The case of the missing mojo

Like most creative people, my productivity and work ethic has its peaks and troughs. Right now, we have, ladies and gentlemen, a trough. A rather big one.

First of all the excuses:

1. There is a recession and we're all gonna die.
2. I have been suffering from an extended, erratic bout of cluster headaches that are supposed to have buggered off.
3. Its a bad time of year for business.
4. I am in love with RedBubble. It distracts me horribly.
   
5. I can no longer advertise for free on Gumtree.
6. I am desperate to work with people. I work alone and have no one to feed off, to banter with, to discusss ideas with, to compete with.
7. I no longer feel creative when I'm designing a logo/flier/ad/ I feel like I'm trying to save it from destruction by the client. Who usually wins.
8. I want to take photographs. That is what I love.
   
9. I am tired, tired, tired.
10. I feel like a cheap whore, appreciated not so much for the pleasure as the price. (Yeah, yeah, I am my own creation etc.)
    

I have in the past spent a good deal of energy trying to encourage small businesses to be positive and to seize the moment etc. Now is the time we should be claiming market share hand over fist as the big businesses turn to smaller, more agile and cost-efficient businesses to deliver goods and services. But there is just so much GLOOM!

This whole recession is not so much as a result of the banks being utterly bloody useless, (they are D'oh!) but the media hyping things up. Good people of the m, yes that's you Mr Bloody Peston, the stock market is fueled by SENTIMENT! If you upset a trader he will cause stocks to plummet. If you upset a herd of traders, you get a fecking landslide. Stop doing it! Stop making us think we should not have bothered to get out of bed.

No one has their eye on the ball. Not me, not the government. More energy has gone into trying to strip some ex bank MD of his pension than in trying to get the banks to buy in to the latest central bank interest cuts. Mr Government (that's you, Darling), pull your finger out and start instructing the banks that you part-own on what action you want them to take. Make them lend. And kill this bonus culture while you're about it, if it bothers you that much. You're the boss! Put a Cap on bonuses for 3 years - nothing above 100k for the most senior execs. (Don't worry, Darling, they won't all leave banking suddenly - no one else will have them!)

Such malaise!

I have some work on... just a little and its like wading through treacle. A constant stream of severe headaches serves only to interrupt my pointless procrastination and ineffectual fluttering of my hands as I wonder what to do, how to save myself, how to save my business, how to save the world.

Such negativity! From Moi? I am astounded. Not.

Here's what I will do to turn this situation on its head:

1. Every day I will commit a deliberate, gratuitous and wanton act of kindness. I think this is necessary because I forget to be kind and I forget how fortunate I am, even though I feel unfortunate myself sometimes.
2. I am going to do this blog daily and list my achievements
3. I will create at least one "keeper" photograph every day either from my existing stocks or from shooting something new
4. I will do client work before ANY of my own work each day.
5. I will phone at least one client every day and will grow a more mature attitude to telephones in general, which I detest)
6. I will start being less dismissive of my work. I will no longer let a client ruin my work for the sake of expedience. The customer is often wrong.
   
7. I WILL find a way of getting a new camera so that I can start seriously shooting High Res. stock images.
   
8. I will take a walk of at least one hour a day. With camera, regardless of weather.
9. I will eat properly and sensibly.
10. I will stop dwelling on things that I cannot change.
11. I will treat my only member of staff with the love and respect she deserves.
12. I will work hard for the future that I won't be able to enjoy if I don't.