Q&A with JA, Part 4: Schedule

Hi friends! I have the last Q&A post for you today! I had a lot of fun with this though and would like to do it again in the future. It’s really fun to hear what sort of things you guys are interested in. Plus, it makes it a lot easier to talk about myself when I have specific questions to answer.

Do you make an effort to get out of the house each day now that you work from home?

It depends how busy I am. Lately I haven’t been leaving the house unless I have something specific to do (go to the post office, pick up supplies) because if I get out just to get out I will end up spending money I don’t need to spend. But I do make it a point to at least get outside. I’ll play with Penny in the yard for a bit, just to feel the sun and fresh air. When things are slower I’m more likely to get out just to get out, but lately there’s just too much work to get done!

What’s your day to day schedule?

I usually get up around 8-8:30am. I start to heat up some water for the French Press before ploppin on the couch and opening my laptop. Generally I already have a blog post written from the night before so I post it and promote it. I respond to e-mails and Etsy convos, chat on Twitter.

Around 10am I head into the studio to process Etsy orders. When I still had my day job, I got in the habit of doing orders at our coffee table at night to spend time with J. I’m trying to break that habit so lately, I have been doing all my orders in the studio. Seems more efficient, more organized, more legit!

I normally take a break to eat lunch when Jordan comes home on his break. After lunch, I finish any orders I have open, maybe write a blog post or work on a new design. Around 4:00pm I’ve been trying to consistently work out, shower and start dinner. We normally eat around 7:00pm and then hit the couch for some TV time. I usually will work on the laptop for another hour or so. (It’s currently 9:03pm and we are watching The Voice as I’m writing this.)

I would love to know how you balance your work and personal life. Do you schedule a “FREE” day every week, or just decide when you need?

Hmm, I don’t really have a scheduled free day. At first I was going to say Saturday was my free day, but often times, even if we are just hanging out on a Saturday afternoon, I’ll be brainstorming or sketching or taking blog photos.

So, the balance is hard. Because when I’m sitting outside “relaxing” on a Saturday, I’m still thinking “I should be doing something.” So I’ll go grab my sketch book or laptop. That said, I don’t feel like I work constantly. Sure, my week days are pretty much all work but I try to make it a point on Friday night, and most of Saturday to “take it easy.”

How do you balance working and your relationship? It’s so hard for me to balance them!

It was about 1.5 years ago when things really started to take off for JAA and I had to start spending more time working (especially when I still had my day job). J has always been really understanding and supportive. It is my first relationship with some one I share the “creative trait” with. So often times when he gets home from work he will have work to do for Etch while I’m still working for JAA. Sometimes we’ll tease each other like “No more work! It’s break time!” but in general it has never been an issue. Like I said above, I do try to take time away from work on Friday nights and Saturdays when J is home from work. We both are pretty good at relaxing together when we put our minds to it. :]

And that sums up my first Q&A segment. Thanks for participating! You guys sure had some good questions! I hope you enjoyed reading these posts. xo JA