Systems Management

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I feel as if much of my life these days is overcome with learning and managing new systems - online and business systems in a work sense as well as new ways of being and functioning in a being alive/surviving sense.

I want to spend less time on social media but I have a podcast (have I mentioned it?) and a small creative business to promote, so it took a few tries to find a decent, free post scheduler (I'm trying Later.com) and figure out how to work it, then set aside time for blitzing through posts (which need images to pre-load) and sorting up to a month's worth at a time. This is one system along with Etsy where I've found it necessary to work between the app on my phone and the website from the computer to achieve everything I need to just make one listing or post. It's flipping exhausting, and that's before we get to the spreadsheets.

Facebook has been on at me for months about tagging my page photos with shop listings. That was another nearly full day just working through all the motions to end up with a spreadsheet that would smoothly feed the information to Facebook. I went with Google Sheets just for (relative) ease. That's all up and running after a fraught day of me asking my laptop in exasperation, 'why is every little thing so difficult?'

Oh and it took my pennies a while to drop while figuring out the best ways to list on Etsy and I'm still not sure I've got it right, but it's better than it was. I also learned how to hold sales and make coupons (one of which you'll receive if you favourite my shop).  

I wonder how much of this activity is procrastination from trying to write and continue my many stalled research projects. But they don't bring money in. But I'm not making much anyway. But at least it's something. But it's not sustainable. But I have to try. What if it takes off after a slow start? Aaarrgh I don't know what's best. And after mithering in anxious cycles I go and make or edit something just to feel productive while checking the privilege I have to only currently have this level of worry.  

Something else I've been up to is beginning to finally make videos of the lectures I'd racked up over the years of jobbing around at various UK universities in the 2010s! In a way, part of my personal systems management is currently focused on addressing - not quite completing, but facing up to - unfinished business, and this was an idea I'd had about three and a half years ago as I began recovering from workplace abuse at my last 'proper job'. Even if flawed because they were hammered out at breakneck speed while I flailed to keep my head above water - oh, sorry, corporate speak required, remained resilient and professional no matter what was thrown at me - what good are the materials archived away on a hard drive? They might be useful to someone and they're not much good to me anymore. And what job prospects have I got this year anyway? Let's give something out to society while I have the means to do so. 

Ah, employment. I'm trying to become comfortable with calling myself self-employed. While I haven't been in a paid job for nearly four years, I have never stopped working. And freelance contracts dried up for me by the end of 2019. Although, part of that was becoming no longer willing to work for peanuts on miserable piecemeal work that I always put more into than I ever got out. 

Tax returns. Another big system I grappled with recently. I earned enough to submit one for last financial year for the first time. My records this year are looking busier but weer. Well, it's all useful skills, isn't it? All useful skills...

If you're interested in receiving updates straight to your inbox on all this, I'm also setting up a mailing list. I'm struggling to find the proper link to the form (webinars attendance looms!), but you can use the sign up button on the Cosy Pea Pod Facebook page if you'd care to sign up. I aim to bring it out monthly when there are some subscribers and it will include brief summaries and links for my latest releases, plus exclusive offers for my Etsy shop.

Thanks for reading, and take care x

Cosy Pea Pod placeholder logo - an embroidered version is on the to-do list.


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