today you can win $500 to spend on clothes at show me your mumu! they have so many adorable boho clothes. i’m loving their faux fur jackets so much lately. what are your favorites? comment with links to them below to enter to win!
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my e-mailing life looks a little like this – load emails, go through and delete junk/unwanted emails, then go back and prioritize the important ones and start working my way down the list. that lasts for about 15 minutes when new emails start coming in and my little system is totally blown. i send and receive hundreds of e-mails a week and creating some sort of system is completely necessary for survival. i asked beth, who is a professional organizer (and helped me with my closet) to offer up some simple, time saving hacks for our inboxes, hello canned responses, my new best friend!
watch these short 1 minute videos and see if they help ya…
Stop Using Your Inbox as a To-do List: Because you can’t prioritize your email inbox, it’s time to stop using it as a to-do list. Scrolling through a long list of emails usually means something gets left undone and it’s a big ole’ time waster.
Canned Responses, Your New Best Friend:
Do you feel like you write the same e-mail over and over again? Searching through sent mail so you can copy and paste your previous response to someone? Setting up canned responses in your email program basically feels like you’re performing magic. Because you save so much time by not having to write the same thing over and over again! We use these with blog submissions.
Work Smarter – Turning Off Your Email Notifications:If you do nothing else, turn off all notifications. Getting distracted when an email comes in is a huge time waster and effects our ability to get quality work done. It’s impossible to focus on projects when you’re getting constantly interrupted by email dings. We’ve all been there, typing away at an email and then “oh look, ASOS is having a sale…”
Automating Email with Filters:
I love automating my email inbox by setting up filters; it’s the easiest way for me to stay in control and it just takes a teeny bit of time to set up on the back-end. You can set up a filter for just about anything (my favorite is setting up one junk mail). I set up a filter to look for the words unsubscribe—the amount of emails that don’t hit my inbox because of this filter is amazing.
hopefully these will save you some time and help you get organized. let us know what you think! what else would you like to organize in your life?
the idea that you need to be creative or productive all of the time can often feel like a lot of pressure. we’re constantly working to stay ahead of the curve and put our best foot forward and honestly, sometimes it’s exhausting. one of the most rewarding things i did for the blog was to take a leap and rent a studio space. it felt like a big undertaking at the time but has really paid off in the things that we’ve been able to create. i thought it’d be fun to share some tips about workspaces and what i’ve found to be helpful in establishing a work zone and reimagining the places that we create. no matter if you’re working from your living room, home office, shared space or the 21st floor of a high rise we all need to mix it up every once in awhile because let’s be real, no matter your job, things can get kinda boring day after day.
make it fresh – take the time to keep your workspace clean, organized and tidy. it does take time -those plants that you love need a lot of care, and those white floors need to be re-painted every year (ours just were!), be willing to invest the time and sometimes money to keep up the things that matter to you. figure out what’s important in your space, and be sure to not let those things go. sometimes just simply rearranging my desk, changing my desktop wallpaper and organizing my desktop folders can put me in a better headspace!
make a statement – i’ve wanted to get a custom neon sign for the studio to hang over our desks. help me think of cool phrases! i was considering “be here, now” (since i have a problem with always thinking into the future) or “you better work, bitch.” (ha! a good b.spears reference).
make it yours – having your workspace feel like it’s a reflection of you is important. you’ll be more enticed to spend time there and invite people in when you feel comfortable and confident in your office. it took us almost a year to furnish the studio because i wanted to wait for the right pieces and not fill it with things that i’d get sick of down the road. we spend a significant portion of our day at work so spend time making it personal and filling it with the things you love, it’s worth the investment.
make a mess – whenever i’m feeling uninspired or stuck, i need to just make a mess and create something. call a friend over to the studio to paint or do a fun project. i keep a large area in the studio free to be a blank canvas that is solely meant for projects and shoots. i love taking these behind the scenes “not as pretty” shots. they’re a fond reminder of the creative energy and beauty that has been created in my studio.
make a new layout – don’t be afraid to move things around and mix up your layout. keep yoga mats around for afternoon stretching, put your feet up and work from the couch, push your desks closer together to encourage collaboration, work outside in the sunshine…there are so many ways to work – experiment and see what’s ideal for you.
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we all have that piece of advice that someone we respected gave us, something that stuck in our minds and something that we still follow to this day. some of them are tiny little tips that don’t seem like much but we remember them forever (whether they are fully true or not!) here’s some we’ve found helpful…(and a cute notebook above to write a few down) what helpful tips have you learned along the way?
• always send a thank you note within 5 days.
• never make a big decision late at night, sleep on it.
• don’t have dairy when you have a cold.
• always take a photo of your passport before you go on a trip, in case you lose it it’s easier to go through the process.
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hey everyone! we held two social media workshops in our studio last weekend, and i was really happy with how they turned out. everyone had awesome questions and it really felt like we were all involved in a big conversation to help each other’s businesses. in this two hour workshop you will learn how to use pinterest, instagram, twitter and facebook for your blog or brand. i put together a ton of visual examples, stats and did a presentation on how i shoot and edit for instagram.
the next round of classes was announced yesterday to the mailing list and the new dates are half filled. go grab your spot right here. (there’s still a couple spots in the mixology workshops too!)
we set up our modernica chairs and hung up our new pinatas from prospect goods!
the perfect combination: delicious treats from donut snob (you have to try them, seriously) and a caffeine fix from handsome coffee roasters while everyone chatted before and after the workshop. hope to see you at the next session! -bri
(photos by designlovefest & bottom photo by justine dorsey)
