Tag Archives: Focus

Quality Time

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Life was bliss for three weeks. No rushing, no nagging, no disturbance, just peace and quiet and dealing with an extremely hot summer. It was the best three weeks off I’ve had in a while because I didn’t have to share my time with anyone else. It was just me and it felt awesome. I took the goldsmith course which was an amazing experience as well. Especially when the person teaching -a professional goldsmith- tells you that you have the skill set, patience, creativity and the exceptional natural ability to do this kind of work. I was flattered because she was not the kind of person to give compliments. I’m sure she must have noticed my passion for designing and making jewellery.

The friend who passed away about a month ago, used to be a goldsmith as well. Her ex-partner gave all her tools to me when he heard I was going to take this course. I didn’t use them yet as they were in a small flight case and I had to go through all her stuff first and clean it. It took me three days to sort it, clean it and give it some extra TLC. I had to sand down the inside of the flight case as there was glue stuck allover. After sanding it down I painted it white and cleaned all the aluminium edging and corners on the outside. It looks so much better now, it’s ready to be used. All I need to add over time, is a proper desk, gas torch and tank, hoses, saw, hammer and ring mandrel.

I’ve bought a Garmin vivosport activity tracking device a while ago and have been keeping an eye on stress levels since. They were extremely high, especially in May and June this year and although I didn’t feel stressed most of the time, it was telling me that I really had to slow down and try to reduce this. These past three weeks levels had dropped significantly which was a real eye-opener. I’ve started working again so I’m curious to see what will happen this month. The fact that temperatures were extremely high and I was forced to take things slow must have contributed to lower stress levels as well. I’ve been craving for some serious long spells of rain and thunderstorms for weeks now!

I’ve met up with friends for dinner and really enjoyed their company as I hadn’t been able to see most of them for at least six months, some for over a year. We had lots of stories to share! I’ve updated my jewellery business website and added more pictures in the portfolio section. And I’ve been playing with electroforming but that didn’t go well, I was expecting better results. I’ll have to look into things and see what is causing issues. I think I might have contaminated the bath as I was experimenting with fabric on gemstones. Because of the heat my conductive paint dried waaaaay too fast and I’m guessing it didn’t seal parts completely, also the liquid rubber I’ve used was a new technique.

I’ll try to fix it this weekend. Going back to work was kind of hard because it was 32C at the start of this week and 29C in my office space, too hot to focus on things that need to be done. Today I’m working from home and have some extra time to get chores done and write a blog in between. Still there’s too much on my plate, I can’t seem to focus because of the weather and not sleeping very well. Summer is great but these temperatures are driving me nuts. Last week the government announced an official drought and shortage of water, because of this trees and plants are dying, use of tap water is still fine and not restricted (yet). Thunderstorms and rain is expected tomorrow, we’ll see…

First things first, let’s get some work done ;)

The Planner

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It was my birthday recently, something I seem to care about less and less each year since it seems to be forgotten by those who shouldn’t. Lowering your expectations is a good strategy at times. It’s ok to just spoil yourself, instead of ‘waiting’ for others to remember one particular day in a year. I suspected it would be the same this time so I’d decided to buy myself a gift which I found and bought online in the US.

I’d been looking for a tool to help organise my thoughts and ideas for some time now. I’ve been using a digital one but it never felt the same as a paper version for some reason, since I like to sketch or draw or add notes. A few weeks ago I found the perfect solution and decided to order it as a gift to myself. It was delivered on my birthday, a nice coincidence as I was home that day ‘awaiting’ the next assignment.

This means that whenever a suitable project comes up I have to apply for it. Till then I need to be available and on standby. Once a week I go to the head office and see or meet colleagues -mainly sales peeps- to introduce myself and hopefully they’ll remember me when the right assignment comes up. I either go there by train and bus which takes me over an hour and half -if I’m lucky- or I’ll go with a colleague by car.

I don’t have a car since I live right in the centre of town, the busiest and one of the oldest areas with narrow streets, lots of canals and too many tourists all year round. I have to apply for a permit with a five years waiting list which doesn’t guarantee a parking space. So what’s the point? My last assignment for the government was eighteen months of daily commuting, 1.5 hours to get there and another 1.5 to get home.

Truth is I’m kind of fed up… When I started working for this global company I’d promised myself to do this line of work for five years at the most. It will be five years this July… This recent assignment was supposed to be my last because I’d been thinking about starting a business doing what I really love to do: be creative and design… I took courses in jewellery making (precious metals) and started to design/make items.

I’ve received many compliments so far and I love doing this but it’s extremely time-consuming. I’ll continue to develop my skills as it has given me lots of new ideas and inspiration and I’m learning different techniques each time which is fun! It’s just not going to be my core business, that will be something completely different based on an idea I had six years ago. Something that I’m looking into again recently.

And this is what the planner is going to be used for, as a road map to where I want to be in a certain amount of time. It’s not a regular planner, it’s one that helps you set goals, draw mind maps, create tasks, track progress and give direction. One of my tasks is to write again, so every other week I’ll be updating this blog. Writing is a great way to structure thoughts, to focus on a goal and make things happen.

It’s also something that helps me clear my head and I’ve been neglecting it for too long. So here I am back on track, ready for a new quest… (I can now cross this off of ‘today’s focus’ hehe)