I've got an idea

I think today, December 1, 2009, is going to be the day of new beginnings. I'm not going to be average and make my resolutions on the first of the New Year. I am going to make them today.

I've really been in a funk recently. I had been struggling to get my freelance graphic design business off the ground for about a year and a half when suddenly it hit. What is it? Work. Work hit. I went from casual housewife and part-time designer to full-time designer and terrible housewife. Don't get me wrong here, this is exactly what I wanted. I absolutely want to be a full-time worker with money in my bank account, but the change threw me for a loop.

I wrestled with the idea of not working quite so much so I could have more downtime and time to take care of things around the house. But I kept getting pulled back to work. I really like to work because I really love what I do. And I want to do more of it. So I reorganized my life and thinking process. Each week I will make a comprehensive to-do list that includes everything I would like to get done that week. That means work tasks and home tasks go on the list. This week's list includes things like: magazine advertisement, save the date card, laundry, web edits, bake a chocolate cake. They all need to get done, so they're going on the list.

Of course making a list is only part of the equation. I have to actually do what's on the list. But I have a problem. When I see a giant list I freak out. I avoid it, I cry, I procrastinate! I cried my way through college with lists like this and I'm still at it. Giant lists seem insurmountable, don't they? Why is that? Because crossing things off the to-do list is so satisfying. So why do I let the projects haunt me? This is the age old question.

Getting to my goal
The list is there for a reason. The reason is that without the list no projects would get sent to clients, no kitchen would be cleaned, and no money would be in my bank account. I have to complete the tasks on my list. How?

Start with one thing.

I think my husband has told me that a hundred times. Each week. And it works every time. It's so strange that I have to hear it over and over again, but I do. It's a design flaw. INSIDE MY BRAIN. But Thomas is patient with me and encouraging. That means the work gets done.

I always choose the most fun thing to do first because then not only can I cross something off my list but I feel happy. It's great to feel happy. Especially after I all the stressing I did about that darn list! Phew!

On to the next task, laundry. Ugh. But today I remembered a trick my sister Jen taught me. When she doesn't want to do a chore she sets a timer for twenty minutes and just buckles down until the timer rings. If by the end of the timer she wants to stop, she does. But if she's on a roll and the chore isn't that bad she sets the timer again. I call it the "Jenny Twenny." Before too long, a couple of "twenny" minute segments add up to boring tasks getting crossed of that big ol' to-do list. And before I know it my list has whittled down to nearly nothing and I'm cracking open a beer on Friday afternoon.

But I have a new goal. I want to build a website, and not just a little website. My idea is gigantic. "Oh," I can hear you saying right now, "what's the big deal, Heather? You're a designer. You can build a website." Well, thank you for your encouragement, but I am a Print Designer. I play with paper, I make banners, I do press checks. You know, stuff you can touch, stuff that doesn't move and you can't click. I didn't take any web design classes in college, I know a smattering of HTML and I struggle my way through some CSS. But I've got this idea that is bouncing around like a super ball and it has to get out because it's getting really annoying with all those boing, boing, boings up there.

The list is my December 1st resolution that will, I hope, get me to my goal. I have to stay on task.

An unnecessary hurdle

Today I was happily working away in Adobe InDesign creating a sign for an artist in San Francisco. Happily, until I tried to edit the original image. It's a simple sign, featuring a painting series synopsis and a photograph of the artist. The image I was using for placement until I receive the hi-res image had some text that was drawing attention away from my design. I thought I'd hop into Photoshop and clear it right up, so I did this:

With a simple right click on the image, I selected Edit Original.

Then this happened:

Do you see that? Do you see that my image, the image I wanted to EDIT, opened in Preview. PREVIEW! Preview. I was stunned. Irate! So annoyed. Why in the world would ADOBE InDesign open an image in Apple's Preview? Wouldn't you expect it to open it in, let me think, um, ADOBE PHOTOSHOP? Yes, I would think it would open in Adobe Photoshop. But it didn't. Instead, I had to go and open Photoshop, open the image, edit it, save it, go back to InDesign, select the image, open the Links palette, and choose Update Link. Instead of the three steps I had originally planned for there were eight. So thank you Adobe InDesign for adding useless steps, making my design take longer and just generally making my workday more challenging. That's great.

This week's good stuff

I love the internet and the internet loves me. I read all sorts of things and these are my favorite finds from this week.

Recently I've been thinking a lot about how to better promote myself as a freelance designer. Besides talking to friends and getting input, I've been searching the internet for tips and tricks to keep me motivated and my business goals moving forward.

I ask myself on a daily basis if freelancing is right for me. This motivational article says yes it is because I have an "independent streak." And this one says that it's better job security than a corporate gig.

Here's 10 tips on becoming a freelance powerhouse. Which I want to be, of course.

To help keep a steady base income, this article recommends a "heating company" tactic wherein you bill a steady monthly rate and update your client's website on a regular basis. Some months the client could have a just a few changes and other months they could need a lot of things updated. The end result being that you are averaging out their payments giving them peace of mind and giving you a check in the mail every month. Great idea!

And lastly, I came across this article filled with podcasts for freelancers and marketing professionals. There's a ton of different productions for every kind of freelancer -- photographers, designers, writers -- and I can't wait to subscribe to a fresh stack of podcasts.

What helps you stay motivated as a freelancer? I'd love some more ideas!

Remember?

I'm a graphic designer! I'm always posting photos of my cooking or my adorable dogs, but never really showing you what gets done in my studio and helps buy all that food I cook. So here are some invitations I finished up last week for a new client, the San Diego Junior League. The invites are for a fabulous day at the Del Mar Races. I just spent some time updating my portfolio, so go take a look!

Design Problem: Bulk Mailing Indicia

Sometimes as a graphic designer I run into problems for which I just don't know the answer. Today's speed bump was a bulk mailing permit stamp to go on envelopes for a non-profit organization. The envelopes were already set to go on press but a last minute client email came in saying WE NEED THIS PLEASE!. It took me a minute to figure out what she wanted but then I realized it's those preprinted squares that say US Postage PAID. Like these:

My envelopes already had a certain style so my head started spinning and came back with: But do they have to look like that? Are they required to be a certain size? Must they be printed in black? All caps? San-serif?

The answer to all those questions is no. The stamp does not have to look exactly like that but it must have certain information and it must be clear and it must be in the upper right hand corner of the envelope. It took me a while to find the answers mainly because I didn't know what to call it. Is it a permit? Yes there is a permit number on there, but all the info for permit was how to apply for one. I had my client's permit number. What about bulk mailing envelope as my search terms. That gave me a huge selection of postage machines for printing postage right in your office, not what I needed. With a little more thought I typed in bulk mail imprint. Aha! It's amazing what you find when you use the lingo the USPS uses. That brought me to this link which has another handy link called "Designing a Permit Imprint." Wow! They actually thought of us designers. It turns out the correct name for it is Permit Imprint Indicia.

Your Permit Imprint Indicia must include the following:
Line 1: Rate Marking.
Line 2: The words “US Postage Paid.”
Line 3: City and state where permit is held.
Line 4: The words “Permit No.” and your permit number.

The key points are:
- It must show your city, state and permit number.
- It may be only four or five lines long.
- It must appear to the upper right of the delivery address. Include a clear space of at least 3/8 inch around the entire indicia and be no smaller than 1/2 inch high and 1/2 inch wide. It must not fall more than 1-1/2 inches below or left from the upper right corner of the envelope.
- Don't make any other design on your envelope that mimics or resembles the bulk mail permit.

I found the frighteningly long list of guidelines here. And my client is happy.