career

2015 Plans

January 1, 2015 by Angela

I don’t exactly do resolutions. I see their value and *love* to talk about goals, but I’m really more of a planner. Resolutions are a little vague for me. They’re generally about very important mental and physical changes like being more positive or becoming more healthy. I agree and those are things I am continually working on and do have goals about. But, and I think to hold myself more accountable in a way, I like to write down my plans for the year like an extended to-do. I know, it sounds so boring. Maybe it’s more like a bucket list. Plus, with plans, it’s okay if they change and evolve over time. Some things things don’t go as planned and I feel much better about changing a small plan than abandoning a resolution. Hopefully these little plans add up to those resolutions over time and lead me to be more positive and more healthy and more x and more y. Only time will tell! Here’s my list:

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2014 in review

December 31, 2014 by Angela

I wasn’t going to write about 2014 at first but I finally saw that it was because I felt like I didn’t have that much to write about. 2013 was the year of change: moving to Los Angeles, getting our apartment, becoming an editor. 2014 was much more rocky, but in writing it out, I remember all those things that made it so necessary. In all its messiness and uncertainty, 2014 is what will make 2015 so wonderful.

I started the year optimistic but January was difficult. It led to me quitting a position and pursuing freelance a little by chance. I did a lot of DIY. I had a lot of time to myself. I am probably responsible for the fact that my two cats do not like being alone. I wrote a lot. I ghost-wrote. I helped my writer friends who had too much writing to do. I wrote for a blog (The Interior Project) that took lots of time + energy for less than minimum wage and they didn’t even pay me my last invoice (similarly with Karmic Fit). I found that the blogging I did for free either as a contributor or for myself was more fulfilling than what people would pay for. All in just a few months.

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Do you need a creative space to work well?

December 5, 2014 by Angela

From creating a tranquil space out of Ikea furniture in my childhood bedroom after moving home from college to going from loving to loathing my LA apartment after the transition from office jobs to work-at-home, I’ve always tried to work my way around environmental circumstances beyond my control. I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent scouring Craigslist hoping to even come across a dream creative studio—no matter that I’d never be able to afford one—or the time logged on Pinterest searching terms like “exposed brick” and “light space”, “white walls”, etc.

10 things to try in October

October 1, 2014 by Angela

Happy October!!!! Annnd I meant every exclamation I typed. October is everything: it’s fall, it’s nature, it’s crafting, it’s warmth. And you may know by now – I am huge on making plans. To me, putting it in writing solidifies it. If I write it, I’ll do it. Fall is my favorite season, so I want to make it count! Here’s what I’m planning…

1. List my shawls. I created this new shawl & scarf, and just finished shooting them. I have just one of these mustard shawls the shop – the yarn is discontinued.

2. Take a few days off. This weekend we’re headed to Big Sur & San Francisco! It’s my first weekend off in quite some time and the first vacay in months. Even on the way to Sequoia I had last minute projects, so this time I’m leaving my laptop home.

3. Revamp my closet. I’m so uninspired by my clothes right now. Working from home can = PJs all day (not trying to complain!) and 90 degree weather totally kills my fall vibes. Whether I thrift or blow all my money on an online shopping binge, I’m determined to deal with this, stat.

4. Transfer to WordPress. I use WordPress exclusively for every blog I write on except my own and I’m starting to cave. I even designed a mockup of my new look. If any of you have tips for transferring, please do tell. I plan to keep my name & some of my favorite posts, but other than that – all will be fresh and new and more “me”.

5. Read, read, read. Where does the time go? I always try to make time for reading but it gets pushed down the list. Yet when I force myself to pick a book off my shelf, take a walk, and head to a quiet cafe for an hour or two – it’s always worth it.

6. Put me first. When I’m happy, I’m a better person, basically, but lately things have gotten in the way. I heard some advice in regard to writing: to be your true self – the writer you know you are – you have to start putting it first. Will you disappoint, piss off, or confuse people? For sure. But if writing (or whatever) is in you, you gotta put in the time to become who you were meant to be. I love it and I’m sticking to it this month… Now it’s out in the open so it’s pretty much guaranteed.

7. Plan my trip home. It’s a little bittersweet – some of the plans I’ve made for Seattle have already fallen through, but I want to be optimistic, see as many old friends as I can see, and do some super touristy Seattle things that I miss like crazzzzy.

8. Go outside. What this means… I’ll always be figuring out. But my goal all day, every day? To immerse myself in the simultaneously serene, exhilarating, and striking beauty of the native world. Kiiinda hard in a city of 3.8 million (!!!) people.

9. Become a foodie. Can’t lie, I love eating out. Trying new food has been one of my favorite things about living here, but it’s easy to fall in that trap of only eating at my go-to spots. My goal for this month is to venture out into the (cheaper) LA food scene!

10. Celebrate fall. There’s only so many autumns you get in life. Sure, it’s different here than anywhere else, but you can find the cozy feeling & crisp air if you know where to look.

Setting deadlines for yourself

May 12, 2014 by Angela

As I work from home on writing projects (more on that later), blog, crochet, and run Etsy shops, I realize it’s important to find a daily rhythm and focus on larger goals for myself creatively + professionally. I want my blog to be a space where I write about that. I read wonderful tips from people in all careers. But those of us in some state of “in progress” could benefit from talking to each other and learning more about what works and doesn’t in regards to living creatively, doing what you dream of, and just makin’ it work. This post is the first in what isn’t as much a series as thoughts from my experience, but hopefully people can connect with it and share too 🙂

Do you consider yourself more deadline driven or self-motivated? When you work from home, it gets complicated.

While I’m pretty ambitious, I still consider myself very deadline driven. I didn’t know just how much so until earlier this year when I began these to-do lists each morning. Because I’m a writer and shop owner, to name a couple of my more concrete projects, these to-do lists were long and winding.

Each day there was something that didn’t get done.

There was a pattern: it was always the one without the hard deadline. That meant the essay I planned to write, the idea I wanted to pitch, my own blog’s redesign, etc.—always the things that no one counted on me for.

It seems like I know my priorities. But when I don’t have a deadline, I lose focus on a project, even when it’s as simple as flushing out a really cool idea I have.

I recently read The Difference Between Dreaming and Doing on The Everygirl, which I needed to hear but really didn’t want to. It’s uncanny how accurate this post was for me. So I created deadlines even for obscure plans I have, like “write a book,” “pitch x idea,” and “prepare Etsy for fall”. It’s helped put things in perspective a bit.

Everyone’s different, but if those big-picture ideas and plans are disproportionate to actual accomplishment (ah, I hate to admit it), these tips are for you:

Tips for Setting Your Own Deadlines

1. Be ambitious, but not too ambitious.

Set aspirational but attainable dates ranging from weeks to months in the future.

2. Create checkpoints for yourself.

One goal is to have everything ready to dive into the fall season for my shop by September. It’s so far away, so I created smaller checkpoints to lead up to that point.

3. Set aside actual time to complete them.

When you’re accountable for other things, the personal is pushed down the list. Carve out time to work on these. For me, it means either starting off with them in the morning or taking a break from my other work mid-day to focus on it. If I don’t do it early on, I’ll push it until there’s no time in the day left (I’m really sneaky like that!).

Or why not try…

4. Set up a reward system.

It’s a little embarrassing but rewarding myself motivates me further. When you work mostly by yourself, it takes more to keep going—you don’t have someone checking in and reassuring you you’re on the right track. One thing I’ve experimented with is creating a motivator that relates to my business. For example, if I pump out x inventory in x amount of time, I can begin designing my new craft space. It’s kind of silly, but it keeps me going because I know it’s not reasonable to pay for a new workspace when I don’t even have a plan in place to make the money (aka inventory).

If you work on your business fulltime, how do you keep yourself in check? For those of you with a day job, how do you manage to move forward with your business on the side?

5 creative ways to celebrate nature

April 22, 2014 by Angela

Happy Earth Day! Can’t believe April is almost over: National Poetry Month and Earth month, not to mention all our birthdays. Earth Day is one of the most underrated holidays. Hardly anyone I know celebrates it, except kids in school. Let’s be real: are you celebrating Earth Day? Besides just the general acknowledgement that we should all recycle more? I’m not better. I always want to celebrate it.

Earth Day falls in a category for some people similar to Friendship Day and Grandparents’ Day. They’re worthy of a day of recognition, but we take them for granted. Earth is amazing and we should be nice to it and be aware of the implications of our actions (I’m looking at you all, men that I see on the streets of LA daily, tossing trash onto the ground, as if it innocently slipped from your hands). And we need to take a step back and realize all that earth is offering us each and every day that we’re not seeing because we’re in homes and offices and in cars in traffic. Go on a walk. Head to the beach, even if it’s not hot out. Stop to listen to all the sounds you hear. Think about how many species of birds live in your neighborhood.

In the spirit of being creative on this wonderful day, here are crafty ways to celebrate nature:

5 Challenges to Celebrate Nature AND Creativity

1. Take a photo (outside) a day. Daily photo challenges instantly spark creativity. Head outside each morning or evening, and challenge yourself to see your neighborhood in a way you haven’t before.

2. Upcycle something you’d normally throw away. Before you throw that bottle into the recycling bin, think of how to give it a second life.

3. Package your gifts/orders without plastic. Once upon a time I bought from an amazing Etsy shop that boasted all their eco-friendly practices. I was very excited until it arrived in an excessive amount of plastic and packing materials. If you normally don’t use environmentally friendly materials, it can challenge you to think creatively in terms of packaging, using recycled or less wasteful materials, while maintaining the polished look you’re going for.

4. Do one thing/errand a week without a car. If you’re used to driving everywhere, it might seem like a challenge. But really, the most challenging part is changing your mind. Look up some of the regular errands you go on, you’d probably be surprised at how close they really are to you. You can take this time to enjoy the walk, think about projects, make plans, and think about how else to incorporate sustainable practices into your life. 🙂

5. Turn a Pinterest DIY eco-friendly. Take a DIY you’ve been really wanting to do, and challenge yourself to turn it into a totally waste-free project.

Happy Earth Day! Let me know if you take on any of these challenges! 🙂