The Willow Farmyard

This is B, Chris’s cat. I think perhaps I interrupted her snooze (typically an all-day, off-and-on snooze) while I was printing some things today for work. Let me start today’s post with a little bit of background for those of you who don’t know me. In addition to our little farmyard and its general upkeep, I also own a business, Pheonix Design Studio. About 3 years ago, after nearly 20 years in the graphic design and sign business, I decided to start my own company instead of working for someone else. Best decision ever!

Not only do I work from home and avoid the pitfalls of having to drive to work in the winter, of which I have become somewhat petrified (another story for a different day), I also get to make my own hours. If I want to start working at 7am, (I am a pretty early riser, after all), then I can. If I want to go to the grocery store at 9am, when the place isn’t so busy, that’s what I do! And when I’m done with all of my work at noon, I move on to other things around the house or farmyard. Or, crazy as this sounds, maybe I even take a nap with the puppy! I’ve always been pretty good at time management and have never had a job that actually kept me busy for 8 hours of work a day. And there’s nothing worse than being stuck behind a desk with nothing to keep you occupied.

Of course, having your own business isn’t easy. Having to deal with any issues by yourself and no steady paycheck are the 2 biggest downfalls. But I’ve been fortunate to have a consistent workload since I started this venture. And finally someone to share life and expenses, and some small business headaches, with. I couldn’t have done it ten years ago. But very thankful to be at a point in life where it’s now possible.

But, I’m getting sidetracked. The joys and headaches of being a small business owner aren’t why I started writing this post today. I began writing this on my phone, while running a print job of some banners. They’re coming off the printer now and I’m feeling extra happy because yesterday, working with the same banners was a complete nightmare! I got to thinking about that and a blog post seemed like the best place to put my thoughts in order. So here goes …

I have a tendency to be pretty persistent when it comes to getting things done. And that includes trying to overcome whatever problem might be in the way. (I’m talking about tangible problems, not the touchy emotional ones that we all have. I like to stick my head in the sand about those!) When something needs to get done, especially those things that I really don’t want to do or the things that are just physically very tiring and make you feel like you want to quit half-way through, I have a good mindset about just plugging on and getting them done. I always think one word in my head: tenacity. I know if I can just continue on, I can get through and be done with whatever task I’m working on. And I also love, love, love to cross things off of my to-do list, the to-do lists I have to use now because I’m getting too old and forgetful without them!

Which brings me to yesterday. I had a job to print on my large format machine. A bunch of banners for a local non-profit. Should have been pretty easy, so I was thinking I’d go to the barn and get them started, do some other things while they printed. But that’s not at all how it worked out. I started the job and, for some reason, the material kept getting a bubble in the middle that my print head would then touch and ink would smear on the job. I started printing the same banner 7 times, adjusting heat settings and vacuum settings and anything else I could try. Each time, it would get about halfway though and then, what do you know, another bubble and another ink smear! I’d never had this happen before to such a degree and I became incredibly frustrated, more with each new attempt. All I had wanted was to print these 11 banners and cross that off my list. After multiple unsuccessful attempts, all I then wanted was to kick my printer to smithereens!

I googled some things, trying to figure out what else to try. Nothing worked. The last thing I read mentioned static. The barn was indeed dry and staticky, which I know because I got a couple of pokes off things in there yesterday. So I wondered if maybe that could be the real problem. But there wasn’t much I could do about that so I did something I don’t normally do: I gave up trying.

Well, today we are getting rain, which of course means more humidity in the air and less static in the barn. I came down this morning, crossed my fingers, and started the job. And it’s working! The banners are coming off the printer with absolutely no issues today, I guess, because of a little rain.

So now the banners are all printed and I’m back at my computer. But while I was in the barn this morning, keeping my eye on this job that seemed to be cursed yesterday, I started thinking about how much time and, frankly, peace of mind I wasted yesterday on trying to get this job done. It wasn’t urgent. The banners didn’t need to be printed yesterday or even this week for that matter. But I had desperately wanted to get them done and crossed off my list, so I stubbornly kept at it. When all I should have done, after changing those heat and vacuum settings a few different times without success, was walk away for a while.

The moral of my story then is this: while tenacity, persistence and determination are admirable qualities, sometimes patience is even more appropriate. Sometimes it’s perfectly fine, and even beneficial, to take a break and refocus. To let some problems go, for just a little while. Maybe sit down and have a cup of tea, read a chapter of a book, or even just move on to a different task. Sometimes things are a little beyond our control, like too much static electricity in the air. And sometimes you need a little help, from your partner, from a friend, or even from mother nature, in this case, because you just can’t fix the problem by yourself, no matter how hard you might try. It’s good to remember sometimes, and I’m trying to be better at it, to give yourself a break. Whether it be a physical rest, an emotional recharge, or just some personal forgiveness, give yourself a break. And have a little patience instead of pushing things too hard. Sometimes those annoying little issues simply work themselves out, if we can just find the patience to give them a little bit of space and time.

Now I think maybe I’ll have that little nap with the puppy that I mentioned earlier…  What better day than a cloudy, rainy day is there for a nap, after all? I think Bella looks ready…