It’s worth remembering: there will be bad days. Customers will freak out, ask weird questions, demand unreasonable things, or forget to show up for appointments. Your inbox will have 60 new e-mails three hours after the last time you emptied it, and your schedule will landslide itself right into Crazytown. It’s easy to lose a sense of what makes you YOU, of what defines your art, and of what your business tick.
So, take a breath. Put down your camera, turn off your computer, and chill. (I mean it.)
You’ll note, I did this yesterday and felt guilty for the entire day. My hands were itching to answer e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, return phone calls, place orders, process photos, and — well, to be honest, vacuum. My carpets were itching for a good vacuuming session.
But I acknowledged my need to breathe — to relax, to take a walk, to watch TV, to read a book, to snap a few pictures that have nothing to do with my business. You may feel guilty about not being ‘productive’ — but try it. Give yourself breathing room, and see what develops.
funny ~ needed that right now. great post. thanks!
SO TRUE! A great reminder….I love what Anne Morrow Lindbergh once wrote in her book “Gift from the Sea” – “America, which has the most glorious present still existing in the world today, hardly stops to enjoy it, in her insatiable appetite for the future. ” Instead of being run by our TO DO lists, we could benefit by wiping it clean and doing one or two of the things we always wish we had time to do….like you said, read a book or take a day trip to somewhere we’ve always wanted to visit, etc. “Arranging a bowl of flowers in the morning can give a sense of quiet in a crowded day – like writing a poem or saying a prayer.” (Also by AML) Clearing that ‘list’ can do wonders for clearing the mind….