We made it through the hottest day of the year! How are you all holding up? I took the opportunity to spend as much time away from the computer as I could and enjoy a slower pace- just one of the beauties of being self employed.
The early bird catches the worm
For the last 5-6 weeks I have been waking up at 5.45am to go walking. During the summer months it is so much easier to do this. I had been talking to my husband saying how I had wanted to do more exercise but had struggled to fit it in, due to my working patterns and juggling family life, so waking up early seemed like the only logical explanation.
At this time of the morning it is still fairly quiet on the roads and it is hugely peaceful. I realised that out of my entire day, this is the only time that I have completely to myself. I make sure not to listen to music or a podcast and just check in with myself each morning. After walking 5k I head home to get ready for the day.
Mum life
For those who may not know- I am a mum of 2 girls. The mornings can be hectic. After getting them ready and out to school, I would normally head out for another walk with our Cocker Spaniel at 9am but as we are scheduled extreme temperatures, I put this aside and get straight to the house work! I tend to clean one room each day, to spread the load and finish the task as quickly as possible. As I have a dust mite allergy, its really important that I don't miss my cleaning routine. It also means that I keep on top of the house, which is always a positive. If you want to know more about my routine, check out The Organised Mum method
You may be wondering when I actually start working- good question! For the first 6 months of being self employed I really struggled with the concept of not working 9-5 and I felt like I wasn't working 'hard enough'- it turns out that you can be just as productive working less hours, providing you have a plan! Also, one of the benefits of working for yourself is that if you don't finish something planned, you can either finish it the next day or work later in the evening- I tend to work a few evenings each week, to catch up on anything I've missed.
Carving time out to create.
I have heard several times "You are so lucky, I would love to sit at home and paint all day". I absolutely wish that this is what I did. In actual fact, I often don't schedule enough time to create and need to be more disciplined to maybe put aside one day a week to do just that.
Yesterday as it was so hot, I wanted to spend as much time away from the computer as I could. Instead I sat in the garden under a parasol for half an hour to eat a late breakfast and read a couple of chapters from a book about branding, which is another challenge in itself. At about 11am I moved to the kitchen and finished painting some jungle elements for a new greeting card and print I am working on.
afterwards I scanned the elements in to my computer and turned them in to cutout workable images before assembling them in to a basic card design. I am still at the playing stage and I'm not sure if I like it yet.
Later I contacted my manufacturer for an ETA on some sample cushions- there have been a few issues to resolve, which has been quite stressful because although I gave myself plenty of time, I am now cutting it fine before the Stylish Home Fair and I don't have any stock yet! There is honestly never a dull moment at Mayajoy HQ.
I also had to contact a supplier for a wholesale quotation and do some costings for my new collection. It is so exciting but hugely daunting because I am in the process of scaling up quite considerably but I have absolutely no where to keep my stock, so home life is going to be a bit messy for a while.
Blessings
At 3pm It's time to collect the girls so I collected my youngest and then head to school for an open evening. It's the last week of term, so there have been lots of things for parents to get involved in. I feel really lucky that I am able to attend, even though it can be disruptive to my working.
Home to prepare dinner, reading homework, ballet practice for the girls show and finishing the laundry and then off to bed for the kids. Once the girls go to bed, I tidy up, wash the dishes and finally get back to work, to finish this blog post and prep for tomorrow. I finally end up finishing at 10pm.
All in all an enjoyable day.
Let me know if you like this kind of post. To keep up with more, head over to my Instagram where I share more of my journey, designs and products.
Lots of Love
Mayajoy x
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