Post Holiday Creative Burnout

I had a busy holiday season this year. That was good. I made some extra money, hopefully forged some new customer relationships and was overall really proud of myself that I got all my orders done on time, while working full time and going about my normal routine. I spent a lot of time in my studio on weekends and late into evenings but it was all good.

Until Christmas Day (or a couple of days before). Once the holidays hit and the madness slowed, I seemed to lose my creative mojo. I’ve gotten a few orders, which I’m working on, but I haven’t started listing again and I can’t seem to get into the space of spending time in my studio being creative again. (probably because it looks like a tornado tore through there from the weeks that I was frantically pushing orders through).

I suppose I needed a break. Well, it’s mid-January now and time to get back to work. To reboot my creativity, I plan to clean and organize my studio this weekend, list destash supplies that I will NEVER use, and come up with some new products to add to my line. I always find that creating something new gets everything rolling again. Oh and I bought some fabulous fabric on sale. Not sure what to do with it yet, but it’s so pretty!

My craft studio has always been my haven. I love being down there when I’m stressed or when I just need a break from the world. However, at this time of year, I always feel like I need a break from the studio. Break’s over. Time to get back to work.

We all suffer from creative burnout at one point or another. How do you get going again when your creative mojo is in hibernation?

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Business Planning Lessons From Weight Watchers

I’m not very organized. I’ll admit that right up front. Honestly, I don’t know many creative people who are. I don’t like to plan and I’m easily distracted. Like, for example, right now, I should be completing the orders that I promised myself I would get done today (I so need deadlines to get anything accomplished), and instead inspiration struck me to write about planning instead. Talk about procrastination.

But this is important too, and maybe as I write it, I’ll even get the message.

Anyway, I recently started Weight Watchers again after several vain attempts to lose a few pounds on my own, obviously unsuccessfully.

Everybody thinks success from Weight Watchers comes from being held accountable at weigh-ins and inspiration from the meetings. And while that works for some, if you’ve ever attended a weight watchers meeting, you know that many people gain each week as well. That’s because the true key to being a successful weight watcher is planning. The people who lose 100 pounds plan their food every day within their points and they write it down. The key phrase here is “write it down.” On my last dieting attempt three months ago, I did plan what I ate, but I didn’t write it down, and ate more than I’d planned on most days. I lost a couple of pounds, but after a month, I got frustrated and went back to my old ways. This time, with Weight Watchers, in the very first week, I planned my meals, wrote down everything I ate, and I lost more weight in a week than I lost in an entire month. Hmmmmm….

Ok, so think about your business. Are you planning your days? Do you have set goals? Are you plotting out how you will reach those goals? I haven’t been, and I’ve not gotten where I’d like my business to be. But I’m going to change that this week. I’m not just going to plan what I’ll get done that day (because it never gets done); I’m going to plan for my business’s future too, and I’m going to write it down.

I know the saying “The best laid plans of mice and men…” I get that all plans don’t work exactly the way you’d hoped, but that’s why you can adjust them as needed.

There are a couple of great resources to get you writing down what you want and how to get there.

First, a great book that everyone should read:

Write It Down, Make It Happen by Henriette Ann Klauser

If you click on it, it will take you to the Amazon page for the book.

And on ladieswholaunch.com, a social network and in-person program for women entrepreneurs, there are business plan guides for startup businesses and established businesses looking to get to the next level. You can find them under business templates and docs, along with a host of other business templates and documents. Check it out at Ladies Who Launch.

There is also a great business plan guide from an episode of Donny Deutsch’s Big Idea. The episode was Risking to Win and you can find the ten-question planning tool here.

Ok, I have some planning to do.

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