Designer & Entrepreneur Cathryn Lavery Shares Her Personal Productivity Habits, Tactics for a Successful Kickstar...

Cathryn Lavery (@CathrynLavery) is an architect-turned-designer, entrepreneur, and maker. After leaving architecture, she created Calm The Ham, where she designs and sells posters and other products. Cat's next project is The Self Journal, a printed, bound journal with templates to help you craft a productive morning routine and accomplish your quarterly goals. Our conversation covers Cat's productivity habits, especially as they relate to morning routines, how she leverages her passions for design but leaves the marketing duties to other people, and how she takes a systematic approach to launching on Kickstarter by manipulating her media contacts. Catch up with Cat on her personal blog, LittleMight.com, or via CalmTheHam.com and TheSelfJournal.com
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[caption id="attachment_2565" align="alignnone" width="452"] The Self Journal, closed[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2566" align="alignnone" width="411"] The Self Journal, open[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2567" align="alignnone" width="411"] The Self Journal, open[/caption]
Show Notes & Links

Cat studied at Glasgow School of Art, and trained as an architect
Cat describes herself as a "maker"; it's on her business card
She abandoned architecture after discovering that the job becomes less creative as the years endure
Cat's design company, Calm The Ham, produces posters and other design goods
The initial investment for Calm The Ham was essentially the cost of a nice printer
Cat began working on websites because people asked her
The Foundation, a course to build SaaS products
Clinic Hero, Cat's software for Chiropractors/Physical Therapists
Groupon
"Decision Fatigue" is to be avoided
Nate Voss, guest on a previous episode, described team-ups as "forming Voltron"

"California doesn't have a water problem, it has a people problem."
—Cathryn Lavery
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Fart apps

"You don't want two designers starting a business together. You need someone doing the marketing & sales."
—Cathryn Lavery
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The metaphor of "The Invading Army" vs. "The Occupying Army"
Coffee-flavoured Doritos Cappuccino-flavoured Lay's (yes, this is a real product) [caption id="attachment_2556" align="alignnone" width="250"] Cappuccino-flavoured Lay's[/caption]

"Do the things you love to do to keep your batteries charged."
—Cathryn Lavery
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The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod On Amazon and On Audible
Cat installed multiple habits simultaneously early in January
Bulletproof Coffee
Hurricane/Super-storm Sandy
The Self Journal, Cat's new product, launching on Kickstarter 19 Aug 2015
The brain's Reticular Activating System
Getting Things Done by David Allen On Amazon and On Audible

"You want to make it look like Apple created it."
—Cathryn Lavery
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Trust Me, I'm Lying by Ryan Holiday On Amazon and On Audible
QNS Collective, co-working space in Queens, NY
Cathryn Lavery on Twitter
Cathryn Lavery on Facebook
Cathryn Lavery on Instagram
Calm The Ham on Twitter
Calm The Ham on Facebook
Best Self Co. on Twitter
Best Self Co. on Facebook

Tools

Clinic Hero
The Foundation
LeadPages
Medium
7-Minute Workout app on iTunes app store
The Self Journal

Techniques

Share how your projects are made
Learn from people outside your industry (e.g. digital marketers if you're a designer)
Listen to your audience for advice on what to create next
Research a market, pre-sell a product, and then look for a developer to make it happen
Look for people to buy in to your project; folks to be invested not just have a job
Leverage parts of the project you most enjoy, and give the other elements to other people
Don't try to do everything yourself (e.g. marketing, content, design)
Align your skills/passion with the sort of work that suits you (long-term vs. short-term)
Hoard water in buckets if you live in an area prone to droughts
Limit yourself to three targets for the day (not a huge to-do list)
Practice a gratitude habit in the morning
Get things out of your head and into a system
Create a high-quality video on Kickstarter, even for a print or physical product
Create professional image assets for your project
Build a media list for future outreach - Cat's blog post on her Kickstarter methodology
Use Google Images to search for articles covering a specific product
Use a Virtual Assistant to build your spreadsheet and take care of research tasks
Impose deadlines on yourself, if only to keep things fresh!

Habits

Develop a morning routine. Here's Cat's
Meditate first thing in the morning, or move it around to whenever it fits best
Do a quick workout before your [ice-cold] shower so your body is warm
Use a journal to plan your days, and your goals for the quarter
Tell your story of how you develop a product

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Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 65 (MP3, 48:46, 23.6 MB)
Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 65 (OGG, 48:46, 23.4 MB)

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