never enough time

i haven't had anytime to work on my website in the last week. there's just never enough time in the day to get everything done that i want to. seems like there is something i'm always planning for or getting ready for. i've got a number of things on my plate right now. i think it's time for a do-to list, so here goes (in no particular order):

• one trick zebra - custom onesies (3 total) + toddler shirt
• one trick zebra - baby toys
• one trick zebra - receiving blankets
• elewisdesign & one trick zebra - finish layout for website
• elewisdesign - update portfolio for web
• one trick zebra - update products on etsy and for web

this weekend is sure to be full of everything else but the stuff listed above. i've got a lot of other things i need to get done including a long list of things for my car... change oil, replace wipers, replace brakes, install a jdm goodie, have someone look into a possible wheel bearing problem... plus, if this rain ever stops i would like to wash my cars and get all of the winter junk off of them. and then there's my dad's birthday that we'll be celebrating saturday evening (still gotta wrap gifts for this!). oh, and both church services sunday along with a meeting with a potential dj for our wedding. it would be nice to mix in some relax time too but, again, so much stuff to do and not enough time.

building the foundation

i'm finally starting off my website redesign the right way. instead of diving right into the design, blindly adding colors, graphics, copy and whatever else i seem to think of along the way, i decided to take a different approach. i started from the very beginning, with an outline of the goals / purposes of my website. since i am going to be merging my one trick zebra baby gear company with my design portfolio, i broke the site down into two different directions keeping in mind that the overall flow of each site has to be cohesive and make sense.

let me stop right here and declare my love for list making. lists have been a huge lifesaver for me. especially when it comes to time management and organization. anytime i'm overwhelmed with multiple projects and can't seem to concentrate on just one, i break out my notepad and a pen and make a list. usually it goes by order of importance or urgency. sometimes i organize it according to the difficulty or amount of time each task will take. or when i'm at a standstill with a project and can't focus on a direction to take it, i write up a quick list of goals that need to be achieved in the final product.

so, i made up my list. i included things that absolutely need to appear on my website. i penciled in any additional thoughts that weren't critical to my site, but might eventually make it in. and i began a rough layout of the site based on the information from my list. i started in grayscale, forcing myself to stay focused on the layout and useability of the site. the one trick zebra portion of my site was much easier to fill in so i started here. the basic layout of this part is basically done. my portfolio part of the site is already proving to be a little trickier. i'm trying to keep it as simple as possible, but at the same time i don't want the site to feel empty. right now i'm struggling over whether to merge my landing page with my about page. i'm not sure what i want to include on my landing page so the simple solution would be to eliminate it all together and have the about page become my landing page. there's just so many options and i can't settle on just one.

here's a tiny peek of the progress so far:

off to a slow start

i have a severe problem with indecision. settling on a final design in my personal work proves to be a constant problem for me. and, really, i'm not sure why. i start designing something and when i hit even the slightest roadblock, it's off to a completely new direction for me. this doesn't happen to me with my professional work. i think maybe the reason it happens with my personal projects is because i know i can take my time with them. i don't typically give myself a strict deadline or any kind of real deadline to get something done when it's for me. maybe this is my problem. at work i follow a strict schedule that i make up for myself each week or each month, depending on the workload. i follow this schedule as best i can and make alterations along the way. bottom line is i have goals of when i want projects to be completed which is usually way ahead of the actual deadline. this way i give myself a little bit of wiggle room to perfect my work. it allows me time to go back and change things i might decide aren't working when the project is "done." it's this mentality of giving time to perfect my project that ends up screwing me in the long run when i'm home. i give my personal projects all the freedom in the world to take as long as they want with the idea that all of the time i've devoted will guarantee that the project is the absolute best that i can make it. in reality, this is bull-shit. i give myself all of this time and i am coming up with nothing. too much freedom has become a curse. i need to devise guidelines for my personal designs. i need to set goals. by the end of this week i should have this designed. or by the end of the month i should be this far along. it's hard, with so many other things going on, to stick to a schedule like this, but i am going to try. my redesigned portfolio website is going to be my cute, little guinea pig. i'm not sure how cute and cuddly i will think of it by the end of this process, but i will definitely be keeping it alive.

finally posting

the 28th of this month will mark the one year anniversary of when i launched this blog. i've had almost one full year and nothing to show for it. i've had many big plans for this blog long the way, but let it all slip to the back of my mind where i all but forgot about it. it's amazing how life gets in the way. a lot of things have changed in the last year. i've found myself transitioning into new career paths, planning for and welcoming my first nephew into the world, and i found myself on the path to a new shared life with my now fiancé. all of these changes have put my blog on the back burner, temporarily, until today. plans for a new website reminded me of this enormous vacant space i have. so, i thought it might be interesting to document the journey my redesigned website makes. with so much wedding planning that will be occurring simultaneously, i think this blog will become a sort of melting pot for the two and, while i'm at it, for anything else i might find interesting along the way. i'm new to the whole blogging game as far as actual live posts go, so you'll have to bear with me. i am going to make every effort to try to update everyday, but let's be honest, it probably won't happen. like i mentioned before, life has a way of getting in the way!