Monday 18 January 2010

Focusing

I have decided that I need more discipline & with that in mind I am going to start & finish at least 1 item per day,be it pendant,cufflinks,earrings,small box,etc.

My usual script is to work on a large number of items at once,drill a hole in a pendant then do the metalwork on a set of cufflinks then apply finish to a box,I am usually actively working on more than 30 things within a 1 week period.Because of this fact a large number of items tend to take months,even years to complete (not very lucrative!!!)as I am always starting new & exciting projects & "forgetting" about older ones.I'll still be doing this,I enjoy flitting from project to project but I need to have "production".

I am also going to make at least 1 mushroom a day to keep my skills honed & also to sell.I haven't sold my wooden mushrooms for years,but if I am going to be making them for practise it won't be long before our house is overrun with the little,pointy blighters.

Starting price will be £2 for a 40mm or 1.5 inch tall version & will increase in price depending on which wood I use & what size they are.Not more than £5 or much bigger than 70mm 0r 2.75 inches tall.

3 comments:

  1. Sounds like a good start to what will be a productive and prosperous 2010. :o)

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  2. Adrian, extensive research proves that multi-tasking is disastrous for productivity. Many reasons, including:

    1. set-up and set-down times eat consume much of the available time
    2. when you get to an obstacle, easier to move to another task (project) than overcome the obstacle (I worked with a product development group of around 20 that had produced nothing for over a year, until multi-tasking was banned - the people were not to be given another task until they had finished the one they were allocated)
    3. multi-taskers are always busy, work long hours, are tired, and not accountable

    Chers
    Peter

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  3. Hi Peter,
    Thanks for the input.
    I am very aware of the pitfalls associated with multitasking,hence my resolution to focus at least some of the time,I hope that this will germinate into a more disciplined mode of operation.
    I do feel however that the way I work does have some creative,if not productive,benefits over a more linear form of manufacture.
    A lot of the time when I'm halfway through making something the product itself suggests variations that may be developed or I'll realise that I have options when it comes to fabrication or material choice & it's generally speaking this realisation that causes me to wander from a specific task.Some of my best work is achieved this way.
    I tend not to sketch or draw so a lot of my research & development is actually on the job,
    I just need to tip the scales more towards the production side rather than the R&D side.
    But yes,I do work long hours & I'm not the most accountable person on the planet but I thoroughly enjoy the former & am working on the latter
    cheers mate
    Black (nobody calls me Adrian except family & healthcare profesionals)

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