A Freelancer’s Favorites: Illustrated Tips for Working From Home

First of all, I want to say the last two weeks have been surreal, and we all deserve a deep breath.

I’ve been delighted by the intentional way people are being good to each other and despite massive shifts and challenges, I am holding the energy that we will come through COVID better than we were before.

As I’ve been hearing stories of the challenges of shifting to working from home, I wanted to share a few of the tips I’ve learned from other entrepreneurs, as well as through trial and error over the past 6 years of owning my business and working out of a home office.

Without further ado — I give you: llustrated Tips for Working From Home!

Click through on each to see the different tips!

If you need a daily dose of uplifting stories, I love @Upworthy on Instagram. And of course for mellow snippets of the garden, chickens, and bees, come on over to my feed too!

Once again, thank you from my heart and soul for your support, great senses of humor, brilliant minds, collaboration and what you're each doing to make the world a better place.

Cheers,

Where in the World is ConverSketch?

At Home! I hope you are too :) Even though live events have been cancelled for the next few weeks, I’m always impressed with how my clients adapt and innovate on the fly, and I’ve been live digital graphic recording for a few projects on Zoom.

Phoenix, AZ At the third annual ShapingEDU Unconference. This group in particular is on the cutting edge of technology and learning, and there’s no other group I’d rather adjust on the fly with. We went from a hybrid in-person and remote meeting on the first day to fully remote on the second — more on that in the next newsletter!

If you’re finding yourself on more video calls than ever before and need a way to keep participants focused and anchoring participants to a common story (theirs!), let’s explore how to leverage digital graphic recording or remote facilitation for you!

I Just Can’t Wait: Eight Great Ideas to Celebrate!

Hey mate, ConverSketch is 8! Building my business as a graphic recorder has felt like fate, and I want to state a few of the most influential ideas I’ve been reflecting on as of late.

Okay, okay, I’ll quit with the rhyming…for now. Here are eight of my top insights over eight years in business that can be applied to creative work, or living in a fulfilling way no matter what you do.

1.       Follow what feels right: Do what feels right to you, not because everyone says that's what you should do.  And listen to that intuition (this is a biggie for me)!

2.       Say Yes: To new opportunities to learn, co-create, and feel a little uncomfortable. Those moments are often the most memorable or lead to bigger shifts. For me, this has meant investing in professional development toward digital graphic recording, marketing, video editing, and deepening my scribing practice. It’s also okay and very important to say No to some things.

3.       Focus on what you want: I love the saying “Energy flows where attention goes”. Focus your energy on what you want to accomplish, develop, or nurture, and watch how those ripples of energy come back to you!

4.       Have fun! Need I say more?

5.       It’s okay to do “nothing”: More and more I’m seeing research on how important it is to walk, stare, let your mind wander, doodle, and do “nothing”. This unscripted time is sometimes challenging for me to wrap my head around, but taking time away from a project often leads to breakthroughs or a different, more creative approach.

6.       Also working at it every day: No matter what your “it” is, build time to practice something you want to improve or cultivate. Marie Forleo calls it “hugging the slog”, and Hugh McLeod says “Creativity is not a talent, creativity is a drive.”

7.       Authenticity shines: We all know the Comparison Game is deadly, however I’ve found surrounding myself with a Brain Trust of colleague-friends I can ask for advice or look to for inspiration has been a game-changer! I’ve also practiced knowing my value…and over-delivering!

8.       Find Your Passion: Figuring out what you’re most excited about can help set you apart from other people who offer similar services. I am LOVING building creative partnerships with my clients where we can learn, reflect, iterate, and improve how visuals support processes and outcomes before, during, and after events.

BONUS: The more you give, the more you get: Be generous, over-deliver, and share. Blue oceans are more fun than red ones.

If you’ve been here a while, some of these might seem familiar. There are beautiful patterns in life and having the privilege of being in business for a longer period means some of those patterns are beginning to reveal themselves. If you want to dig into the archives, here are links to…

7th Anniversary

6th Anniversary

5th Anniversary

4th Anniversary

Once again, thank you from my heart and soul for your support, great senses of humor, brilliant minds, collaboration and what you're each doing to make the world a better place. Woo-diggity!

Cheers,

Where in the World is ConverSketch? Here’s what I have on my plate while turning eight:

New Video Release! The Drawing Connections series for the National Park Service is back! This time, let’s take a trip down to Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and Preserve in the bayous of Louisiana to get a taste of the culture, landscapes, and proud history of the area!

Dallas, Texas: With a corporate leadership group redefining their future and roadmap! I can’t share the full drawings with you, so here’s a closeup of a little friend on the journey.

The San Juan Mountains: We just got back from a couple nights in the backcountry with great friends, some powder snow, and lots of laughs. Here’s to wild places, wild friends, and keeping a little balance (literally and figuratively, when you’re on a splitboard!).

Sustainability Research 2.0: How They’re Using Graphics After Workshops. Here’s what Future Earth did with visuals and photos from our systems thinking workshops last year focusing on the future of sustainability science and research!

A Finished Watercolor Commission! Now that it’s with its new owner, I can share this watercolor painting I’ve been working on over the past few months. Redwood Magic | 16x20 inches

My Biggest Takeaway from a Workshop in Visual Practice Might Surprise You. It Sure Surprised Me.

As a visual practitioner, I attend a LOT of meetings and workshops. Last week I flipped from business-as-usual (I mean, as usual as it can be for a visual practitioner) to step into a workshop as a participant rather than facilitator or recorder.

Hosted by Kelvy Bird and Alfredo Carlo, I found myself surrounded with people who I consider thought leaders and experts in the field. Over the course of a few days, I’ve begun to make a profound shift in the way I approach this work, and on a deeper level, provided conditions for me to examine how I show up in this world and what that means for the work I do for my clients.

The Visual Practice Workshop exceeded my expectations and pushed me to think more critically than I have in a long time, which means it’s going to take more than the couple of days I’ve had to process. I expect that what I’ve learned will be infused in these emails/posts moving forward, and I’m excited to catch and ride this wave of learning and pushing myself.

Most of all, I’m looking forward to what the things I’ve learned and explored this week mean for my clients. Applying new models to facilitate understanding of the group and their ideas, moving into a deeper practice of partnership with my clients, and cultivating/holding awareness in and around my groups are filling my mind and heart with potential.

For now, what has settled in most deeply is the power of Breathing. Probably not what you were expecting, right? Me either – life is funny that way.

Whether it’s taking a deep breath at the beginning of a session I’m scribing to truly listen to the bigger message before jumping in, or taking a deep breath to allow myself the time and space to think at a more systemic level about ConverSketch or the challenges my clients are tackling, or reflecting on the cyclical nature of systems and what we can learn from them. There is much to learn from breath and I’m ready to dive in with you!

Once again, thank you from my heart and soul for your support, great senses of humor, brilliant minds, partnership and what you're each doing to make the world a better place.

Cheers, Karina

Interested in testing out how to apply some new approaches to this work?

Where in the World is ConverSketch?

Phoenix, Arizona: Last week before heading to Portland, I spent the day with the ASU Technology leadership team to continue supporting them as they build their organizational culture.

Illustrated video for NPS: Today I’m in the studio for the National Park Service filming another public service announcement about how to fish smart and be healthy. You can watch the other finished PSA’s here.

One Question You Can Ask to Unleash the Creative Potential of Your Team

Howdy folks –

I’m writing this as I travel through high country towns and windswept mountain passes down to Durango, Colorado to graphic facilitate a workshop to help a client develop a series of explainer videos.

This interdisciplinary team is comprised of researchers and practitioners who are all experts in their own right, and approach the work they do from different perspectives and backgrounds. They have different needs that they want to share in this video series, and yet will need to work collaboratively in this one day intensive retreat to agree on video content, who will be watching and how to create authentic connections with them, and what path the story will take.

That’s a lot of decisions to be making as a group. I mean, sometimes it’s hard enough to make decisions on your own. However, there’s an important step to encourage the group to take before we get into critical thinking and decision-making, which many groups overlook or rush through.

The Brainstorm. It’s easy for groups to share more obvious ideas, or things that have been brought up time and again. But how can you encourage your team to move beyond the easy and into the territory of Transformational?

It’s a simple question but requires careful curating.

Ask your team to suspend judgement while brainstorming.

To do this well, you’ve got to create an environment where people feel safe sharing half-finished ideas that aren’t perfect (let’s be honest, most ideas aren’t perfect the first time they’re shared, even if we think they are). Where someone can share a seemingly outrageous idea and instead of immediately looking for what’s wrong with it, others ask how they can support or build on it. You need to build in and allow time for people to shrug off their scratchy customary habits of critiquing, and to slip into something a little more fun; a space of curiosity. Allowing for White Space, for intentionally less-structured time and not immediately jumping in as a leader. Suspending judgement is the key.

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Still curious about decision-making? Asking yourself “Okay, I’d have all these great ideas from my team…what next?” That’s what the next ConverSketch email will be all about how to turn that creativity into clear priorities and make solid decisions that everyone will stand behind.

Once again, thank you from my heart and soul for your support, great senses of humor, brilliant minds, collaboration and what you're each doing to make the world a better place.

Cheers, Karina

Where in the World is ConverSketch?

I'm down in Durango, Colorado this week to help a team develop the heart and audiences for a video series before we leap into script writing and story boarding. Here's a template we'll fill out as a group to refine and agree on ideas.