Category Archives: About Kat

My organized evil twin is not me

Posted on February 28, 2012 | Leave a comment

I am obsessed with systems in an almost I long to be a left-brained person way. Linear, pragmatic, solution-based, I’ve convinced myself that systems can be created to crack the code on looking chic everyday, cooking dinner, staying fit, saving money, and producing good creative work. According to this as yet untested theory of mine, the only difficult part should be finding your system.  – Sarah from Pink of Perfection

I recently read the above and went YES THIS!  I crave being a orgnaized, systematic person.  Make a to-do list, cross it off, and have that glow of productivity and satisfaction every day, surrounded by my clean horizontal surfaces and things filed away.  Just find the one trick, the one system, or pen color, or type of box and BOOM!  Awesome killer adulty-type-person.  Sadly, no trick, pen, or box has kept me from often feeling like below :

Closer to reality

Closer to reality from Hyperbole and a Half

I know I’m not the only one, so I’m going to share a few things I have managed to figure out that do help me and hopefully will help you too.

  1. Everything counts!  Making the bed?  Counts!  Going downstairs and get the mail? Counts!  Put it all on the to-do list or, if you can’t handle the list of doom that might be, the “I did” list.
  2. The corollary of that – breaking down big projects really does help.  So much easier to start with draft email to contact than get new awesome job.  And remember, it all counts!
  3. Start with the 5-10 items (no more) that are always either missing (stamps) or present in way too many places (for me, hair things and lip gloss).  Come up with a place just for those items that’s easy.  I dump all my hair things and lip gloss into the same jar on my dressing table.    It’s so much easier to clean when half of it is sweep hair things and lip gloss into hand, walk to bedroom, dump in jar.
  4. It only has to make sense to you – don’t do something just because Martha does it, or your favorite blogger, or your mom.  For example, I keep postage stamps in my wallet.  Easy to find, have them whenever I need them.  Nearly everyone who has learned this thinks it’s weird; almost all of them were borrowing a stamp from me.  Organized point – Kat!

What about you?  What tricks and treats do you use to make things work for you?

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Posted in About Kat, Goals

Swallowing my heart in my throat and running with it

Posted on February 20, 2012 | 1 comment

I am a freelancer.

Specifically, I’m a freelancer who left her job in a crappy economy because it wasn’t right for her.

I know what you’re saying, shaking your head at me. Security is important, a regular pay check is important, being gainfully employed is important.  There may even be some mutterings on being spoiled, those Millennials and their…. expectations.  And those are all valid things to say when you don’t know the full story and maybe someday I’ll share.  But today, today is about the excitement of freelancing, of being my own boss.

Working for myself means that I can go with my gut, write to a stranger and pitch an idea or ask for some mentoring.  People are awesome and giving when you work for yourself, especially when it’s new and you’re so so excited and scared and it’s written all over your face.

I’m getting in some quality coffee shop time today – daydreaming and writing proposals and emails that will probably lead to nothing but may, oh may, lead to something cool and awesome.  I’m terrified and it’s the best feeling in my life, to face my fears and really reach for my goals.

P.s. I believe in sharing!  If there’s anything that I can do for you, any help or mentoring or anything, please contact me.  Good luck should always be shared!

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Posted in About Kat, Work

Beautiful Mix-up

Posted on February 6, 2012 | Leave a comment

An aesthetic snafu is a sign from the universe.  Something unexpected, unplanned, perhaps a mistake or mix-up but something disruptive that’s also beautiful.  A message to change your thinking, sometimes quite literally.  The original aesthetic snafu story goes something like this….

I was in Mexico in March.  It’s bright and sunny, too bright and sunny and I’m sweating…in March.  I finish up my cold, crisp Mexican Coke, sugar and in a bottle like it should be, and go to head back over the boarder.  Only one obstacle stands in my way – not customs or emigrations, but the world’s longest train.  It started 15 minutes earlier and shows no sign of stopping.  And then I see

 and I realize that the train is going to win and that I should just go and get another Coke, which I do and it’s even more delicious than the first, joining me in sweating…in March.

Note: It must have really been a beautiful mixup – it took until now, despite having this picture above my desk for several years, to realize that it’s more likely to be ascetic than aesthetic.  Oops!

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Posted in About Kat