Day 5

Yes! Not only am I developing some sort of working pattern and rhythm with my photo stationary, I am learning more about my Serif Plus X4program.

Learning my Software
For instance, I used to set up my 3x3 notepads like I did on Publisher, using the layout to set up multiple squares on one page...being careful that each square was exactly the same size......

Now, with Serif I set the custom size to 3x3, create my first pad page, then if I want to have mulitple page designs per pad, I just keep adding pages and design each pad page independent of the others. When I want to print a test page, I can tell my printer to print one page, and it will print one 8.5x11" piece of paper with up to six different 3x3 pad pages on it.

If I like the way things turned out, I can continue printing them out that way, or if I want, I can tell it to print out...say, page four (or whatever) and it will print out an 8.5x11" piece of paper with six 3x3 images of page four.

This might not be news for some people who have used more than Publisher for desktop publishing, but I have not and it is wonderful news for me. And I love it!

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I am also learning that while I love my rotary cutter, sooner or later I will need to get a bigger, better one. For small tasks, what I have is fine. For larger orders, well, it takes a bit of time.

The Business of Business
The other thing that seems to be working itself out is how to record each part of the order I am working on. There are benefits to tracking the details of each notepad, etc.  In addtion to tracking my output in terms of money and time which I will need to know when I set up an e-store; tracking the settings of each notepad is helping me in two other ways. One, it will be easier to recreate a design. Two, it is helping me learn the differences between settings and how things look. I have set up a file with one copy of each thing I have created along with the notes about each design and order.

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So, to recap Day 5,  I had a good day today.  I followed my discovery from Day 4 and set a priority, and stuck to it. I did not allow myself to get distracted and I was not overwhelmed by trying to do too much at once. 

Tomorrow I begin holiday shopping. Between that and my regular 9-5, I may only get one hour a night for my challenge. However, I believe that if I make that hour count and stick to my plan, it can be a productive hour.

So until tomorrow, good night for now.