Keeping Up and Planning 

In the last Post, I talked about getting organized.  Clearly, that is an ongonig process. 

I am trying to work towards getting some processes in place for my art business, but got pulled away to finish setup and running The Taste of Oktoberfest at the American German Club of the Palm Beaches the last two weekends.  Thankfully, I was not actually in charge of the whole event, but was in charge of one of the booths and all that went into getting it ready, staffed, and run it both weekends.  All of that took a certain amount of planning, but we did tend to say "It will all work out" an awful lot when certain things did not get done when we thought they were all handled.

That being said, we are now on to planning and putting on our Christkindlmarkt and new Krampus Night events the second weekend of December.  I have been the co-chair for this event for a couple of years now and I have to thank my predecessor for leaving really great details for what needs to get planned.  It feels planned out now,  but there is so much left to in the actual set up.  I am learning the art of delegating and managing and trying not to do all things by myself.  Not good for me and not good for the Club overall if I try to do it all myself  People need to feel invested to continue to help in an organization like this one and make it survive.

Sitting down and putting things on the calendar has made me feel so much better.  When do I get the decorating done?  Who will help? Bake the cookies? Make costumes if needed?   Each item has a place on my calendar.

I am trying to carry some of this planning over to my business and make my life a big more predictable there.  Planning ahead for my social media posts, planning ahead for this blog, and trying to plan ahead when I launch new collections.  Trying to set up some sort of flow does help me to enjoy the process along the way. 

In the midst of it all, I am making time to paint and do something creative to keep my energy up and flowing.

I think that is enough of my creative thoughts for today.  I hope you get to do something creative today.

Christina

 Hello There!  

With Facebook and Instagram down last week, I realized I needed to put out another blog post.  I meant to do it last week, but I am involved in helping to set up the Taste of Oktoberfest event at our local American German Club.  It all starts this coming weekend and has been crazy!

We are doing a smaller version this year due to COVID and we are already close to being sold out.  New for us to be taking only advanced ticket sales for this event that is usually soooo much bigger.  Once this event is over, it is on to our Christmas Market that I am co-chair for.  Phew!  So much else going on other than my art and my art business.  

Never ending, but it really puts it in perspective that organization and calendar planning is so very important.  How do you work on making sure all your ducks are in a row?  Do you use a paper calendar/planner?  Do you use your calendar on your phone/computer?  A combination of the two?  Do you have an app that helps keep things all together for you? Or do you fly by the seat of your pants and hope for the best?

I do a bit of paper planning and computer.  I like being able to jot down notes on a paper calendar and have it in front of me when I work.  I also have a place to jot down ideas and future plans to keep me moving in the right direction.Sometimes it is the only way I can remember what comes to mind in the middle of listening to a podcast.  But I also like to put events on my phone calendar.  Mostly because then I get the reminders and I a definitely need those.  LOL.

As we move into the end of the year and a new year, share how you get yourself organized.