For Christmas, I asked for and received a bullet journal. I am already a highly organized person, but there are some tasks that continue to escape me. One is publishing a book. I am hoping that early this year, I can find a way to keep me on track to accomplish that goal in 2021.
One thing I tried this week was compartmentalizing my hobbies. I write everyday, but I do have other hobbies that keep me busy and serve as a creative outlet. One is sewing and the other is jewelry making. I could also add photography to the hobbies I regularly pursue, too. All three need me to be organized with not only my supplies, but my ideas as well.
January is a month to pursue organization. It’s a month that is cold and snowy in the upper midwest. What better time than now to pursue a reorganization of my time and talents? This week I compartmentalized. On Monday, I got back to my mask making finishing a batch that was left from before Christmas and cutting out a new batch of Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang masks that have been popular in my Etsy shop.
Tuesday, I worked on the window blinds (roman shades) for our cabin. The pattern for these shades is the absolute worst I have ever used! It’s required practically remaking the pattern for my window measurements. The directions are hard to follow and flip back and forth between the shade I’m making and another one. I’ll be glad when this one is done – then, I’ll only have five more to do! I have been trying to take notes (perhaps a use for the bullet journal) on how I’ve made adjustments so I can replicate the shade five more times. I’m not sure I’ve done a good enough job keeping tracking of all the adjustments. We’ll see. In the very least, I’ll have a prototype to work off of for the rest.
Wednesday, I made some jewelry. My jewelry work station is a mess right now. There have been many end of the year jewelry component sales and I’ve taken advantage of at least four of them. While I have ideas of what I will make, I need some way to organize what I have bought (in addition to all the stock I already have). If I do not organize it, I will loose track of things I’ve already bought and buy them again! UGH! It can be a problem! Again, perhaps a use for the bullet journal – the ideas can go in there, as well as needs for future projects.
Thursday was spent finishing the Charlie Brown masks and cutting out some new ones – a paisley print for Iowa State. It’s really cute and I’m excited to work on them. I had to make a run to the fabric store late on New Year’s Eve (5 p.m.) to get some more fusible interfacing. I was out and this adds a third layer to my handmade fabric face masks that is completely washable and not visble.
Friday, I did some photo editing of the new jewelry and masks. To sell anything as a hobbyist, one needs to have a nice presentation and do a fair amount of promotion. Over the years, thankfully, I’ve become adept at quickly adjusting the photos of my jewelry creations using Adobe Photoshop. So, while it doesn’t take long, it does take time.
And, that brings us to today. In between the compartmentalized crafting this week, I have continued writing my daily blog and searched for some inexpensive containers that will help me to better organize my beads. Today, I went to our Michael’s store with coupon in hand and bought two clear organizers (less than $30.00 total). I plan to use my husband’s label maker to indicate what in in each tray (3 trays in each organizer). When I’m finished writing, I’ll be headed down to my work station to start on the re-organization of my beads!
I also started to look at how to bullet journal. As luck would have it, I found a handy online presentation that was an overview of the process and uses for this type of note taking and/or list making. Ironically, when I got to the end of the slides, I saw that it was produced by the UW-Extension! I had to laugh! I know from years of being a Master Gardener Volunteer, trained by the UW-Extension, there are some good things being shared by those offices! I am sharing the link to the presentation (click here) if you are interested.
It will be interesting to see if I can successfully use a bullet journal. I have the tools (you don’t need much), but I want it to be efficient and not too time consuming. If it doesn’t work, I’ll continue to keep track of my ideas in my head and jot them down on a list I leave on the kitchen counter or my desk. That method hasn’t been too bad for me thus far! Or, I’ll just keep compartmentalizing. I had a productive week doing that, as well!
How do you keep organized? How successful have you been at reorganization?
Let me know in the comments!
The Apples in My Orchard 