Boundaries + Structure: Part 2

Looking back on yesterday's post, I was pretty much all over the map there with my writing. CHAOS. Rightfully so, because it's truly how my life felt. I've worked out a schedule that will work for me. It will need to be re-worked often, but the key is to keep re-working it until it sits comfortably in our week. So here's a photo that has nothing to do with scheduling and everything to do with my idea of peace, simplicity, and beauty, which is what I want my life to look like. :)

 

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For some accountability, I am posting my office hours here. My client load at the moment is light, so I only need 8-10 hours per week to meet my deadlines and even exceed client expectations. Keep in mind that I also work 40 hours a week at my "day job" and I'm also pregnant. This girl needs her sleep!

Tuesdays: 5:30- 8:30
Wednesdays: 1:00-2:00
Saturdays: 9:00- 1:00
Sundays: 5:00- 8:00

 

So obviously they are very sporadic when you look at them, but for Isaiah and I, and our schedule it works the best. Tuesdays will be at the library directly after work, Wednesdays are reserved for phone calls since it's one of the only times I'm available during business hours throughout the week. Saturdays will be a big power day for client work, and Sunday nights will be reserved for business planning and development. I will take meeting anytime I am available on a wee by week basis. My clients are flexible with meeting times but I like to let them choose the time and place.

 

So there you have it! I hope this new schedule makes me feel more productive during business hours and less guilty during non-business hours. Hooray!

 

On a different note, I have some really exciting news to share this week! Cannot wait. Hope everything is going well in your lives.

 

Sincerely,

Rachel

Boundaries + Structure

This morning I was rushing around before headed to my day job (as usual) trying to find all of my things (binders (3), my computer, charger(s), iPad, cell phone, library books, make up bag, gym bag, yoga mat, purse, car keys, work keys, lunch box, water bottle, wallet, extra shoes, etc,) when I realized that I had a problem. I've joked for a while that I might be a bag lady, but it's really the truth. I carry so much with me all the time. I never know what I might need! My purse looks like a normal person's carry-on bag that could also fit a small dog.

 

The truth is, I bring all of this stuff with me because I never know what I'm going to need or where I'll be right after work. I'm unprepared- I haven't set myself up for success. This is part of the reason why using my Simplified Planner is such a big part of my goals. I crave organization, structure and boundaries in a big way, but I'm always the first to make an excuse about how it's not going to work out. When I read Lara's post on boundaries I knew it was time to cut the crap and bring some structure into my life! Not just in regards to running my business but in each area of my day to day. I know that if I create a plan and stick to it my personal life, day job, small business, work-outs, and time with my husband will be more fulfilling. So why can't I just do it?

 

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Excuses. "We only have one car!" This is true- it's a fact and it's not changing anytime soon. Unlike when we lived in Seattle, there isn't any reliable public transportation to depend on. We are constantly dropping one another off at work or I am left at home without a car. On our current budget, it's not time to get another vehicle. But I do know that Isaiah's schedule isn't changing, and mine isn't changing for a while. So I can work around this for now.

 

Then of course there are the million little things that come up throughout the day that prevent me from following my schedule and therefore prevent me from creating one at all! "I'm tired; I forgot to pack my lunch; I don't feel like going to the gym; the house is a mess (I better clean it first); I have two weeks until that has to be done; I need a break." Can I get an Amen? Does anyone else experience this? I know that if I follow my routine I am better set up to remember my lunch/ feel rested/ be motivated to work hard because there is a dedicated time for each of those things.

 

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One of the big motivators in setting up boundaries and structure is making time to work hard for my clients and not be all over the board! If I'm feeling like spaz, chances are my brides feel that way too. Lara said it best, "Brides ideally want people to guide them through the process - planners, photographers, designers, etc - who make them feel calm, happy, excited, secure, taken care of and confidently structured.". YES! This is what I want the whole planning process to be like for my couples, not just on their wedding day.

 

So today I'm going to be working on a real, workable structure for my day as it is now. No matter how things might change in the future I can guarantee that I should be able to stick to the same schedule for at least the next four weeks. Tomorrow I'll be back with my progress, and hopefully even post my office hours for Occasions!

 

I'll leave you with this, one of my biggest goals for my business. "A solid product + a powerful brand that helps you attract the right clients who understand your value + structure in place to allow you to provide an extraordinary client experience = wedded bliss!" Thanks, Lara. Beautiful words that I aspire to live out over the lifetime of my career.

Happy Day!

Rachel

Blogging Intention

I'm honestly not sure who out there even reads this blog, especially because I'm not at a place where I feel it's ready to be shared with the world. You see, the only way I know how to write is from the heart. My truest feelings and most authentic self. Although I'm generally very open with my emotions and communication has always been a strong point for me, this blog seems very personal somehow. Coming to terms with it being "out there" is something I'm slowly working on.

This is a very honest space where I want to be able to talk about anything that's going on. You can expect to read about my business and it's blossoming to my full time career, my journey into motherhood, snapshots of my life that I simply don't want to forget, and my journey to making the right things happen. This is truly my core.

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That being said, I will make no apologies for the things I write about in this space. I've come to terms with putting myself out there and I'm not planning on turning back. On this blog, you can expect me to be real. To write from my soul and to be truthful about my journey. You're going to be getting a pretty heavy dose of this in the next few posts where I write about what 2012 looked like and where I hope to be at the end of 2013. It's a big deal.

 

 

Christmas Eve

Good morning, everyone! Today is Monday, December 24th. What does today look like for you? I hope you're spending it with your loved ones, preferably snuggling in front of a fire eating copious amounts of sugar cookies. Unfortunately that's not what our Christmas Eve is going to look like. This morning I am working just a few hours for my job at the bank, and tonight Isaiah is working a long shift until 11:30 p.m. Not exactly ideal, but we're working with it. Who's going to set out the cookies for Santa with me? We don't have family in town, but this weekend my in-laws and brother in law are coming to visit and we have a pretty intense schedule of events lined up (per usual).

 

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So instead, I will be home alone tonight. I was pretty pouty about this for a few weeks. I'm so used to "going to my mom's side for Christmas Eve, opening presents from Santa on Christmas morning, and going to my dad's side on Christmas Day". Even in college I was able to visit my family over the holidays and I lived a lot further away! But instead of pouting I've decided to make Christmas Eve a lovely evening of reflection, prayer, and celebration.

 

Yesterday I spent some time cleaning the house and preparing for this relaxing and thoughtful time. (I can't remember if I've written about it on this blog, but one of my "stumbling blocks" to making things happen is having an organized space- almost to the point of lunacy). It's not perfect but it will do. I prepared some sugar cookie dough so I can do the fun part- baking and decorating!

 

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I'll also be spending a good amount of time reading the Bible and journaling. "Me time" is not something I make time for on a regular basis and is definitely going to be a focal point of 2013. I can foresee myself diving into motherhood without a single introspective thought, only to get burnt out too soon. I hope that this time of reflection will help further guide my intentions for the next year. For Christmas tomorrow, one of the gifts I'm going to give my husband is a large, handwritten letter of each and every one of my honest intentions. Usually I'm very private with aspirations. Not the ones that are easy, (i.e. go to the gym more, eat healthier foods, call my mom more often), but the deeper intentions, the desires of my heart that seem unreachable. This year, I want to be more fearless. I want to dream bigger and share those things with my husband. Truly, this is the most meaningful gift I could give, the gift of my heart, over and over.

 

 

I also wanted to share my favorite Christmas song with you all. This one has been on the top of my list for years now, specifically the one by Sufjan Stevens. It stirs my heart Christmas after Christmas, a joyful reminder to give my heart away.

"Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing"

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace
Streams of mercy, never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above
Praise the mount, I'm fixed upon it
Mount of Thy unchanging love

Here I raise my Ebenezer
Here there by Thy great help I've come
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home
Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wandering from the fold of God
He, to rescue me from danger
Interposed His precious blood

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be
Let that grace now, like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to Thee
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, O take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace
Streams of mercy, never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above
Praise the mount, I'm fixed upon it
Mount of Thy unchanging love.

 

 

Blessings on this Christmas Eve!

 

Rachel

The Stress of Measuring

This post is inspired by what I read this morning on Leo Babauta's blog, Zen Habits. As you know, this year I've been focusing on living an intentional and fulfilling life. My time is spent designing my "ideal day" and closing in on what really, truly fires me up. Thanks to Making Things Happen (Lara, Emily, and Gina are superstars) I've gotten some much needed clarity on what this means for me and my business.

Leo's post talked about the stress of measuring- why we are constantly tracking everything by a number. How many miles did I run, tweets sent, likes on my facebook, hours slept, etc. His examples were supreme and really hit home for me. Especially ones like, calories consumed, e-mails sent, etc. I started to think about what I measure. It was time for me to "get real" (a phrase that my husband loves). Clients booked, dollars in my bank account, "real life" friends, twitter followes, body weight, items on my to-do list. My friends, these are all very real parts of my life that either make or break my mood. It's not easy to come to terms with my fears. I can feel my heart start to race when I think about my bank account being drained or not booking clients or gaining weight over the holidays. Is that what I value? Lara said that to name your fears is to destroy them.

Since I've finished school and started this journey of building a business, a marriage and a life in a new city, I've been so thoughtful of each step. Planning everything so carefully, to the point of praise by my friends and family. It was only this morning that I took a giant step back and realized that I am not following my intention of authenticity by measuring each and every thing in my life. Planning out the next 10 steps will get me nowhere if I'm not happy and making the right things happen in that moment. I know that's what will make my long term intentions come to fruition.

A few weeks ago I turned down my first client. It was really, really hard for me to do. She was amazing and truly looked like my ideal client. When I went home from our initial meeting, I got this nagging feeling that it just wasn't right. For one, it could have been great financially for Occasions, it was a large event and would have taking a lot of time and creative thought. Serious thought went into it and eventually I let her know that I wasn't going to be able to serve her in the way that she deserved, or give her the level of service that I pride myself on- for a number of reasons. After I sent the e-mail I immediately felt better, relieved. My number of "clients booked" wasn't increasing, but I felt so much better and like I was doing the right thing. I was turning down this client to make room for something bigger and better, but not in the traditional sense. In business school, we called this "opportunity cost". In my heart of hearts I knew my business wasn't ready to handle the wedding this client needed. And by reccomending another vendor in my area that will truly knock it out of the park, it was a win-win situation.

I hope that as Occasions grows into the elegant, fun, flower loving, rose-colored, rustic-but-refined brand that I've been dreaming of and creating that I can continue to make tough decisions on behalf of my intention. In other areas of my life I hope I can slow down and enjoy the little things. Isaiah and I are headed to Mexico for the next week and I cannot wait to hug my mother in law and dig my toes into the sand. Things not on my packing list: laptop, alarm clock, to-do list. Instead I'm going to wake up each morning, practice some gentle yoga and put my swimsuit on. We're going to walk to the cafe down the street and eat fruit, toast and coffee before we head to the beach with our books and towels. I'm going to soak in each moment with the people dearest to me. I can't wait for that quiet time. It'll be the perfect way to spend Thanksgiving.

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Next week on the blog, some really exciting news. I cannot wait to share with you all!

Whoa!

Wow, you guys. The past 10 days have been nothing short of an absolute whirlwind. You remember that workshop I blogged about? The Making Things Happen event in Chicago? Well, I'm going! I could not be more thrilled to have this opportunity. I'm leaving this Saturday for Chi-town and will be staying with a good friend from college. We're planning on shopping a little, going for a run and having a nice dinner out. I love girl dates! On Monday I'll be at MTH all day and then I have to drive all the way back to Traverse City. Crazy right? I know- I have to keep telling myself it'll be worth it. It's going to be just the kick in the pants I've been looking for!

Another huge thing that happened this week- my husband started his new position at the hospital! I'm so proud of him. He works so hard for our family. Not only is his position at Munson full time, but he's also still a firefighter for the county. This means lots and lots of hours. He is tired. But so strong at the same time. I feel so lucky to be married to a man with such dedication. Isaiah, if you read this- you are the best! :)

At Making Things Happen, there will be a lot of "tough questions". Now I've never been to one of these magical workshops but I've been thinking a lot about the things I want to focus on, my intentions. Even in the past week my intentions have shifted and I'm really looking forward to exploring those next few months and especially in 2013. I'm excited to share more when I return from the workshop! Lots of exciting changes around here at Occasions and the Moger pad. Pretty fun!

-Rachel

Making Things Happen

Okay you guys, I know there are only a humble few of you out there who read this blog. But those of you that do know that I tend to be a perfectionist... but in a strange way. Those of you that read my blog know me deeply, and know that I have big dreams. Bigger than I think I'll ever be able to share on this blog. I've recently realized that my problem with "perfectionism" is a-typical compared to others. I go to bed with dishes in the sink, my purse is full of receipts, cookie crumbs and more crap that you can imagine. But despite my messy girl tendencies, I still have this weird mindset around big projects. I can't seem to start until everything is perfect.

When something is really important to me, like getting a good grade on an exam or starting my business, everything has to be in place just right. Trust me, it took a year and a half before I even started this blog because I was afraid. I made excuses upon excuses- I don't have a professional logo, I don't have time, what will I write about, is this my purpose?, etc, etc. Eventually, after hearing it a million times... I decided to just start. And even though each little thing isn't exactly right, I'll keep moving forward. I'm starting to make things happen.

When Emily posted about the MTH scholarship, I knew I just had to put my name out there. This business of mine, what is so so important to me, has the potential to be big. My clients, both past, present, and future, deserve an event designer who isn't afraid- who is ready to grab the bull by the horn and go for it. So here I am, putting myself out there. I'm ready to make things happen.

This summer my husband and I were given an incredible, life changing gift. The support of our family members has really awakened something inside of my to be intentional about my life, something I've talked about before here on the blog. I want to make sure that I'm taking full advantage of the life I was blessed with and give back in a way that I can. For me, Occasions is the way I can do that right now. To bust out of my shell and show the world what I'm made of. I think attending the Making Things Happen event in Chicago this month would be just the push I need to let go of the voice of perfection and just get it done. I am so excited!

Being Intentional.

In my first few years of university, there were severeal buzzwords around campus. I was fortunate enough to attend a relatively small, private university in Seattle. As a factor of this, living on campus was a big deal for everyone. It seemed like everyone was coming from the furthest reaches of the globe, I was only from Minnesota! "Community living" was the most important aspect of your first year college experience. Orientation week slammed you with words and phrases to memorize- PA, ASSP, SFS, Res. Halls, etc. Then there are words spoken so often on campus they almost became a mantra for student life- community, relationships, calling, intentional. Looking back on my education, we thought these things were silly at times. Why did I have to be so "intentional" about relationships in my little bubble at SPU? What did it even mean to find my calling? Are you lost, yet? ;)



My gorgeous alma mater, Seattle Pacific University

 The point is, I truly was intentional about trying to soak up my college experience. I met all sorts of new people, explored the city and dived head first into internships to find my calling in a way that was authentic to me and my journey. (Fellow SPU students are probably totally picking up on the lingo now!). Even though I had a tendency to be a little bit cynical about the whole process, I can truly see the value in finding your calling and being intentional about reaching your goals.

After reflecting on this for a while and reading Jess Lively's blog about Business with Intention, I've been inspired to start a new column on this blog about how I intend to intentionally bring Occasions to life in an authentic, real to me way. I want to explore the aspects of my business that could easily be swept off the side- to be deliberate about writing a business plan that will work for me now and in years to come. I want to design a space that will serve my purpose and allow me to better serve my clients. This section on the blog will be ongoing as I experience the "growth" stage of Occasions Event Design. Look for more posts weekly!

To your journey,

Rachel