Tag: Passion_Planner

Working From Home

Photography Meanderings

I have now been working from home with my regular job for 2 weeks, and going into the office one day per week. How is this working? Pretty well actually, I’m getting things accomplished, and staying on track with email, invoices and other busy work. I miss the office interaction and of course I miss my Sandee my office cat, but I do have Harpo checking in on my now and then.

I’m used to working from home because of all the photos I’ve edited and spent hours working on. However, this is different. I’m on a set 8 hour schedule Monday thru Friday just as if I were going to my employment, but home alone. I wanted to share with you a few tips that are working for me.

  1. I wake up early each day to give myself time to shower, make my bed and get dressed. I dress casual, but nice and put on a touch of make up, just to make myself feel better.
  2. A nice protein rich breakfast keeps me going. Then I wash my breakfast dishes and put them away, so I am not tempted to do them when I should be working.
  3. I created a designated office space where I am not in front of a Television or any other distractions.
  4. My water bottle is filled so I can stay hydrated throughout the day; for me this is very important, it keeps me from getting tired.
  5. Difussing essential oils helps with focus.
  6. By 7:15am I log into my work station and let my boss know I am ready to have the phones transferred.
  7. Going over my daily Passion Planner helps to set up my day and I add anything new that’s come up (My Passion Panner is set up the night before).
  8. My workday begins at 7:30am with checking email to see if anything needs my immediate attention, if so it gets added to the planner.
  9. By keeping my scheduled lunch break at noon, I’m able to keep on my daily schedule. I chose a heathy option for lunch and refill the water bottle
  10. Since I’m home I keep a Yoga mat behind me so I can periodically stretch, I find this keeps my brain more focused and gives me a “move” break.
  11. Keeping track of my daily tasks by making a bullet list of the items I accomplished helps me see what I have done and what needs to be carried over to the next day (I’m not 100%, but working on it).
  12. Finally as my day ends at 4 pm. I make sure I go over my planner and move items which did not get accomplished to the following work day.

So there you have it. Are you working from home? Do you have any tips to help get you through your day? If so what are they, please feel free to share them with all of us.

Until next time, stay home, stay healthy and WASH YOUR HANDS!

Writer’s Cramp or Brain Cramp?

Photography Meanderings

I feel so inspired lately, so many things to write about yet I have a difficult time just putting it all down in the written word. It’s not because I don’t know how to start, or what to write, but the motivation to sit in front of the computer for another forty-five minutes to an hour after I get home from work is not something I want to do.  I’m on the computer all day at work, and when I get home even though I have a brand new shiny computer, it’s the last thing I look forward to.  I remember feeling this way when I worked a day job where I was on the phone all day, I would come home and avoid talking to anyone on the phone; I was burned out from answering questions and putting out fires eight hours a day.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the computer, the feel of my fingertips lightly stroking the keyboard, and as a trained typist, I enjoy the physical activity of typing. I enjoy the look of the words on the page, the satisfaction of seeing something I have created being posted for the world to read.

How do I overcome this aversion for my home computer?  I thought getting a new iMac would be the key to my success; nope, it’s not.  What about the prompts I try to write in my Passion Planner each week, that should do the trick, nope it didn’t.  Then what? What do I need to do to bring it all together and get the words jumbled up in my head down into written form?

I have to understand where my head is before I can get my behind in the chair and my fingers on the keyboard:

First, I feel if I’m not editing photos, I’m not being productive, or I get lured away to Facebook land and there goes my focus.  Second I need something to motivate me, something to lure me to log on and start writing. And third, it comes back to the mentality of maybe I’m not good enough to do this; the negative self-talk that undermines my confidence.  Understanding the few things I listed helps me to see what I need to work on to clear my mindset. How-To-Remove-Negative-Thoughts-From-The-Subconscious-Mind

Addressing the first issue is easy; I have to put in my brain that I am being productive when I write, it is part of my overall business of photography.  Next, I need to set a timer and not allow myself anywhere near Facebook until the timer goes off.  The second issue is I just need to stay ahead with some good content, blog my activities and where and when I’ve been photographing, add more reviews of the artists I photograph and the equipment I use.

But it goes much deeper than any of that; My self-talk is not always kind, and when it’s full-on beating me up, the doubt slides in and goes for home base.  A good friend of mine Karen Zeigler wrote a great blog a few days ago titled “Tired of Peeling the Onion? Stop Peeling the Onion, It’s Time to Fry it Up!” (don’t you just love that title?) you can check it out here: http://karenzeigler.com/stop-peeling-the-onion-its-time-to-fry-it-up/

Karen has been a great mentor for me, mostly from a distance, but she knows how to ask those hard questions, the kind that open you up piece by piece and help you get to the meat of the issue.  She has a way of giving me the words I need to hear, even if I don’t want to hear them, and she uses her God given gift of writing to do so.   I’m thankful for strong women like her who push me out of my comfort zone to do the hard stuff; digging deep and releasing what’s been holding me back, “Peeling the Onion”.

Until next time, from behind the lens.