busy season

This is the time of year I refer to as my “busy season”. From early September until the first or second weekend in December my time is spent making pottery for holiday buying. In the past it has usually culminated in a series of in-person markets and craft fairs capped with a big online shop update which is then followed by days of packing and shipping orders. For me, in order to get to the finish line successfully this must be a season of strategic focus. I become incredibly detail oriented and anal about my work schedule. I usually like to draw out a big calendar in my sketchbook so I can see all the weeks stacked up like one big long month and then pencil in the work I aim to make each day. The pencil here is key because my production output can (and will) change for a variety of reasons.

This week ahead is when the true hustle begins. I only have about a month left to make everything that will be sold in December. As I sit and prepare for this I can’t help but think about how, if I am not careful, I can lose so much time to social media. That is just something that I no longer can or want to afford. It is really truly stunning to me how much time it can sometimes (usually?) take to get a simple Instagram post or story photographed, edited and worded and posted! And then of course once on the app I get sucked in to the scroll of it all just like it was designed to do. 

This isn’t the first time I have had issue with social media or written about my relationship with it. I stopped using Facebook in 2010 and have never missed or regretted it. I sincerely enjoyed Instagram when I made my account and first started posting on it in 2011. It’s simplicity and the inspiration other people’s photos and artistic lives provided made for a pleasurable way to pass time. Unfortunately, not long after IG was acquired by FB things changed with the arrival of the algorithm. More bells and whistles in the form of a shopping page, IGTV, stories, reels, IG Live and the rise of The Influencer. The addition of each and every new feature has frankly left me feeling slightly defeated and utterly exhausted. It is beyond my comprehension how people have the time and energy to create that much “content” while being able to effectively run a business, dedicate time to their craft and be present for their friends and family. I’m not seeing how that adds up. It’s all smoke and mirrors, right?

At some point in time, being on the ‘gram stopped being fun. While using the app, anxiety and unease have only increased for me since at least 2016 induced from the intensity of everyone amplifying their political leanings. Instinctually I will become very conscious and selective with my phone usage when things like conflicting world events, natural disasters and political upheaval are at the forefront of the news cycle. Early this year, after trying to promote a giveaway on my feed for a mug to gift a follower, my account was hacked and my identity was almost stolen. That was a huge turning point for me. Thankfully, with the help of my instagram community and followers, the hacker account was reported and pretty swiftly shut down. Ever since that time I’ve become very particular with what content I share - especially personal photos / stories / etc., I immediately removed my face from my profile photo (replacing it with my business logo) and I stopped using hashtags. Not being able to use this app in the casual, entertaining way it was originally presented is a drag. Also after 10 years of use Instagram can be downright boring. Like, I really don’t care that you installed a new toilet in your cabin.

“In a world that entices us to browse through the lives of others to help us better determine how we feel about ourselves and to in turn feel the need to be constantly visible — for visibility these days seems to somehow equate to success — do not be afraid to disappear. From it, from us, for a while and see what comes to you in the silence.” -Michaela Coel

Lately it feels like signs are popping up everywhere I look that are explicitly sending me direct messages that I Do. Not. Need. Social Media. Frances Haugen’s testimony this past week was like a flashing red light. When an insider is explicitly warning the public of the dangers and downfalls of a corporation I for one can’t unhear that. Additionally, the cycle of consumerism that Instagram perpetuates is very problematic for me. Admittedly, while on the scroll, I have fallen into the lure of consuming (aka shopping) more often than I would like to confess. Coincidentally I am regularly featuring a product on this platform to be consumed. Making pottery is my chosen livelihood - as a business I need people supporting me by purchasing my work - but something about being on a social media promotional hamster wheel leaves me feeling depleted. I also can’t help but look around at the overwhelming “maker” community that social media has absolutely fostered and wonder, what are we all doing? Does anyone really need another bespoke coffee mug or macrame wall hanging?

As trivial as it all may feel at times, I am sensing the need to create a system for using social media going forward, especially now that I am in the midst of the “busy season”. I plan to take a page from Gretchen Jones’ playbook and limit using IG to only two days a week. This defined time spent using the app will be focused on providing information on new work, other relevant business news and engaging with my friends and followers there. I suspect that once the holiday hustle is over I will, as I usually do, take a complete break from social. Keeping up the social media “aspect” of my business is draining. It steals joy from my soul without nurturing my growth as an artist and artisan. I also want to disclose - it also fills me with a special kind of rage when I think of all the time and mental space I have given up to Zuckerberg over the past 14 years of using his platforms. My complete departure one day in the future feels inevitable.

“We forget that we are souls first and foremost and when you identify with your ego you’re in a constant state of fear, scarcity, conflict, lack, competition — because the ego sees us as separate from each other.  When the ego is at the wheel driving you through life the song on the radio goes like this; I am not enough, you are not enough, and there is not enough. That’s how the ego orients us. Coming from that framework you are going to have thoughts that are rooted in lack, scarcity, not good enough. And those thoughts create emotions.” -Peggy Fitzsimmons