Being a Freelancer is hard!

Like most of us in the arts, I have a "day job." My day job is at a university, so from the end of May to the beginning of August I'm up to my own devices. Some years I get another theater job. I've been a Dresser Off-Broadway, I've been a Draper in a summer theater, I've bounced around doing odd sewing jobs and designing. This summer is unstructured, and while I have lots of Plans and Ideas, I am having a difficult time putting them into action.

There are many reasons why putting Plans into Action is hard, but for me, I'm going to blame my cat. She is a very co-dependent cat and follows me all over the apartment. She stares at me until I make space for her on my lap. She asks me to turn on the sink so she can drink while I do my hair. She watches me make my lunch. Right now, she's crouched on the ground, staring at me, saying with her eyes "hey, if you would just sit on the couch then we could cuddle together and you could watch bad tv shows; just don't bring that laptop because it gets in the way."

This is the face of a very furry and judgy siren.

Today, after those Plans and Ideas fizzled into another morning on the couch watching "Queen," during my walk to the post office I decided that I need to force Order and Structure on my days! The Order and Structure shall be as follows:

1. I shall wake up at an acceptable hour like a Normal Human Being and get into the shower by 10am. I shall treat working at home as an actual job and not acquire the Freelancer's Uniform.
2. I shall make a Master To-Do list that can live in my iPad, look at it each day and transfer the most important goals for that day on my white board.
3. I shall clear the crap that is currently covering my white board so I can actually use it.
4. If I do not have anyplace to go on a given day, I shall take a break in the afternoon and go for a walk.
5. I shall keep my workspace as tidy as I am capable of doing. Seriously, be a grown up Jeanette!
6. I shall not nest on the couch, surrounded by tiny piles of stuff, no matter the soft, welcoming purrs coming from my cat.
7. At the end of each day, I shall check off what I have done, and cross check my calendar for anything that is scheduled for the next day.

To keep myself accountable, I will also blog at least once a week! In fact, I'm going to put that on my calendar right now! I think Fridays Thursdays will be good for a weekly round up, don't you?

As for the Plans and Ideas, I am designing costumes for a new Musical called "Somewhere With You." It will be at the New York Musical Theater Festival. You should check out its website and like it on Facebook.

I also need to follow up with some posts that I have been meaning to put here, most notably about my time at the USITT convention and  to show you how my digital drawings came out.

Last of all, I leave you with this. Happy summer!