I’ve been suffering from “Lazy T-shirt Designer” syndrome for most of 2008. Logging into Cafepress and going straight to the forums. Putting up half-assed designs. Leaving sections half finished because I got bored. Making endless lists of plans but never actually putting them into action. Yep, I’m Lazy. With a capital L.
I’m trying to change that this year. I want to get back some of that magic that I had when I first opened my shops. I would come home from work and spend hours on the computer making and uploading new designs. Dreaming of where I would be in a few years. Well, though years are here and I’m not where I thought I would be.
Yeah, I made around $9000 in 2008 and I’m very thankful for that. I know other people would kill to have made that kind of money in their spare time. But I know I’m capable of much more. So I’ve come up with some tips to help Lazy T-shirt Designers stay motivated and focused.
Get Organized
I have a hard time concentrating on things when my life is a mess. So I try to keep my apartment clean all the time. I used to let things go until it drove me crazy and then would spend all day cleaning and vacuuming and washing all the dishes that had obscured my kitchen countertop. Now every day when I get home from work I spend about 15-20 minutes tidying up. Maybe vacuum, sweep, wash a few dishes, put random things away, whatever. I decided it doesn’t matter so much what I do as long as I do something that needs to be done. It helps me stay on top of the mess.
Keep Your Computer Organized as Well
Nothing interrupts your work flow like going back to update an old design and then realizing you have no idea where it is. On my computer I have a ‘Cafepress’ folder on my desktop. Inside I have various other folders. One folder houses templates for Cafepress products. Another has all of my clip art and vector stock that I use in my designs. Another has spreadsheets of sales data. And I have seperate folders for each store. Those folders are organized just like my stores, with a folder for each section and subfolders for each different design.
I was not always this organized. On my old computer I had stuff all over the place. Some of the designs in the “My Pictures” folder, some in a “Cafepress” folder, others in a different “Cafepress” folder on an external hard drive. No wonder I could never find anything. When I bought my new computer I took a little extra time in copying my files over manually so I could have them all organized and in the same place.
Organize Your Thoughts
Make a list of all of your stores, future stores, future plans and whatever else you want to do with your POD business. Write them all down and decide which ones are important now and which ones can wait until later. This is what I am working on right now. I have two brand new premium shops at Cafepress, five or six new stores at Zazzle, multiple affiliate stores in the works, plus my main shop at Cafepress needs a redesign and an overhaul. Obviously I can’t do all of this at once, and when I think about it all I get overwhelmed and do something else entirely. Prioritizing and concentrating on one thing at a time will get it all done much faster.
Keep an Idea Notebook
Keep a small notepad or sketchbook with you at all times. You never know when an idea for a new design is going to pop into your head. Then when you are staring at your computer screen trying to think of something you’ll always have a backup.
Just Do Something
If you just can’t get yourself into the designing/uploading frame of mind, do something else to promote your shop. Start a blog, sign up with twitter, put your designs on Myspace/facebook, design business cards, build a Squidoo lens, something. Get into the habit of doing something for your shops on a daily basis. After a while it will become a habit and you won’t feel right without doing it.
Take Some Time Off
Thinking about t-shirts 24/7 can lead to burnout. Set aside some time every week to allow yourself to slack off and have fun without feeling guilty. Let me use myself as an example. I have an Xbox 360. And a Wii. And a Gamecube, Nintendo 64, Super Nintendo, Nintendo NES, Nintendo DS, Gameboy, Gameboy Advance, Sega Dreamcast, Playstation and a Commodore 64. I can’t remember the last time I played a video game. If I have some free time to play video games I feel like I should use it to design t-shirts instead. Then I get overwhelmed with all the work I need to do on my shops and end up perusing message boards and reading blogs instead. So I am trying to set aside some time to allow myself to play video games/watch tv without feeling guilty. Actually, I’ll need to save up about a weeks worth of time to use on February 16th when this gets released.
Tags: motivation
Wow!! 9000$ in a year - in free time!! This really *is* inspiring!!
Thanks for the helpful tips too!!
/It’s kinda stuff one kinda knows, but, uhm, never really does.. lol, so it’s good to get some encouragement from someone ‘doing it’!! :)/
off to take a look at your new site now!!
Wow, that is exactly like me with my jewelry and metal work. I mean its exactly the same. I’m not motivated like I used to be. I’m not where I thought I would be after the years I have put into it. I make plans and don’t following through. Especially this part:
“If I have some free time to play video games I feel like I should use it to design t-shirts instead. Then I get overwhelmed with all the work I need to do on my shops and end up perusing message boards and reading blogs instead.”
I am working on starting a POD shop, it is going to be what I do when I don’t feel like working on my jewelry.
I’m kind of doing the same thing jon, I’ve decided to open a vintage clothing shop on Etsy to work on when I get bored of designing t-shirts. I love going to estate sales/garage sales/thrift shops so I might as well make some money off it too.