Re: [h-cost] OT: work at home 'rituals'
I've got a couple things that work for me. First, everything is in one room. I also have a smock that I wear to work in. I first started using the smock just because it kept me from getting thread and lint all over my clothes and it had a lot of pockets, but it has come to mean work to me. I can't decree office hours as easily as some, because my arthritis and fibromyalgia dictate frequent breaks and changes in routine. For instance, I can't sit at the sewing machine for more than an hour at the most, so I try to vary my tasks so that I can keep working, but not be doing the same thing. Even so, I take breaks about every 2 hours or so. I have also found that, with my husband working nights, I get most of my work done in the late afternoon and evenings. I have a large chalkboard in my workroom, something I picked up from the first costume shop I worked in. On it are all the garments I'm currently making, along with what I need to do on each. As I finish a task, it gets erased. A little thing, but it really does keep me on track and I can tell how I'm doing with a glance. With the exception of hand work, I try not to let the business take over my life. Hand work, I take everywhere with me. It's become joke amoung my friends that I'm never without a sewing kit and handsewing, but that's how I get it done. The other thing that has really helped me was getting a headset for my telephone. With the headset, I can take calls and still work with my hands, so long phone calls aren't a problem. Melusine ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] OT: work at home 'rituals'
katherine sanders wrote: I got to wondering if other people have special rituals or procedures they do to separate their time, particularly those who work at home. I'm pretty casual about my hours, that's one of the reasons I work from home after all, but I do have a sort of routine. Get up, get breakfast, read email, get dressed. Then the _daylight hours are for sewing_, until around 4pm when I quit to do household stuff like prep dinner. I find it difficult to work after dusk, even with good lighting indoors. I take breaks as often as I want to, or need to (arthritis) depending on my workload. I run a pretty quick turnaround time for orders and I know how long it takes me to make each item, so I know whether I can screw around the rest of the afternoon or whether I better get the dress finished so it can be mailed. Generally, I try to divide my time into large chunks. I will sew for several hours when the light is good, and I promise myself computer games after supper. You get much more done when you're not hopping all over trying to do several things. I also keep a list of jobs so I can stay on top of the workload, and cross those off when they're finished. I sometimes put tv on in the background (how much of that do you really need to *watch*?) or plug in a bunch of renfest music, but generally I'm not a tv person. My husband is very supportive of my efforts, and during crush times he helps by overlooking the condition of the house and fixing ( or bringing home) dinner for us. Dawn ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
Re: [h-cost] OT: work at home 'rituals'
I don't have a set routine of hours that I work - it tends to depend on what I'm making, and how interested in it I am, though I try to avoid too many evenings and weekends unless at the silly time of year (just before the new re-enactment season, and the time that the museums get their new annual budgets - i.e. about now-ish). But I prefer a more fluid day - I tend to work better knowing I have to get x, y, and z done today, than when working to strict times. I seem to get more done that way. I also tend to have more than one thing on the go at any given time (be it sewing or websites, or brochures, or whatever), so that when I start to tear out my hair over one thing, I can move onto something different for a bit. Or occasionally I'll go for a walk if I just want to rip everyhting to shreds. My start time can be anything from about 7am to about 11am, depending on how I feel, and whether or not I've done any work the night before (sometimes I do a bit after Nige goes to bed). My workroom is on the top floor of the house, so my journey to work involves climbing a flight of stairs. My 'at work' signal (clothes don't work - I've been known to wear pj's all day!!) is that I open the door of the room, switch on the light, and turn on the mains power to the machines and the radio (I listen to Radio 4 mostly, or books on tape when they're broadcasting repeats, or I'm bored with the news!). As soon as that's done I'm 'at work'. At some point during the day (time varies), I go and get lunch, and check e-mail and things while I'm eating. Then I go back to work. My finish time is between 6 and 6.30 pm, or when Nigel gets home (6.30 - 7.30), depending on how involved I am in what I'm doing. Of course, there are times when I literally work a 24 hour day, mainlining red bull, if there's a tight deadline - and there were a couple of times that I worked 130 or 140 hour weeks when I first started, but I really wouldn't recommend that to anyone!! :-) Debs ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
[h-cost] OT: work at home 'rituals'
Hello all as a fairly new costumer (for money) I am trying to establish a work-from-home pattern that doesn't involve quite so much tv - I know, I know... my brain is rotting as I type. I'm going to try having a special 'sewing uniform' - a work pinafore to cover my clothes - as a signal to my brain that now is work time. I got to wondering if other people have special rituals or procedures they do to separate their time, particularly those who work at home. You never know what useful info could come up, so I hope you forgive this meander slightly OT. Thanks, Katherine A positive attitude may not solve all of your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort - Herm Albright ___ Win a BlackBerry device from O2 with Yahoo!. Enter now. http://www.yahoo.co.uk/blackberry ___ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
