 It's Friday. And it's summer. And I should be relaxed and happy. Unfortunately that's not the case.
I have two new commissions that I picked up today. (And that is awesome, so don't get me wrong!) I have a four day abstract workshop next week. And my office and studio are ... um ... pretty unorganized. Plus I have a New York City vacation to plan (I haven't been there in a gazillion years) and I don't have any of my "to do's" written down. So I am really stressed! I know. Breathe. That's what I need to do. Then I need to grab my notebook and write everything down that needs to be accomplished. Because once it is all written down then I can relax. This week's Artists Helping Artist show is one day late because Southern California Edison scheduled a "maintenance day" ... which means they turned our power off from 8:00 am - 5:00 pm to fix stuff. Can I just go on record and say this is the third scheduled maintenance day this year! That seems a little excessive, especially for those of us that work out of our homes. Fortunately I was able to schedule a painting delivery to Orange County so I spent the entire day out of the house. But an entire day out of the house put me farther behind! I hope you will tune in to the AHA show. It's titled "Secrets to a Perfect Studio" and can be listened to here. Meanwhile I am off to getting my list together. What do you do when you are stressed out? 
8 Comments
6/24/2016 04:46:36 am
Pray!!! If possible, I do the one thing that is pressing me most. If not, then I do one thing that I can complete - makes me feel productive. And I LOVE to cross things off my list AS I GO 😉 6/24/2016 04:46:43 am
If I’m feeling stressed at a time when I can afford to take a “me” day, then that’s what I’ll do. But if the stress is from the overwhelming feeling of having a lot on your plate at once, then a to-do list is definitely the first thing I do. From there I assign an “order of operations” so that I know I’m doing the most important or critical things first (or put steps in the right order to happen if they are interdependent). This frees me up to focus on the task at hand; knowing that I’ve set the priority tells me that I’m doing exactly the right thing at that moment, and that can have a reassuring, calming effect which only helps with the focus required to complete the task(s). Squeezing in a mini-yoga relaxation session is a huge help too. 6/24/2016 05:07:18 am
I put things into piles. Bills / Art-related fun stuff / Correspondence, etc. Then that let's me start my List of Things to Do which gets pasted on my wall. THAT List supercedes any previous list, although I transfer over the important danglers. And, as Debi said, sometimes I resort to prayer. "Dear God, you're gonna have to take over. I'm not strong enough right now." Ah! Instantly the weight falls from my shoulders. 6/24/2016 05:14:23 am
Lists are it for me. And I keep them in the Reminders app on my iPhone. I used to mark things as Done, but that takes up too much memory and the app gets sluggish. So now I delete them. And it's even more satisfying than crossing them off! I sit down after dinner and say "which ones of these can I do sitting here on the sofa?". In the morning I run through those that are the fastest to complete (a shorter list looks less daunting). As you say Leslie, once they're written down the stress fades. I also try to get painting work done in the AM, that accomplishment sets me up for the rest of the day.
D hunt
6/24/2016 05:47:38 am
Some sorry for you Leslie. I usually go exercise for hour then tackle my lists and challenges. Then as you do I play my favorite music in studio and move on. 🙋💯🏇🏋🎼🎨🚴🏊🏻
Dana Richards
6/24/2016 08:20:07 am
I recognize I'm trying to do too much and back off before I lose it! Seriously, Leslie, less is truly more! 6/24/2016 03:05:54 pm
I eat ice cream and listen to music..then early the next morning I go for a walk on the beach...I live in San Diego...and then finally I clean my studio Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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Leslie
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