Coffee with Aaron
April 5th, 2024

Time to Settle

I have been on “high alert” for a while, 6 months actually. I didn’t realize it while in the midst of things but looking back...yeah, wow...that actually helps to explain a few things regarding my physical state near the end of that time period and my mental state, too.

Prior to last October I was working full-time as an I.T. consultant, CSI Manager to be a bit more precise. It was a job that I fell into, made up as I went along, never really wanted. It was a necessary evil in 2013 and I became comfortable as time went on.

That changed in October when I resigned and took my leather business full-time. Well, they came back with a slight counter offer, asking if I would be open to staying on hourly to cover a few things. I said yes. So I essentially switched the two jobs: leather was now full-time, IT was part-time. Wasn’t my plan initially but sure, I’ll roll with it.

October through January is currently my heaviest time period for leather work. It is consumed entirely with Christmas orders and then Valentine’s Day orders with one-off custom and birthday type orders thrown in for good measure. It. Is. Insanity.

Once I got out of that, but overlapping slightly in the beginning of January, I had to kick off an annual survey effort on the IT end of things. That process is quite massive and goes from January to the end of March. Juggling existing leather orders, new orders, developing new business opportunities for leather, while running the survey stuff and subsequent reports, reports, more insanity.

And so I arrive at last week and this week and I feel as though I have gone from endless stormy seas to the calm tranquility of a lake. Slightly jolting, but so amazing. My mind has opened up to ideas upon ideas, filling pages in various notebooks. I have made a lot of new products, iterated on existing designs and created new designs entirely. I have been able to take my time, not feel rushed, naturally moving from task to task. It has been great and I am seizing the opportunity while it lasts!

A full day awaits and I am eager to dive into things! Have a great Friday! 
~ Aaron

Grateful log for Fri, 05 Apr 2024

  1. Following rabbit holes…
  2. …that still relate directly to high-level goals.
  3. The time I have had the last two weeks to really settle into things.