Get out of the house!

Insights on the importance of get out to be more inspired

Hello dear friends,

I know we are not at the beginning of the year but I decided to take new resolutions. I mean they are not that new but I never succeeded in installing them by myself. So I decided to see a therapist to help me.

In last week post, I decided to talk a bit about habits and routines. These are really helpful to be organised, reduce stress and a good solution against procrastination. For a long time I knew it but I could not find a good way to set it up.

Since Covid, I tend to work a lot more from home, and it has a big impact on my mental health. I am more stressed out, anxious, I feel like there are so many things to do, like the laundry, cleaning the kitchen, etc.

At the end of the day, I feel frustrated because I did not really have the chance to have time for myself.

I have an atelier and a coworking space in the city. But I always feel like I am going to lose 1 hour minimum by commuting when I can stay home, relax in my pyjama and enjoy easy life.

But this is not easy life. This is even sometimes a nightmare. And after a few months trying to fix it by myself, I went to see a behavioural therapist to help me organise my life OUTSIDE of the house. And up to now it works.

The plan we did setup recently is to divide my work time between the atelier, for manual, analog stuff, and the coworking space for everything digital.

But it’s not it. I also planned what I do during these days. regarding to days at the atelier, I use them to print. So each week, I plan things to print, for each day I am there, and I stick to it. I go there with a plan. Which means I wake up in the morning knowing what I will do during the day. I don’t have to take a decision on that. And for someone with ADHD, planning so you don’t have to make a decision at the last moment, is saving my life. No more procrastination in the morning.

For the days at the coworking space, it is also easy: on Mondays I write the newsletter for paid subscribers and on Thursdays I do the Friday newsletter. Which I am doing right now. This is also where I try to work on fonts or design on my iPad.

Monday is still WIP. This might be a hiking day. And Wednesday is for the family/children.

I am not sure if it going to work but up to now I enjoy so much being outside of the house. This is time for myself and my brain is only focused on my work/well being.

It is a cost though. And not everyone can afford it.

In last week newsletter I talked about that chat between Austin Kleon and Beth Pickens and Austin Kleon said something really important to me:

Show up at your desk so you can show up at home!

This is so true. Since last week I work outside of the house and I am way more available for the family when I get back home. I can divide easily my work time from my family time. When I stay home, everything is connected and melted. This creates huge anxiety and stress.

Another thing I realise working outside of the house is that my brain is more relaxed. So I feel more creative and inspired. Just like when I go out for a walk. I feel more in the present moment and not having that huge todo list in my head where work and family is mixed.

Something else that really helps is going to the atelier or coworking space with my bike. This is so fun. Every time I am on the bike I feel like my dog without the leach playing in the fields. I feel free. Free from home stress and anxiety. Get out of your house but also go biking or hiking ;-)

So today I wanted to share with you that new life I am setting up and the impact it has on me. Maybe that is something you suffer from I thought it might be helpful to share it with you. To me, life is outside the house. And that is where the behavioural therapy is great. The more you go out, the more you feel like it’s a good idea, the less you will like to stay at home. You choose a new behaviour that helps your mental health.

What is your point about working from home? Does it work for you? Or do you prefer having an office/studio/atelier? Please share your thoughts in the comment :)

Now let’s get inspired!

Book of the week: The Rob Roy Kelly American Wood Type Collection: A History and Catalog

This book is all about letterpress and wood type. It does tell the whole history of woodtype and present the collection acquired with the time by Rob Roy Kelly. The book is not only interesting for its written content but the type displayed in it is just damn crazy. Check it out!

So if you want to discover good old wood type, this is the book. Also you will be for sure interested by the great text.

Artist of the week: Laara Bonn

Laara is a designer from Romania and I always like checking her work because it is a good mix between fresh and fancy type/illustration but at the same time, it can be sometimes really experimental. And this is what I like the most in her work. Letters are always beautifully curved with great colors palettes. Here are some of my favorite works:

Paid members Zone!!

New section I will share with you each week so you all know what happens in the paid memberships section. Maybe some of you don’t know that section. This is where I share “behind the scene” posts, where we have a WhatsApp group I use to share pictures and thought in the wild. Like I just bought something new or need advice on colors to choose for a print? I ask on the WhatsApp group. Starting in October, we will have “Draw with me” sessions on Zoom. Two hours where we draw together and I help you improve your skills.

Yes that’s pretty interesting and just €5 per month! :) So if you want to support my work or get better at lettering, don’t hesitate to subscribe. Check out the benefits page:

If you want to see a glimpse of what I post, you can check out the post I made on Wednesday about my new adventure into Letterpress.

Thank you in advance.

This is it for today. This email is long enough. Next week we will enter the preparation for the Inktober challenge and chat about that Discord thing I talked about last week. You were 89% for it.

Enjoy your weekend, if you have questions about habits, routine, working out of the house, want more details about my subscription model, just reply to that email or leave a comment and I will get back to you :)

Take care,

Francis