Productivity - Conscious by Chloé

Vintage Ethical Look Shot in Front of a Portland Mural by Conscious by Chloé

Working from home can be a bit of a challenge.

Yes, there’s the freedom to sleep in, work in your PJs, take a shower at 1pm if you feel like it, and take some time off kinda whenever but how much freedom is too much freedom?

Vintage Ethical Look Shot in Front of a Portland Mural by Conscious by Chloé

Pompom Hat (similar) Vintage coat (similar) - Leggings (similar) - Clogs (Sandgrens) - DIY Tote (Klumhouse)

I’ve worked in offices, had part-time jobs, been a consultant and I am now my own boss, so I can safely say that I know what I’m talking about. But even more so considering that I’m spending this month of March in Geneva, working at one of my clients' office for a one month long 40-hours a week contract.

I do this every year, and, besides it being a great opportunity to connect with fellow translators, it’s a perfect way to take inventory of my work habits.

Vintage Ethical Look Shot in Front of a Portland Mural by Conscious by Chloé

It’s going to be 4 years since I quit my job at a creative agency to fly across the world and become my own boss. 4 years of testing the waters, making decisions, changing my mind, and trying again.

I can now look back on these experiments and figure out what I would totally do again, and what I would avoid at all cost.

And amongst those revelations, the freelance hack I’m the most proud of to this day is… my fake commute.

Vintage Ethical Look Shot in Front of a Portland Mural by Conscious by Chloé

On some days, I get up, get dressed and walk to my neighborhood coffee shop for a warm cup of chai, to-go and sip it on my way back home, sometimes making a little detour through the park (and even listening to the latest episode of my current favorite podcast). It’s the perfect way to transition from home life to work life. The fresh air chases away the last drops of sleepiness and the exercise energizes and motivates me to get started.

Vintage Ethical Look Shot in Front of a Portland Mural by Conscious by Chloé

What makes it even better is the fact that I now have a commute buddy.

It wasn’t too hard to convince Octave to get up a little earlier if it meant getting coffee and his favorite financier.

When he comes with me, we usually seat down and take some time to catch up. It's actually really interesting to see how those conversations can be so much different from the ones we have at home (you might remember that we also meet at the coffee shop do do our accounting).

I actually received a text from him one afternoon (it was Wednesday morning in PDX) last week in which he said he missed me and wanted to meet me for coffee!

Vintage Ethical Look Shot in Front of a Portland Mural by Conscious by Chloé

Do you work from home? Is there a secret hack you want to share with us?

Pictures by Octave Zangs for Conscious by Chloé.

Oregon Coast Moody Weather

So it's been a while since I last wrote here. The last couple months have been full of projects, trips and new adventures and I've relied a little too much on my pre-scheduled posts, so when September came, I realized I had many post drafts, but no pictures and no time/inspiration/location to take any, and became a little disillusioned.

I found many excuses for ending up in this situation. I started taking classes and went on a couple field trips on week-ends as part of this training, I co-wrote an e-book, I started a new part-time job, I taught green living classes while continuing to work as a freelance translator with a couple big projects scheduled for the end of last month. I felt it was a little bit much to add blogging to the equation.

So, instead of posting irregularly, I decided (or it happened) that I took a real big break. A 2-months long one. It wasn't planned, and weirdly happened on my 1 year "bloganniversary" as they call it.

Not only did I stop blogging, but I also stopped posting on Instagram, which is pretty uncommon for me.

Nonetheless, I continued to repost relevant news and events on Facebook, and have had tons of fun using Instagram stories. This break was just what I needed to read books, watch eye-opening documentaries (and a couple TV shows along the way) to get inspired again. It was also a great occasion to take a step back, identify issues and redefine my vision for the blog and reflect on my use of social media.

I identified the following issues:

I have trouble finding the time or motivation to take and edit pictures.
I tend to overthink the content (length, links, images).
I have doubts about keeping my personal Insta for the blog.

I also realized:

I missed writing here.
I missed you guys, our discussions, your comments, your ideas.
I missed the rhythm of having a weekly assignment (Creating habits is very important to us freelancers).

So here's what I'm gonna try:

Be regular.
Don't overthink it.
Draw the line between my personal and blog social media platforms.
Schedule time to shoot and edit.

And here are the measures I already took:

I asked my landlord whether we could repaint the house (I can't stand the yellow mustard and beige walls): --> epic fail!
So I bought a white board to shoot flat lays and I'm thinking about setting up a photo studio in the garage, or maybe in the living room.
I opened separate Instagram and Twitter accounts for the blog.
I connected with awesome creatives here in PDX and project a couple collaborations.

And, last but not least, I reminded myself of the blog's motto:

Simpler, Greener, Happier

Be ready for some changes over here.

In the meantime, I'd love your feedback. What would you like to see more of in here? Tips, looks, DIY, recipes, random articles, Portland-specific articles?
Are you a blogger? What issues do you face? How do you overcome them? I'd love to have your insights!