Comments for TRIGGERS & SPARKS

Comment on Making every hour count (or how to stop counting) by Cedric

Cedric — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:49:36 +0000

I'd say the debate is a gamble whose outcome varies across industries, a word of advice if you already have a crazy chargeable budget, we do 60% of our yearly revenue in 4 months, I'm dead in the middle of it right now, you should not have time for too many Not for Profits. What did I sign up for? Oh well get 'er done. And inevitably it all depends what kind of shape the client gets it to you ;p

Comment on Getting Naked by sarah semark

sarah semark — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:08:53 +0000

Thanks, Pam! I love Sally's group–they were the first group I modelled for, and they were so warm, welcoming, and positive that it really made for an amazing experience, especially when starting "cold", as it were.

Comment on Getting Naked by Pam J W M

Pam J W M — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:42:41 +0000

Hi! I've also worked as a model for Sally's group, and I think you've very accurately captured the very essence of artist modeling. Also, I love the paintings she did with the flowers, like the one here! It's so special to be the foundation of the artist's work.

Comment on Making every hour count (or how to stop counting) by sarah semark

sarah semark — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:36:57 +0000

I’m not quite sure about “stress free”, but certainly “stress reduced”, which is always a boon!

I’d agree re: hiring contractors, and I’d expect that if you’re in the reverse position (of being hired for work, that is), people are more comfortable with paying for a service rather than an indeterminate number of hours. As a provider, this also gives you more flexibility with how you set your rates (ie, this will be fun, so I’ll charge less, or this is going to be a nightmare so I’ll charge more; essentially evaluating tasks based on value rather than on time-to-completion) and either way you win out–without having to refuse a job!

Comment on Making every hour count (or how to stop counting) by ryan cameron

ryan cameron — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:52:32 +0000

Completely agree, flat rate is best, and if you are paying contractors, pay for services, not for hours. You’ll get your moneys worth and stuff will tend to be delivered more quickly as the contractor needs to complete the task before they can expect the $$.
This means efficient people who get their work done quickly have stress free lives, and people who leave things to the last second … well, they lose out.

Comment on Making every hour count (or how to stop counting) by sarah semark

sarah semark — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:40:09 +0000

I read somewhere that after you work over a certain hourly threshold, the actual quantity of work you’re capable of producing diminishes. So if you work eight hours, you get eight hours of work done, but if you work twelve, you’re only actually doing ten hours.

It’s VERY easy to get caught up in hour-counting and being a workhorse, especially when running a business, and it’s something I’ve been fighting for years. (As a side note, I have had under four hours sleep every night this week, but I now sleep almost every single night, so that’s new!)

In work that’s so deadline-driven, sometimes overworking and undersleeping is unavoidable, but I’m really glad that people are starting to recognize (and educate the crazy workaholics in the house!) that this isn’t necessarily a sign that you’re a better worker.

Comment on Making every hour count (or how to stop counting) by Matthew Riley MacPherson

Matthew Riley MacPherson — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:04:49 +0000

37signals’ “Getting Real” and “Rework” books explore this notion, and talk about placing limits on time spent working yielding incredibly better products. And it makes sense; a lot of people running small businesses/startups love to brag about sleeping two hours a night, but to me it just sounds like “Check out how incompetent I will be tomorrow due to my lack of rest.”

And as is rarely pointed out, that isn’t a “lose a bit of sleep, lose a bit of productivity” trade-off; the trade -off is that your productivity suffers greatly when you sleep less or are always focused on (direct, billable) work.

Glad to hear you write about this.

Comment on 6 new projects for 2010 that won’t make me any money by Learning from (loving your) mistakes | TRIGGERS & SPARKS

Learning from (loving your) mistakes | TRIGGERS & SPARKS — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:48:07 +0000

[...] the interest of continuing my forays into self-directed and hand-generated projects, I’ve been taking a screenprinting class at the fantastic Roberts Street Social Centre the [...]

Comment on Snarky-Macabre Valentines by To Market, To Market: An Experiment in Failure | TRIGGERS & SPARKS

To Market, To Market: An Experiment in Failure | TRIGGERS & SPARKS — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:25:08 +0000

[...] instead of just “selling myself”. It’s been a little hit-and-miss: my Valentines seemed popular (they were listed on Ooh! Shiny! and in the Etsy blog, and I’ve heard loads of [...]

Comment on Made with Love: Or What That Means, Exactly by A card for everyone on Valentines « Love, Me

A card for everyone on Valentines « Love, Me — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 07:32:56 +0000

[...] You can buy the cards individually or as a pack of six. I think my favourites are “My heart burns for you” (a flaming anatomical heart) and “I only have eyes for you” (eyeballs). You can read about the creative process behind Sarah’s cards on her blog. [...]