There are advantages to being your own boss.

My boss is generally pretty understanding.

He lets me work whatever hours I want.

He doesn't complain when I disappear for coffee.

He tolerates squirrels in the workplace.

Unfortunately, he's terrible at staffing.

This week I got sick.

Normally, when someone calls in sick, somebody else covers the work.

At Dwolfdragon Designs, the production guy called in sick.

So did the designer.

And the purchasing department.

The photographer didn't show up.

The guy who's supposed to be building the Shopify store was nowhere to be

found.

Apparently the person responsible for writing A Maker's Life didn't show up

either.

Management is looking into it.

The timing was a little interesting.

Before getting sick, I had already been having one of those weeks.

Nothing was really going wrong.

But it didn't feel like much was going right, either.

I've been quietly working on inventory for the November show.

I updated part of the vendor booth with some packaged ornaments.

I did some research into possibly adding 3D printer supplies to the business.

I ordered a new laser.

Things are moving.

Just quietly.

And for some reason, quiet progress doesn't always feel like progress.

Especially when I can look around and see everything I'm not doing.

I should be building the Shopify store.

I should be attending more events.

I should be posting more content besides this weekly-ish blog.

I should be chasing opportunities harder.

I should be talking to other makers and asking what they've gone through.

I should probably be doing about seventeen other things that I haven't remembered yet.

None of those thoughts are necessarily wrong.

That's what makes them annoying.

There really is more I could be doing.

There will probably always be more I could be doing.

The question that's been bouncing around in my head lately is whether I'm doing enough.

Am I trying hard enough?

Is this going to work?

I don't know.

Then I got sick.

Apparently my body decided this was an excellent time to contribute to the discussion.

Suddenly the list of things I wasn't doing got longer.

November inventory?

Not much happening there.

Shopify?

Still waiting.

Social media?

Nope.

Blog?

Well...

You're reading it now.

That counts for something.

The strange thing about running a small maker business by yourself is how many people you become without really noticing it.

I design things.

I make them.

I order supplies.

I maintain the equipment.

I photograph products.

I pack things.

I load the truck.

I set up the booth.

I talk to customers.

I keep track of inventory.

I research new ideas.

I attempt to keep the shop organized.

We've already discussed how well that's going.

And somewhere in there I'm supposed to tell people that all of this stuff exists.

When one of those jobs doesn't get done, there isn't another department to send an email to.

They're all me.

Most of the time I actually enjoy that.

I can have an idea, design it, make it, change it, print it again and put it on a table without asking anyone's permission.

That's pretty cool.

It also means that when I stop, everything stops.

I don't have a particularly profound answer for that.

I'm not going to tell you that I suddenly discovered the importance of slowing down.

I'm probably not going to become dramatically better at work-life balance because I spent a few days feeling lousy.

And I suspect that once I feel better, I'll go right back into the shop and start working through the list.

There will still be inventory to make.

The Shopify store will still need building.

There will still be events to find.

Opportunities to chase.

Things to learn.

Squirrels to follow.

And I'll probably still wonder occasionally whether I'm doing enough.

Maybe I'll ask some of the other makers I've met what they do when they hit those stretches.

Not when everything is falling apart.

Those seem easier to understand.

I mean the times when nothing is particularly wrong, but nothing feels particularly right either.

When you're still moving, but it doesn't feel like you're getting anywhere very quickly.

I'd genuinely like to know what they do.

This week, though, I think the answer is simpler.

The shop has one employee.

He called in sick.

Some things didn't get done.

Management will have to deal with it when he gets back.