Reorganization — start!

Meh, more uncomfortable stomach. 😦 At least it was okay for most of the day… it always seems worse in the evenings. Today I went to yoga and Bollywood fusion dance class, bought Mommy a Christmas present, and did lots of reorganizing (see yesterday’s entry for the reason why). I made a list of everything I don’t like about my current work life, brainstormed solutions, then acted on as many of those as I could. Here’s what I figured out:

1. I have to manage my business-related time, so I’m not just doing a little crafting here and a little shop admin here. That’s what I’ve been doing, and it’s been making my head spin. So I’ve figured out what I need to do for the shop each week, and from now on I will schedule sessions for those various activities.
2. I’m going to streamline and reorganize my work space. As part of that, I went through my bookshelves today and brutally culled more than a dozen books to list on Paperbackswap, and now the office is a lot tidier. I also put my shop inventory and packing supplies in separate areas, and moved some art supplies to the basement. But total workspace reorganization is going to take a lot more time.
3. I started figuring out how to make my bookkeeping more efficient. Other Etsyers have recommended Outright as a useful tool; I plan to look into that.
4. I’m going to prioritize more.
5. And here’s the biggest thing: I’ve decided to limit my email/blog/Etsy time, because last week’s timelogs showed me just how much time I spend each day checking these things. I’m going to set aside some time each day in distinct sessions, and then outside of those sessions, I won’t even leave the email window open. I tried this this afternoon and it was shocking how it transformed my day. I usually think that email doesn’t take that much time when I’m just checking brief messages, but somehow, not even having the window open and giving myself permission to ignore the email until after dinner made a huge difference. I felt so much freer to pursue other activities, and I got all of the above done in a few hours.

That’s been it for the day, and I’m pleased. This reorganizing thing is going to save my sanity, I’m sure of it.