I find, when all my commitments have been met and there is no pressure to produce for immediate deadlines (shows, orders, etc), my tendency is to let down and relax or catch up on non business related activities. Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing. As discussed in earlier entries, down time is important. It’s great to use down time to catch up with family and friends.

Winter down time is especially soothing. Cold weather is a big couch, movie, blanket furry friends draw for me. It’s also a great time to work on non business related chores that have been ignored all year during the peak seasons.

However, free time can quickly change to wasted time and the next thing you know all of that time you have free and all of those plans you hoped to tackle in your free time have slipped away.

This year I plan to take a few minutes to map out how I want to spend my down months. Here is a short list of tasks I’m thinking of tackling.

Reorganizing work space – when we get too busy it’s tough to make big changes to our work space design. Slow periods are great for thinking about work flow and reworking areas that need help. My current focus for this is the wet station in my glass workshop. I need both to move things around and to invest in at least one new table and some water screening backsplashes for the constant misting that comes from the area.

Web work – reworking dead areas of the website, improving sales draw, catalog rotation, etc etc ad naseum. It seems there are always things to do when you run your own website.

Map out sales/marketing plan for the coming year (shows, sales venues, finished vs. wholesale beads) - I often think of different sales venues and ideas throughout the year but then those ideas get lost and I never pursue them. Time to do some work in this area so the next year doesn’t get away from me again.

Working ahead for year end holiday sales items so inventory is ready to pull later in the year when time is at a premium – this is a big one for me. If I don’t work ahead then when it’s time for my holiday boutiques I will find I have no product. Having things made ahead of time early in the year really saves me when it’s holiday time.

Play time – design and create new pieces or product areas to explore. I’m building in one play day per week minimum this year. I found that without planning play time my work turns too much into a job and there is less joy in the process. So play time is a must.

Review things that worked and did not work in the year prior for the business. This list is the start of that process. Just by taking time to think about things that are working and that did not work as well it will help to keep the business focus fresh and vital.

Get paperwork all current and ready for pending tax season – this is always a chore. I stay fairly current on paperwork until I hit the end of the third quarter (the busy season) and then all bets are off. Looking at my business paperwork inbox right now makes me shudder.

Review sales and expenses and see if any adjustments need to be made in plans for the coming year (earn more and spend less seems to be common theme for me!) – included in this will be an evaluation of what trips are lucrative (fiscally or for other reasons) and which I should think about dropping or cutting back on.

Work on coming year calendar – Time to start preparing for shows and travel schedules for the coming year. Be sure to map out vacation time in advance.

Revise current show/table displays and make changes where needed/desired.

Phew, that’s a huge list (and probably not even complete). Did I say something about down time? What down time. I’d better get back to work!!