good elephant pottery
  • blog
  • recent work
  • where to buy
  • the potter
  • school
  • contact
  • mailing list

Two-Day To-Do Lists

3/6/2015

6 Comments

 
It's hard to believe it is almost time to "spring forward" with our clocks, because there is a foot of snow in my yard, and it's 20°F outside. It really ought to be warmer by now. I've gotten used to the frozen temps, but our endless winter has been a nuisance in other ways. Last week, I ran out of clay. But the distance between my driveway and my studio door was blocked by a small mountain of snow and ice. Earlier this week, there was one day of above-freezing temps, and I shoveled and hacked out a narrow path. The clay delivery was made, followed by another eight inches of snow. Phew!

The first two months of 2015 flew past, with one big show already behind me, and the next one approaching fast. I have a new production schedule this year, and so far it is working out very well. It is an update to last year's production schedule, which was based on a three-week cycle (produce $5000 of inventory in two weeks, followed by one week of glazing and firing). I followed To-Do Lists that totaled $5000 worth of pots. I had two of these lists, and used them alternately. That schedule worked well, but by the end of the year, I had outgrown it. This seems to happen every year. My production speed continues to improve. It no longer takes two weeks to produce $5000 worth of pots.

This year, rather than Two-Week To-Do Lists that total $5000, I divided up my production needs into Two-Day To-Do Lists that total roughly $1250 worth of pots each. What I used to produce in a week, I now produce in four days. Then I take two days off. Now I produce $5000 of pots in 12 days, not 14. Firing and glazing does not get a whole week anymore either. This phase only takes three days, followed by two days off. What took me three weeks last year, this year takes 17 days, including plenty of down time.

My goal is not to produce more work this year, my goal is to take more days off. Last year, when I spent a weekend doing a show, I was "forfeiting" my weekend for the show. This year, show days will be considered work days too, and days off will be scheduled after every show. See, I'm no longer bound by a schedule that is defined by "weeks." Weeks do not exist anymore in my world.

For those of you who read this blog to learn about the inner workings of a full-time pottery business, here are my Two-Day To-Do Lists. I have eight of them. I have completed 13 of them this year so far. I have been doing them in this order, but I like that I have the flexibility to do them out-of-order depending on my inventory needs. My shorthand might not make sense to you.
Picture
To add a little more context to these lists ... when I complete all eight of these lists, I have just over $10,000 worth of inventory. This is enough to do two large shows, or one x-large show. How did I figure out the quantities for each pot in my line? The quantities are all based on last year's sales. By now, I have a pretty good idea of how many of each pot I will need per show.

In fact, today is a Friday and one of my days off. But like I said above, it is 20°F outside, and I don't feel like leaving my warm house. Better to write a blog post instead. Rumor is tomorrow will be above 40°F, the snow will melt off my car, and I can go out somewhere tomorrow. Then it's back to work on Sunday.
6 Comments
Elizabeth link
3/6/2015 07:00:13 am

Your blogs are AWESOME! Thanks so much for sharing!

Reply
Barb link
3/6/2015 10:23:03 pm

This is amazing, peeking into your schedule which is so well organized. Thanks for letting me know how you run your production. I understand most of the abbreviations, but not "ck" and "ellie"

Reply
Alan
3/8/2015 11:22:08 am

Wow! Very impressive as I think about the complex activities that lead to your final pieces of pottery. Continued process improvement is one of the qualities of a successful business.

Reply
Bonnie Hotz link
3/21/2015 02:21:24 pm

Totally inspirational...and for those of us who do not have a clue on how to budget our time or run our businesses...this is godlike! Thank you for sharing! All my best to you and your pottery business!
You go woman!

Reply
Debbie W
4/28/2015 07:09:23 am

Waiting patiently to hear about the Smithsonian Craft Show!

Reply
Sam Clark link
7/17/2015 10:56:25 pm

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts... It is so helpful and encouraging to see the level of hard work you put into your practice. You are a inspiration and your work is beautiful!

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    author

    Mea Rhee (mee-uh ree),
    ​the potter behind Good Elephant Pottery


    upcoming shows

    TBD

    join the herd

    Receive email notices about upcoming shows/events, and/or the online school.


    Follow me on
    ​Facebook and
    Instagram

    RSS Feed


    categories

    All
    Classes
    In The Studio
    Running A Business
    Shows
    The Art Festival Plan
    The Hourly Earnings Project

    archives

    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.