Bullet Journaling in the New Year for Fashion Designers

Like many, I have had my ups and downs with keeping a journal or planner. The New Year starts off with a lot of motivation which runs out in a few months. I have purchased or been given planners with pretty pre-printed calendars and spreads and I have gone months without using it. Sometimes those journals are hard to use because the pre-printed spreads do not fit my productivity style or they are to rigid in their approach. Other times the planners are too big and bulky to carry with me despite how beautiful they are designed. The Bullet Journal has been the method or style I have stuck with the longest. I have been bullet journaling for four years, which is a record. There are several things I like about this method.

Customization

You can do whatever you want with your bullet journal. If you browse Youtube, there are a lot of artists and people in the planner community who like to make pretty planners. They spend a lot of time illustrating and drawing out their planners. They love certain pens, pens with special ink and, of course, stickers. You can do this if you want but it does take a lot of time.

I am a bullet journal purist. I create lists and check things off. There is absolutely no need to decorate or illustrate your pages unless you want to do it. You can use any type of journal -- lined, dot, or grid. Discount stores, including Walmart, carry these types of journals and you can get started at a very low cost.

A catch-all place

I really like the idea of my bullet journal being a catch-all. I really dislike posting sticky notes on my desk and around my computer monitor. It's messy and cluttered. I also get sticky note blindness. I just don't see them because I focus on the task that is top of mind. So notes, reminders, phone numbers to add to my contacts list, all get added to the journal to deal with later.

I use my bullet journal for project planning. I create an outline of the idea with individual tasks for each step. As a task is completed, I flip back to the project page and check off each task. Sometimes the project idea tasks migrate across my daily to-do's, but I always have that original reference. This type of project planning is perfect for designers as they start a new season.

I use my bullet journal for note taking during meetings and conferences. No need to bring a separate notebook, it all goes in one place. Later, as I review my notes I can create new tasks based on areas of inspiration or goal setting. I attended a conference back in October and several work-related tasks evolved from my notes. It also helped reinforce ideas that I thought were important.

Bullet journaling as a Fashion Designer

You can use one bullet journal for both personal and work related tasks. It is easier to keep track of one journal versus two, but it would be easy to overwhelm your personal tasks with design work tasks. Designing a collection comes with making hundreds of decisions with dozens of things to keep track of at the same time.

If you are a freelancer or employee, I do recommend keeping a work journal. It's important to keep track of client work and what is accomplished so you can determine your billable hours. It also adds a layer of protection so you can prove what you did. You can keep this journal in the style of a bullet journal or however you choose.

If you own a fashion business, a bullet journal can absolutely help keep you on track to meet deadlines. A work journal that is separate from a personal journal will help keep the two things separate so that neither space is overwhelmed. I keep my work journal at work so I am unable to look at it home. This sets a healthy boundary so that I truly get a break. I do carry my personal bullet journal with me most places so that anything truly important can be recorded. For truly in the middle of the night work or design ideas, I send a simple email to myself that I will read in the morning.

Either way, you can figure out a method that works best for you. One or two journals, personal and/or work related. The system is flexible enough to experiment until you find the method that is the most useful.

Productivity hacks

A bullet journal is definitely an analog approach to planning and organizing. This method helps me to mentally retain my tasks and ideas for far longer by physically writing them down. It gives me mental space and breathing room by brain dumping tasks and ideas onto paper so that the stress of having to remember it is removed

A bullet journal can be combined with digital calendaring, reminders, and contact lists. The method is flexible enough that you do not have to feel like you are doing double work. If you like to setup a calendar with reminders, then you can certainly do it. Planning out on paper first can help with laying things out digitally. You can use productivity tools like Asana or Monday.com and still use a bullet journal. As project tasks were assigned to me in Asana, they were transferred to my bullet journal. A journal seemed easier to refer back to whereas the digital tools were helpful for future reminders. Either way, you can incorporate both ideas or methods.

The productivity hack that I have recently implemented is to create your to-do lists at the end of the day in preparation for the next day. I always had this vision that I would wake up early and have time to myself to plan my day and do a bit of reading. With my chronic fatigue and busy days, it never happened. I could never remember from one day to the next what tasks needed to be done. So now I spend maybe 15 minutes in the evening reviewing my tasks and creating tomorrow's to-do list. The next morning a simple review of my to-do list gets me started in the right direction.


If you are interested in learning more about bullet journaling, you can read about the Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll. There are also lots of journals available on Amazon including fineliner pens.

Transitioning your focus as a fashion designer

The fashion industry is full of possible design opportunities and career tracks. If you are dealing with burnout as a fashion designer, there are alternatives. December is a great time to reflect back on the past year and evaluate successes and failures. It is also a time to evaluate if you are happy in your current position. Does your work energize you and make it easy to get up in the morning or do you have to drag yourself to work? If you dread going to work, then it may be time to plan a transition. As a new year approaches, looking forward to something new can help bring new energy and hope for a bright future.

As a fashion designer there is a way to transition your focus on the things you really want to accomplish. But changing your focus as a fashion designer can be challenging. Designers are attached to their brands and it can become a part of their identity. Letting things go so you can try something new is a bit scary. Though once the decision is made, you can take one step at a time to reach a happier place.

 

 Evaluate your goals

If you have made the decision to transition, it is time to evaluate your goals. Goals can be super specific or more general. Do you want to own and produce your own brand? Do you have financial goals? Do you want to change product categories? It helps to write your goals and vision down. If you start more generally, you can drill down to specific steps. Smaller specific steps leading to your goal are more actionable.

Goals can change over time so it is perfectly fine to cross off or toss goals that are no longer a part of your vision. Goals do not have to be a rigid framework that do not allow for deviation. Life is not like that and changes in life require changes in your goals. As a designer, I have had to make changes in my professional goals as life has happened. This is normal, so allow flexibility in your decision making and goal setting.

 

Choosing a new focus area

Fashion designers can design many product categories from shoes and accessories to all types of clothing. Usually a designer specializes in one product category and becomes known for one type of work. This can make a designer feel trapped because they feel like they can only design one thing. Large design houses will design and produce an entire look from head to toe. Smaller design entrepreneurs are not financially able to do the same thing and so they produce they same type of product from one season to the next.

If you own your own business, look at adding a new, but related, product category. For example, a children's clothing designer that creates sleepwear could explore playwear or bedding. Adding that new product category can reinvigorate your motivation and provide a challenge that holds your attention.

As an employee, you could begin working on your own design ideas on the side. Begin to turn your ideas and dreams into an actual product. Draft the patterns and sew up a sample. Work on it until you are satisfied.

Evaluate and sharpen your skills

Regardless of your current position, you can begin to explore related career tracks in the fashion industry. Begin by listing all of your skills. Today's fashion designer has skills in many areas. Here are just a few ideas:

• Graphic design
• Artist drawing or painting
• Social media marketing
• Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop
• Sewing
• Patternmaking
• Spreadsheets
• Training/Coaching
• Sourcing/Outsourcing
• Product development

Each of the above skills can be used in other employment or freelance. Perhaps you no longer want to create and sell a product or run a business. You could start a consulting business for other designers helping them develop their product. Perhaps you love sourcing materials. You could help other designers find the right fabrics and trims. Or perhaps you love to draw. You could provide freelance drawing services to other designers who can not draw (you would be surprised at how many can't draw). I have a friend that creates drawings of client's wedding dresses as a keepsake.

Perhaps there is an area that you want to improve. Now is the time to sharpen those skills. Take an online class in search engine optimization or social media marketing. Improve your drawing skills by starting a daily drawing practice. Create a portfolio of your work. Create an outline for a training class.

 

Hire Help

Many fashion designers also run their own companies, bootstrapping as they go. Eventually you reach a point where you need help. The stresses of running a business while also being the creative leader can be overwhelming. At the same time, hiring an employee costs money. If you can't hire an employee to work with you at your office or design studio, look at hiring a virtual assistant. Either way you can outsource or delegate the tasks that you dread doing. If you need or want time to focus on the more creative aspects of your business, then get someone else to handle the more mundane tasks. There are plenty of people that can make phone calls and research sourcing options. A virtual assistant can lessen the financial impact of a regular assistant and still accomplish the small tasks you may not want to deal with on a daily basis.

If you are an employee looking to transition, and have the means to do so, you can still hire an assistant. A virtual assistant can take care of the tasks you can't accomplish during the day when you are at work and help you move things along.

Transitioning your focus to something new

Sometimes it is necessary to make drastic changes. This may mean shutting down a business, switching career tracks, finding new employment, or maybe even starting a new business. If you are in this situation, there are things you can do to help ease the transition.

Before making the leap to something else, have an emergency fund. Prepare financially by building your cash reserves so you can still eat and pay rent. Having to worry about daily living essentials can cause you to abandon your dream and force you to take the next available opportunity even if it does not match your goals. If you are transitioning to freelance work, a fund will greatly improve your chances of success.


Try to have a plan in place with actionable steps. If you quit what you are doing now with no plan, it will take you even longer to transition. Let's say you want to become a coach to other designers. Here is what your plan may look like:

1. Start an educational blog
2. Collect email addresses of possible clients
3. Email potential clients introducing yourself
4. Create a proposal and determine rates

I've spent the last year or so on my own transition. I've worked as a patternmaker, technical designer and designer for over 20 years specializing in children's special occasion clothing. There are many things I enjoyed about my work. I loved working with expensive fabrics and trims to create something beautiful for a special event that would be kept as an heirloom or memory. Still, I made basically the same product over and over again with minor variation. Creatively, I became bored. At the same time I was battling chronic fatigue and I was being forced to evaluate my current work load. Since then I have evaluated my skills and found a new related focus that has me energized and is bringing me back to the business one step at a time.

Battling Burnout in the Fashion Industry

There has been a lot of discussion among fashion industry types of burnout. With many years in the fashion industry, I can confirm burnout is a real experience. I designed or worked on the same basic product for nearly 20 years. I reached a point in which there was not much left in the well to draw from creatively. It was at my least creative moments that I did some of my best work because my employer threw me some projects that kept me motivated. After that opportunity closed, I just did not have it in me to go after freelancing jobs in the same market segment. I was burned out.

Designers new to the business quickly burn out for various reasons. Fashion production has a much smaller time scale than in years past. Producing three to four new lines a year is extremely difficult. There are fast turn times on samples and sourcing. The sales cycles are short. Designers are under constant pressure to produce something new, fresh, exciting and on budget. This means long hours for days and weeks on end.

Some trade groups have taken notice and start to advocate for better pay and hours. I don't know if anything will change, but these are some of the things I did to help battle burnout.

Schedule time off

This may be difficult depending on your job situation. But we all need time away from the grind. I had at least one day off a week to focus on other things. Attending church and focusing on family provided a weekly boost that kept me going. Plan vacations. The point is to be intentional with your time off and do something else other than work.

Turn off social media

It is tempting to troll Pinterest or Instagram for new ideas all the time. Facebook, Twitter, and any other social media platform can bombard you and your mental health with unrealistic expectations. It is as true in the fashion industry as anywhere, but there is an expectation to stay on top of trends by following trendsetters. Designers not only have to create a new look, they are expected to also live it. Save your mental health by not looking at social media outside of work time or responsibilities so you can be yourself.

Explore new hobbies or interests

As a designer, many of my hobbies and interests were related to my occupation. This meant I was surrounded by work related supplies and tools at work and at home. Try to find a hobby that is different to help re-energize you mentally and physically.

Take care of yourself

One of the primary causes of burnout is a lack of rest, either mentally or physically. There are only so many 12 hour days you can do before you just don't perform well on the job or at home. Prioritize sleep, healthy eating, and exercise. If there are health issues, then address them. If these things are allowed to persist, your job performance and over-all well-being will suffer. This can be difficult in certain job situations, but do the best you can.

Learn to say no

If you are a freelancer there are some things you can do to improve high pressure situations. The first is to have clear policies about job completion and deadlines. This means you can add a few extra days for job completion even if you don't necessarily need it. The client may pressure you for fast deadlines, but if you can't meet the deadline or don't want to, you can decline the job. It's better to be honest up front about the work you can and cannot do so that the pressure to complete is balanced with reality.

This is more difficult as an employee but sometimes employers have unrealistic expectations. If it is impossible to complete a project on time, do your best to communicate with your employer. Try to have a plan or new timeline for project completion. This may mean asking for help from other employees. I once had an impossible deadline and after I explained the situation to my employer, he generously gave me more time. He just didn't know the work involved.

Start a side hustle, plan a transition or exit

We can put a lot of pressure on ourselves to perform when we feel like we don't have a choice. This is why I always suggest having a side hustle or plan in place in case of a layoff or exit. A choice frees us to make a job transition if the current situation becomes intolerable. Knowing we can do something else without meeting financial ruin can relieve a lot of stress. A side hustle does not have to take much of our time as long as you have a smart plan in place. It could be something as small as monetizing a blog or creating some small gigs on Fiverr.

Job transitions and layoffs happen frequently in the fashion industry. Have a plan in place with where you might go or do next if this happens. This may include having an emergency fund to pay rent while you sort things out and paying off debt.

Follow-up on free motion quilting on a Singer Rocketeer

After leaving this project sitting for months, I could not convince myself to actually use my Singer 503A to machine quilt one of my quilts.

None of my samples were really satisfactory. The effort to push this small sample under the foot in an all-over swirl pattern was much more work than it should be. I actually had to push and pull the sample with some effort, which is not normal. I had a hard time visualizing myself doing this for a queen size quilt. With a proper foot or machine, it would be easier and probably fun.

So the decision is made and I will likely be hand quilting my Hawaiian quilt instead. I used safety pins to baste it together.

As an alternative, I also purchased a walking foot attachment. This attachment actually works well. It does have a cheap feel, so I'm not sure about long term durability. If I choose to quilt in straight lines, then, this is a possibility I may use this attachment on my next quilt.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Tech Packs

With the release of my Tech Pack, there are a lot of questions on how to use it.

Q: Is there an industry standard for Tech Packs?

No, but there is industry expected information. There are several tech pack templates and forms available for purchase on the Internet, and they are all a bit different in presentation. Generally, those tech packs seek the same information. A Tech Pack contains any and all information needed to manufacture your product. This information includes a cover page, technical drawings, cutting specs, labels, etc. The forms included in my Tech Pack allow for a lot of flexibility so it doesn't matter if you are manufacturing clothing, bags or tents.

Q: Does a Tech Pack include a cutting spec?

I have seen some statements that imply a cutting spec is usually not included in a tech pack. That has not been my experience. If a cutting spec is needed to make your product, then it should be included in a tech pack.

Q: What forms do I send to a contractor?

Only the forms that are needed for the work contracted. It is possible to hire a contractor that can do everything from product development to cutting, sewing, finishing and shipping. Usually, a sewing contractor is hired to do cutting and sewing. In that case they only need a cover sheet, style sheet/cutting spec, bill of materials, colorways (if needed), labels, swatches, and anything else needed to complete the work. Forms that contain proprietary info are for your own in-house use, such as a cost analysis.

Q: What is the difference between a Cost Analysis and a Bill of Materials?

A Bill of Materials contains a list of every input (fabric, trim, supplies) needed to manufacture your product. It does not contain pricing. This form can be used for ordering and inventory.

A Cost Analysis also contains a list of every input but also includes pricing and quantity. This form is used to figure the cost of manufacturing, sale price, and gross profit. This information is kept confidential.

Q: What else should my Tech Pack include?

A tech pack is usually just the paper work involved in product development. But if you are sending a tech pack to a sewing contractor, you should include a perfectly sewn sample and fabric and trim swatches. This is especially important if you are manufacturing overseas where there may be a language barrier. The sample will help clarify what you want when the contractor may not understand or read the tech pack. Swatches are also helpful if the contractor is also buying materials overseas.

Q: I don't draw well, do I have to include technical drawings?

Any drawing is better than no drawing. It is the primary way you will communicate with a technical designer and/or pattern maker. You can also hire people to create the drawings for you at reasonable cost.

Q: Can I customize The Simple Tech Pack?

Yes. Included in your purchase is a spreadsheet workbook version (Excel and LibreOffice Calc). You can add your company info and logo. You can also rearrange, rename information if you choose. The only caveat is that the forms are copyrighted and cannot be resold.

Q: I'm an indie pattern designer. Will this tech pack help me?

Yes. An indie pattern designer is very similar to a fashion designer. You will still need to develop a style, cutting spec, measurements, sewing instructions and grade rules. The cost analysis will help you price your product. The Simple Tech Pack can help you organize the information needed for your final product.

Q: Why does your Tech Pack have a Style Sheet instead of a simple cutting spec?

I created a combination form called a Style Sheet. This form contains both a technical drawing and a cutting spec. I have found it very useful in product development to include a technical drawing with the cutting spec as it travels through sampling. That way every person along the way has the same point of reference. It reduces both paperwork and questions.


Do you have any other questions? Please leave a comment and I'll answer your question in an upcoming blog post.