What I'm reading this month
January is a great time to get some useful business reading done. Here's my pick of some of the books that have already inspired me and the ones I hope with give me even more insight.
One of my favourites, I read for the first time in 2017 and I've returned to again and again, is "She means business" by Carrie Green. It's a great mix of looking at the real nuts and bolts of starting your own business along with some serious work on your attitude and mindset. I know some people can think things like "give yourself permission to dream big" sounds a bit woo hoo. But I'll tell you what, its brought my business on in leaps and bounds!
Another favourite in this little bundle is "The secret lives of colour" which i dip into like a box a chocolates. Who can revisits discovering the history of colour, pigments and the people who used them. Gorgeous.
One that I've only just started is "The Empowered entrepreneur" by Elizabeth Cairns. This is a beautiful book that really appeals to me. In the business of being in business its a good idea not to lose sight of why you left the rat race in the first place, and make sure you look after yourself as well as your business. I think it's about living, not just making a living.
If you have some must reads, do feel free to leave them in the comments. It's good to share.
New Year; It's perfectly planned!
Here are my top three ways to get organised in 2019
At this time of year lots of people start planning new routines to get themselves organised. Organisation is key to being successful in any business.
From years and years of being a teacher, where every second of our lesson time and indeed our free time was precious beyond belief, I have 20 years of time management and organisation skills honed to a tee.There is a myth that creative thinkers are chaotic and disorganised… though I’ll admit that part of my need for planning and organisation has definitely stemmed from my years of being a teacher and now they are serving me well in my years of being an artist
From years and years of being a teacher, where every second of our lesson time and indeed our free time was precious beyond belief, I have 20 years of time management and organisation skills honed to a tee.There is a myth that creative thinkers are chaotic and disorganised… though I’ll admit that part of my need for planning and organisation has definitely stemmed from my years of being a teacher and now they are serving me well in my years of being an artist
.So here are my top three - I'm not altogether sure I’d be able to live without any of them!
1. Blackboards!
I have a wall next to my desk with blackboard paper stuck on it.
This is much more practical than having a real blackboard of this size, which would be very heavy and could damage the wall or even damage me if it fell off the wall!
Blackboard paper is really easy to apply and you can get it in plenty of DIY shops or indeed a favourite online retailer! I love it!
I have a wall panner on the blackboard too, so I can map out art fairs and exhibitions which tend to be booked well in advance, then I can see at a glance when things are busy.
Then I can write on the blackboard around the year planner what plans I need to get done that month. There's a lot of goal setting and new collection planning this time of year!
I have a wall next to my desk with blackboard paper stuck on it.
This is much more practical than having a real blackboard of this size, which would be very heavy and could damage the wall or even damage me if it fell off the wall!
Blackboard paper is really easy to apply and you can get it in plenty of DIY shops or indeed a favourite online retailer! I love it!
I have a wall panner on the blackboard too, so I can map out art fairs and exhibitions which tend to be booked well in advance, then I can see at a glance when things are busy.
Then I can write on the blackboard around the year planner what plans I need to get done that month. There's a lot of goal setting and new collection planning this time of year!
2. A decent diary…
actually a decent diary and a planner, well a decent diary, a planner and then another planner; this is getting complicated.
I use an Erin Condren planner, a week to page with a notes on the side this really helps me coordinate arrangements, visits and meetings with other people. Its in colour, it has a customisable cover, this year I have one of my lions on the cover, the paper is luxy and thick enought that I can write on it with a fountain pen. Gorgeous.
In addition to this I have another planner which doesn't leave my studio. It's the Makers Yearbook and it's fabulous. It's big enough for me to write anything I need to. This is quite a lot of work but it's not something that needs to travel so it's good to have a big fat chunky diary that can contain all the info.And for the first time this year I also have Carrie Green Perfectly planned planner. I'm also a member of her online Female Entrepreneurs Association which has really helped me become accountable for my own business. So I''ll be using this planner in conjunction with her online monthly planning sessions. Day to day it might end up being more of a reflective journal than a planner, I'm not sure yet...we'll see how this one pans out.
actually a decent diary and a planner, well a decent diary, a planner and then another planner; this is getting complicated.
I use an Erin Condren planner, a week to page with a notes on the side this really helps me coordinate arrangements, visits and meetings with other people. Its in colour, it has a customisable cover, this year I have one of my lions on the cover, the paper is luxy and thick enought that I can write on it with a fountain pen. Gorgeous.
In addition to this I have another planner which doesn't leave my studio. It's the Makers Yearbook and it's fabulous. It's big enough for me to write anything I need to. This is quite a lot of work but it's not something that needs to travel so it's good to have a big fat chunky diary that can contain all the info.And for the first time this year I also have Carrie Green Perfectly planned planner. I'm also a member of her online Female Entrepreneurs Association which has really helped me become accountable for my own business. So I''ll be using this planner in conjunction with her online monthly planning sessions. Day to day it might end up being more of a reflective journal than a planner, I'm not sure yet...we'll see how this one pans out.
Creating artwork, for me at least, is the easy part of my business. The difficult part is working out how to sell it ,when to sell, where to sell it, and who to sell it to!
To do all of those things you got to have a plan.
3. Mindmapping!
Any of my former students or colleagues will possibly be laughing out loud at this point or maybe even rolling their eyes. They will know that I am obsessed with mind mapping. I used to recommend mindmapping to my students particularly for revision and notetaking.
In my life as an artist I use mindmapping all the time to plan and to strategise my art business. It really helps me get all my ideas down on paper (or screen) really really quickly whilst leaving me with a great visual reminder of what I'm up to. I can plan almost anything with a mind map. From my holiday packing to a detailed written press release. I even mind map my blog posts! (When Mindmapping on screen I use imindmap software - but a pen and paper works too!).
Any of my former students or colleagues will possibly be laughing out loud at this point or maybe even rolling their eyes. They will know that I am obsessed with mind mapping. I used to recommend mindmapping to my students particularly for revision and notetaking.
In my life as an artist I use mindmapping all the time to plan and to strategise my art business. It really helps me get all my ideas down on paper (or screen) really really quickly whilst leaving me with a great visual reminder of what I'm up to. I can plan almost anything with a mind map. From my holiday packing to a detailed written press release. I even mind map my blog posts! (When Mindmapping on screen I use imindmap software - but a pen and paper works too!).
So those are my big three take aways for how to get yourself organised. There is no doubt that the real secret to organisation is finding the strategy that happens to work for you.
For me visuals stimulus is key to my planning strategies…who knew!
For me visuals stimulus is key to my planning strategies…who knew!
