getting stuff done: creating my life

With my new methods of organising myself and keeping my brain free of clutter, I make a lot of notes of little commitments I make to myself, and I make sure I incorporate them into my lists.  I have a list of 'back burner' things, that are really not at all urgent and I am not actually working on right now.  It actually has a lot of really cool things in, this back burner list.  Things like 'live in a converted horse box' or 'go to burning man' or 'go to Goa'.  Its stuff I am interested in, but do not have the time nor money to pull off right now.

However, some of the things on my lists are just little things.  One such little note was 'visit Eaton Nott on Preston Rd' .  Its not something I really needed to do or anything, but it had been hanging around for sometime.  I don't even know where the note came from and I had almost forgotten about what it was that had sounded so interesting about it.  But, the other day, I found myself in the vicinity and with a little tiny bit of time to kill. So I got to tick it on my list.

WOW.  What an extraordinary place.  VERY VERY SPOOKY.  It definitely fits under the whole Dark House umbrella.  Its fascinating and beautiful and awful at the same time.  Full of skulls.  Mostly rats and birds, but also a fair amount of human skulls.  And some human skeletons.  And a horse's skull intricately carved.  And extraordinary amazing costumes made from feathers and leather and skulls.  And rat pelts.  Her couture, and it is most definately couture, is entitled Road Kill Couture.  And uses only bones and skin from farm, or erm, road kill. 

I have to admit to feeling quite spooked by the human remains.  And a bit queasy with the pickled baby mice in a jar.  But the costumes were extraordinarily darkly weirdly beautiful. And some of the bird skull jewellery and fascinators, gothically awesome.  I dunno.  I dunno if my dark house could go that far.  I could not be spooked in my own house.  Feathers I am good with.  Bones.... bones are too much.  I am not so Gothic as that. 

But it was, without a doubt, worth a visit, macabre and out there on its own limb. Two folk definately following their own passions.  Taxidemy, bone collecting ....  not your average pursuits...

I never really got into the first one. And now I am all sucked into The Killing 2.  I can't believe that there are 6 more episodes to go.  blimey.  Its all very dramatic. 

We have all been feeling a little under the weather in our house of late.  Bub has a hacking cough and is only properly functioning when the calpol kicks in. I don't feel its anything more than a bad cold but still.  And I think we are all a bit like that.  Nothing serious just a bit bleurgh. Hurrah roll on winter.

My mum had an accident with the car, as in she forgot to put the handbrake on and it rolled back on her when she was getting the shopping out of the boot.  She is alright, as in no broken bones or anything more serious, but is shocked and bruised.  We were going to go up, but my brother is there, and they have a friend staying too, so Dad reckoned it would actually be a bit much if we went too.  And besides they were all going out to Dad's choir concert, so I figured she must be actually pretty OK to be going out.  The ambulance was called and everything, but it is just bruising.  Lucky near miss though.  Could have been really bad.

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.  I have to remind myself of that sometimes, because there is so much seemingly almost within reach in this world. 

But don't let that stop you dreaming big.  Because its fun and you never ever know for sure when a dream might come true.

Today I am dreaming of attending Flora Bowley's workshop in Bali.  Half painting, half yoga.  Ah, bliss indeed.  A week, on the other side of the world.  With my son, oh maybe he could come with me.... with my new job, with my finances, with....ah.  Life its possibilities, its dreams and its fantasies....

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are...... bring it back. There is still so much I can do.

I have had several nudges this week toward the end of  - when am I going to get painting again.  Its rising very much like a sea of urges within me.  Admin seems to take my time. Nonsense admin. 

I had a marvellous chat with my old friend M (I did a practice session of People Who Do Producitivity on her about 2 months ago) and she is proper flying.  Am so pleased.  So many things are starting to blossom, have been undertaken, are happening.  From getting a raise, to becoming a proper freelancer, to volunteering at her youngest daughter's school, to building an extension to her home.  All progressing.

SO.  Do any of you wish for more progress in your lives? More headspace? More balance?  It works this stuff it really does!

And I just so would like to paint in Bali and do Yoga..... ahhhhhhhh. 

Aside from that.  Creativity and Drawing is fascinating me.  Have been put in touch with this website, which I havent' even really had time to delve into yet.  But its a world of interest to me. 

One of my dreams, you know, if I won the lottery.  Would be to go to Art School.  Because I already have a degree, this, I found out, would actually cost me the same as foreign student fees.  i.e about £30,000.  And that is just for the fees.  Let alone living expenses.  Annoying I don't have a super rich husband eh.  Or annoying that I don't even buy a lottery ticket.... Or be like super wealthy my self.  hmm.  well, am doing my best.  But until that enormous influx of cash....

I was thinking this morning, just now, thinking as I write.  Why not build your own art school. 

run courses, teach myself.  teach other share skills.  go away on retreats for intensives.  hub around some studios. 

Another dream I have is of creating an artists community.  Annoyingly it also hinges on winning the lottery.  But in this dream I go somewhere run down.  In my mind its Lowestoft, or also, now that I have heard of it, Jaywick near Clacton. Or maybe somwhere north where there are empty houses. And BUY UP big time.  Like a whole street.  And there, I would rent out, for very cheap, or maybe even nothing, to talented artists and thus create this artistic regeneration of an area.  Get them to do up the places.  create events.  foster creative iniatives.

Even with all of that I am harbouring an intent that once I am done with Yoga Teacher training I will start on the 2 day a week foundation course at City College.  Of which I have heard wonderful things.

Until then.  I am currently on my own.  And working my way through Drawing on the Right Side of the brain.  Its not actually an easy read.  Even though it is fascinating to me.  I am yearning to teach someone how to draw using its methods.  I am pretty sure that I was taught like this.  I recall using my pencil as a sight in the playgroud at my school. I know that drawing can be taught. and learned. 

Then for me.  It is painting and colour. 

Yesterday I cleared out the back room so that I could teach a 1-2-1 session on productivity.  I realised that the space can be used.  I kind of liked it.  I do feel this intense desire for my own space at the moment.  I think I am generally quite allowing of other people, but that I need a cubby hole at least to retreat from the world.  Its kind of intense with Hub not really leaving the house much, apart from when I am not in it.  I kind of wish, sometimes, he still went to work.  But then again I don't.  Can't have it both ways I guess.  But I think that maybe a part time job at least, or something that gets him out of the house would be good for all of us.

I guess I must have written it about a year ago.....

along with some brilliant key friends, I set up a series of succesful art retreats based on the Artful Journey / Squam / Art & Soul / ArtFest model - but in UK / Europe. I am a succesful artist in my own right. I live in an eco friendly home which is warm and welcoming and has a big ktichen table for many friends to eat at. I do a lot of yoga, I have a studio /creative space of my own. I eat clean food. My family are healthy and happy and loved. I am surrounded by a supportive community. I have a campervan!

so all good really, still working on the art retreats, big table and the eco home!  some way to go before I could call my food utterly clean (just eaten a big bowl of shreddies with hot milk and sugar) and oh, yes the campervan.  come on campo where art thou!!

What else. well our ecomony drive with the menu planning and all is going well.  Food expenditure down really rather a lot.  Plus we over estimated on how much we eat, and so we have more meals to carry on into next week.  Cool.  I looked at the bill and worked out that I did kind of still over shop, even though I really tried not to - just little things like buying tea bags for fear of running out,  when I actually had enough to last the week, too many veg, a few things that were all a bit treaty and not really necessary.  And next week we are going meat buying in the COOP instead as its just as nice and they do a 3 for a tenner deal.  Ian bought some bacon at the car boot sale, and its actually really nice stuff - very little shrinkage! and only £6 for loads of it.  He reckons he is going to buy some more this weekend, but to be honest I think we will be fine for weeks.

Tomorrow I am going to be doing another practice 121 session of Productivity. OR how to be organised and free up time to do what you really want to do.  Hub is huffy because he thinks I am just working for nothing. But I think he's actually a bit under the weather and grumpy. 

A while ago I read a book called Wish Craft.  Which is all about wishing, for the first half of the book, and then the majority of the book is all about the craft of making it actually happen.  This involves setting timelines, and working out where you can actually make the time to do your dream thing.  It was clear that family might object and that quite frankly you had to ride with this.  As it was change and family do not like change. They do not like mummy doing her thing, especially where she used to actually be helping family out in that time.  So I am doing my best to hold down my responses to some of the comments that came out earlier!!   bless. 

Other things I am thinking about are about Bub's education.  Was at French class for him today and the other mums all send their kids to Montessori school and were all talking education.  I really want  Bub to learn to draw, to speak a foreign language, to swim, to play a musical instrument (read music) and to cook.  I am taking reading writing and arithmietic as givens that any school will provide.  I would like to teach him the love of adventure and confidence too.  But that is slightly more  esoteric.  Not sure how you get to teach that sort of stuff bar being a living example....hmm.  Anyway.  Just saying. 

Am off to read Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.  :)

This morning I  had a skype chat with the lovely Beth Nichols.  Who as you may or may not know, organised the UK's Do What You Love Retreat and is co hosting the Hello Soul Hello Business e course with Kelly Rae Roberts in the new year.  I 'met' Beth via doing KRR's Flying Lesson's e course last year.  (see button on my blog to the right there) Beth is a creative who has a good business brain, and thankfully she is putting it to good use in creating a business for herself, a business where she is doing what she loves.  You gotta hand it to her, early last year she didn't even know what a blog was, now here she is, running a fantastically popular site Do What You Love for Life with its e courses and community and retreats and all.

Now the reason I called her this week, is because I am very excited by my new job.  I think that what I am doing is also helping people do what they love.  And I am realising that I am falling in love with this new job I have.  I am doing what I love.  And not only that, but it is helping me carve out the time from my busy busy life to do other things I love. 

So.  I am going to write about it for DWYL (watch this space) because I am now one of those folks who is on the path. Doing what I love.  Very happy about that. 

It was cool to chat about the weird coincidences where you build your path before you even know you are.  Like my blog being called "Get Stuff Done".  Like Beth's first blog post being titled "Do WHat you Love".  Its like we planted seeds and they grew, and bloomed and blossomed.

And here. Here are my questions.... How can I create an e course? and create webconsulting arm of People Who Do and their marvellous methods that I have learnt that help you clear your head and worklife of the admin-y stuff so that you can get on and do what you really want to do?

How? 

Despite my wonderful time 'away from the screen' I do love the way the internet opens up the world and gives you the links to create your network of likeminded souls across the globe.  And I can see there are opportunities there that do not exist in the way they do, well, off screen. 

I have really enjoyed e courses.  And I think skype is fabulous - I mean, being able to talk to someone in another part of the world, in your own front room.  I did a Spanish Lesson with someone from Southern California, I showed my friend around my home she had never seen because she now lives in San Francsisco, the lovely Louise Gale advised me on how to progress my art business from her Hoboken Flat.  There must be a way to make it work. 

So, there is something I am interested in.  I had better talk to the guys about it.  But it could work am sure of it.  Just planting a seed.  In my own life. 

Am rather pleased to say that Hub and I have managed to have a very friction free chat about sticking to a budget.  We menu planned together the week ahead and we are going to stick to that and only buy what we need.  It seems so simple, but recently our weekly shopping bill has sky rocketed.  I know that prices have gone up and all, and that Hub is eating a protein rich diet, which is not cheap.  But still.  Its outta control.  For quite a while this bothered me, then I decided not to be bothered by it as it was a pointless exercise to try and deal with it on my own. I mean, what's the point of menu planning if Hub went and bought what he wanted to eat anyway.  We needed to both be involved.  And I didn't even bring up the whole sticking to our own cash budget in the week thing.  It was his idea.  Not that we are going to restrict it exactly, but we are going to track it.  Which should help us not be such spendaholics.  So.  In a whole celebration of that.  I shall be doing a tad of daily tracking here.  Sorry if tis dull to anyone!  But this is my personal blog and I can do what I likes!

Another thing I have done of late is switch off the internet at source.  I was finding myself mightily distracted by faffing about on facebook, ambling about finding new tunes on Spotify, blog reading,  checking email and sitting in front of my screen for TOO LONG all of that mallarky.   And it was irritating me and making me feel out of focus.  And given that I am now a Person Who Does and regularly dish out the tips of batch processing email and stuff, I figured it was time to do a little screen time management of my own.

It really worked.  I worked just from my next step lists for about the house.  I actuallly did the food audit I have been thinking of doing for - er - years.  And you guessed it, we have a lot of food.  So this week, as well as the Menu Plan, I am aiming to actually eat up some of it.  And am sure as hell not going to be buying any more of stuff we already have packets of (rice!!!).

I was very pleased to have done a few portraits for Mondo Beyondo folks which I had promised to do waaaay back in the summer.  And I think doing them has both loosened my eye up a little, given me some ideas to create a crafted, individual, portrait / photo / collage which is unique, but the style is replicable.  And I have some new ideas for new styles too.

Ah, and lastly I have been reading some interesting books about small business.  Well I have been reading one of the ones I bought anyway.  The first one is called The E Myth by - Michael E Gerber -  (who I am delighted to tell you did not even start to take himself seriously until he was gone 40) And the other I have bought and am yet to read, is called How to be Excellent at Anything by Tony Schwartz and Jean Gomez (yup, great title, lets see how I get on!) who run an interesting program called The Energy Project - which helps stressed out execs get their mojo back.  Or tries to stop them keeling over and popping their clogs aged 50?  Anyway, its intresting stuff.

Oh and lastly, lastly, am reading Betty Edwards' Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.  As I had a fabulous brief chat with a friend who has an idea for a kind of 'step away from the screen' convention for web designers.  I am also rather excited by the whole idea of R mode (as Betty calls it) thinking.  Which seems to be very much along the lines of what Yoga does,   And creativity requires. And is how I think..... alot of the time.  All this organisation stuff, I love it, because I am the kind of chaotic lass that needs it.  Its not my natural state!!

Well, that's my catch up and NOW, I am going to STEP AWAY from the screen! 

This morning, I went to a catch up meeting with my new job at, People Who Do .  And its good news.... The focus for the next 3 months is on getting me (and the other associate) to take over delivery of Accelerated Productivity.

This totally coincides with my own aim of getting past the induction and onto fully paid as soon as possible.  We will have more training, and more opportunities to shadow AND we will also be paid more for that training time.  Win Win.

The whole process will be speeded up. I am very happy.  I am totally enjoying being part of helping folk Get Stuff Done.  It's such a good fit for me.  Am really pleased.  YAY!

Other than that, I am delighted to say that this afternoon I have managed to spend some time focusing on my art and portrait business.  It was lovely to spend the afternoon being creative.   Not finished yet but here is a bit of the work in progress.
Bub has been out all afternoon at Monkey Business.  An indoor play place.  With his best friend from preschool whose 4th birthday it was today.  Hopefully he will have worn himself out into an early night and I can get on with my art work.  x

I know this has been around.  But in case you haven't seen it yet.  This video of a murmuration is really wild. 



Its funny, writing my last post I had begun by writing how tired I was and wondering why, when I felt nothing really had happened in the week. 

I was doing something different every day.  I totally forgot about Charleston.  And Charleston was really cool.  Charleston post later then.  For now.  Just watch this clip and feel the awe.  That girl's face at the end sums it up.

This week.... Halloween  - of course - and I enjoyed getting all dressed up and scary looking.  I even got an awesome evil sound track going via Spotify.  God I love Spotify! 


Tuesday I went to see Le Mystere les Voix Bulgares

On Wednesday I went up to London to teach Amelia Crichtlow all about the Accelerated Productivity we do.  We didn't quite get to finish due to a slightly late start and childcare issues and I felt slightly concerned I had left her at the point where it all actually feels rather overwhelming.  Its a bit like tidying out a cupboard.  You know you get to that point where everything seems much messier than it was before you started. And you need to press through and get to the point where its all back in the cupboard, but the cupboard is cleaner and clearer and more organised and you have managed to dump a load of clutter into the bin bag or recycling.  Well we got to the point where a lot of the stuff was still over the floor.  But being a proper 'Doer" that she is, she has assured me that she is going to keep going and get to the end of it all.  Like most working mums, and any single ma, Amelia has an awful lot on her plate before the artist business work part starts.  Why no one admits that raising children and running a household is a proper full time job I don't know.   Also had some very inspiring conversation (as I hoped I would) about art and business.  Amelia is a proper artist in my book.  It really is her life.  And the work and dedication she puts in shines out of her and her work.  If you are thinking of doing an e course this year.... I can't recommend her Experimental Art course highly enough.  Its inspiring like going to proper art school is in my idea of what art school is all about.  Its not just about creating, its also about ideas and creativity itself.  Proper good.  If you are keen o about it. Its here. and its open for a year.....


On the way home I spanked all my birthday money on a very expensive top and totally OTT marni-esque necklace.  Top is black and tunic like with pockets and will be useful.  Necklace is of the kind that no one can fail to notice.  I do believe that as one gets older one must begin to rely on well cut classics and outrageous accessories to cut a dash (and distract anyone from looking for cuddly bits or wrinkles!)

On Thursday Bub went to French Club.  Which is run by a brilliant French lady who used to do a session at the Library for ultra bargainous prices.  French club is held in a massive private house and its not excessively cheap.  But several pals kids are going, and mums could have a nice cuppa and a chat, or sneak in to see the little ones actually speaking French.  Its so so so sweet to see them.  The teacher is so good, she has them enraptured and totally immersed and joining in the fun. 

I have been thinking about the whole school business of late.  And have come to a conclusion, helped by my mum, who pointed out that I could spend the £5000 pa on extra curricular fun and activities and trips and so on instead. And if perchance Bub has a disaster at a big school then we can think about moving him eleswhere not before.  Unless of course Hub and I suddenly start rolling in the mulah.  Which I do still like to think might happen.  For the time being I think I will go with my plan. 

Friday was the assesment for my Yoga Teacher Training.  I was dreading it.  I  knew that I couldn't fail exactly as its not that sort of exam.  But I felt that I would be getting up in front of people and attempting to teach something I did not know.  Luckily I was given poses I knew fairly well and while I am sure I could have done better, I didn't feel it was a total disaster.  Also getting more into my Yoga again.  I was instructed in a pose Parivrrta Janu Sirsasana as it happens, which felt like the most impossible thing.  And was encouraged to go beyond what I though I was capable of.  And was surprised by how much further into the pose I could go.  The whole brain and body thing totally true.  It was my thoughts that had been making it impossible.  Not my body.