Merry go round - Has your blogging style changed?

It's the last Friday of the month, so join us on our merry go round for a quick spin.  The merry go round is where a group of 11 artists/craftwomen link together around the world and tell you a little about their art and craft, through blogging on the same topic.

This month's topic is "Since you started blogging, has your style/content/feeling about blogging changed?"

I started blogging on July 1st 2008.  Actually, it was a couple of weeks earlier when I tried out blogging to see what I would write about.  It was a real exploration for those first few posts, then I realized what I wanted to write about, so deleted the first blog!  Since that time, I've written 1,132 blog posts. Some of those were written by guest bloggers...but over a thousand were from my hand.  I have been blogging daily for nearly 2 years, but took a break this month ....and it did feel strange!

Since July 2008, yes, my content, style, and feeling about blogging has changed in that time.

My new Cathedral Window bracelet

First of all, I now love blogging!  I just really enjoy sitting down - normally at cocktail hour! - and sharing new pieces that I have just made. To begin with, it didn't feel natural and I had to think up what to write. Now the story behind the piece just comes out, or why I named it what I did, etc etc.  Blogging also encourages my productivity greatly, as I want to have something to write about.  So I tend to make sure I finish new pieces each week so that I have something to share.

Although I generally blog daily, it isn't a time consuming thing.  I guess I've become quite efficient at it.  I do wish I had a little more time to be more creative with my photos however. I really enjoy it when I do "staged" photos - ie adding props and things to my bird and animal pieces, to create a little scene. 

Style-wise, I occasionally introduce regular topics each week and let them run for a few months, like my "inspiration" posts or my "business matter" posts from a few years ago or like this "merry go round" post and my current Saturday "bird in the hand" posts.  It's nice to have some structure in there but also some flexibility.

I have enjoyed having guest bloggers but currently just have my husband blogging once a month about our vineyard.  I'd like to find another guest blogger who would write maybe a couple of times a month also.....

I find blogging a great way to connect to people - to friends, customers, potential customers, casual readers, other bloggers and also my family.  This audience expands beyond blogger as my blog automatically publishes to  Facebook and Twitter as well. It's great to get comments - hint, hint - and get feedback on what you are doing.  I find it really useful for my business.

I can't imagine myself not blogging!  It's definitely become part of my life.  If you don't blog - I highly recommend giving it a try.  And if you don't like it when you start, you can - like me - delete that and start again when you get in the flow of it.  Give it a try!

To find out what the other members of the merry go round think about blogging and how their style has changed, click on the links below:

Samantha at Vintage is for lovers - http://www.vintageisforlovers.com/
Jen at Painted Fish Studio - http://paintedfishstudio.com/
Bethany at Dirksen Dabbles - http://www.dirksendabbles.com/
Laura at Blue Terracotta -  http://blueterracotta.com/
Monika at Red2White - http://red2white.wordpress.com/
Mitsy at ArtMind - http://artmind-etcetera.blogspot.com
Kim at Vilt a la Kim - http://viltalakim.com/blog/
Sara at Crafts of Texture - http://sarastexturecrafts.blogspot.com
Mariana at Florcita - http://florcita.eu/wordpress/
Agathe at Le Bar du Vent - http://lebarduvent.blogspot.com
Ruth at Birdland Creations - http://insidetheartisan.blogspot.com

Or else you can click on the blog hop below.  If you are a merry go round participant, please add your link if it's not already included. You can then copy the code and put it on your blog post too.

Merry go round - Time management

It's the last Friday of the month, so join us on our merry go round for a quick spin.  The merry go round is where a group of 11 artists/craftwomen link together around the world and tell you a little about their art and craft, through blogging on the same topic.


This month's topic is "Time management: How do we organize our working time"

So what exactly is time management?  Wikipedia defines it as "the act or process of exercising conscious control over the amount of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase efficiency or productivity".

One of my favorite sayings that helps me with time management is "work smarter, not harder". And so I look for ways to not waste time.  I am a very focused person. My husband says " you are the most focused person I know". When I make a plan and want to achieve it, that is what my mind concentrates on.  I definitely don't prevaricate and put off until tomorrow what I can do today.
 

Photo by John-Morgan

I have a lot of flexibility in my schedule so this focus really helps with that. Some weeks, for example when my family are visiting, I don't do any work, apart from blogging. Other weeks, I spend every day in my studio or doing computer work for my business. But at the beginning of each week, I know roughly how that week will look and I rarely change that.

There are few hints that help me with my time management:

1. Blogging.One important thing that has changed my productivity significantly is blogging. At the beginning of 2010 I decided to blog every day and I did that all last year and am continuing this year too.  This really encourages me to create new things. I want to have something to share with my blog readers each day and thus, I work at finishing off new pieces.  Some weeks when I know I will be out of the studio for a few days, I make sure that first day is a day when I finish lots of things so I have something to share each day on the blog.  I like it. It really keeps me going and gives me a push to continually create something new.
2. Lists.  Something that does help in my productivity- especially in encouraging me to do tasks that I am not keen on, is writing lists.  I don't do it all the time, but when I realize I have a few things that should have been done and I am reluctant to do them - I write a list and sure enough - it gets done and checked off the list in no time!  It's a great prompter for those unwanted tasks.
3. Get sales packaged first thing. Whatever my week or day looks like, one thing that I always strive for is that I try to get my orders ready to be mailed or shipped first thing in the morning.  Many days of the week I have to leave the house by 9am so my goal is always to get my sales for that day all ready and packaged up before 9am so that while I am out, I can call into the post office and send then off.  This is especially important as most of my sales are to Europe so I need to visit the post office rather than just put them in a mail box.  Not only does this get me organized, but it is also encouraging because by the time I have had breakfast, I have already achieved something.  As an aside, I recently read that for people suffering from depression, one of the best things you can do is try to achieve something before breakfast.  It doesn't have to be big, or difficult - just something. Then at the end of the day, if everything else went badly, at least you can look back and see that you got something done!  That wasn't what prompted me - but it does have the same effect.  

Photo from http://www.wishfulthinking.co.uk/

I wonder what you use to help in your time management? Do leave a comment with any suggestions.  And I hope you'll take the time to read how the other members of the merry go round manage their time by clicking on the links below.  We all live in different places around the world, so time differences may impact when we all get our blog post up.

Samantha at Vintage is for lovers - http://www.vintageisforlovers.com/
Jen at Painted Fish Studio - http://paintedfishstudio.com/
Bethany at Dirksen Dabbles - http://www.dirksendabbles.com/
Laura at Blue Terracotta -  http://blueterracotta.com/
Monika at Red2White - http://red2white.wordpress.com/
Mitsy at ArtMind - http://artmind-etcetera.blogspot.com
Kim at Vilt a la Kim - http://viltalakim.com/blog/
Sara at Crafts of Texture - http://sarastexturecrafts.blogspot.com
Mariana at Florcita - http://florcita.eu/wordpress/
Agathe at Le Bar du Vent - http://lebarduvent.blogspot.com
Ruth at Birdland Creations - http://insidetheartisan.blogspot.com

Or else you can click on the blog hop below.  If you are a merry go round participant, please add your link if it's not already included. You can then copy the code and put it on your blog post too.


PS. Happy Royal Wedding day!