'm hoping to finally see that break I've been dreaming about in the very near future.  I feel like I've been "go, go, go" since last May!  It is GREAT to see growth, and business continuing to come my way - don't get me wrong.  It's just another challenge to manage my time differently - and maybe not put too much pressure upon myself.  Hi, my name is Melissa, and I'm a workaholic...

What I'm looking forward to the most, is having time to focus on my health and well-being.  This includes changing my insane schedule of sleep/work/work.  I have always been a night-owl, and I find I have lots of creative energy late at night.  I also have a hard time STOPPING work.  So I will find myself making jewelry until the wee hours, anywhere from 2-5am.  This of course shifts my sleep so I don't get up until 11am-noon, don't start office work at the studio until 2pm, don't get home until 7, 8, or 9pm, scarf down dinner and sit down to make jewelry again.

And did anyone notice my schedule of sleep/work/work?  Where's my time to play?  That needs to be worked in as well ;)  Wish me luck!  I say shifting my schedule is going to be tougher than quitting smoking was.....is there a patch for that?  Or perhaps I should consider hypnosis.....