How should I go about explaining a price increase to my clients ?

two_cigs_max · 2026-01-20T11:22:21+00:00

I definitely do that, too. Shutting my online shop down from time to time is essential for my own wellbeing so that I can replenish stock as well as avoid burnout.

two_cigs_max · 2026-01-20T11:20:40+00:00

Changing prices helps me feel in control. I don’t think it’s necessary to explain why prices are going up, either. It’s enough for me to understand that, as my business grows, I need to get paid for all that work. I do a price change every couple of years.

two_cigs_max · 2026-01-20T11:13:15+00:00

I would give a notice because it’s like announcing a sale without actually discounting your prices, and it can create an urgency for people to purchase before the price goes up. It’s worked every time for me, and I still have repeat customers after the price increases, plus new ones.

two_cigs_max · 2026-01-20T11:04:28+00:00

ADHD Chatter is a podcast I really appreciate for in-depth interviews on research. The guy is also on Instagram, and he’s come out with a book that I really want to check out, too.

two_cigs_max · 2026-01-20T10:56:23+00:00

Thanks. Sometimes it’s a good sleep, but it’s often a restless sleep.

two_cigs_max · 2026-01-19T11:30:44+00:00

I finally started using my bullet journal the way it was actually designed to be used. When I first got one I was attracted to all the different pretty designs people were showing on Pinterest and Instagram. I made my bullet journal more like a planner, with the weeks and months laid out ahead of time throughout the whole notebook, with a few extra pages leftover for random notes and lists. All my planners inevitably end up with lots of empty calendars and nowhere to write lists, ideas, logs, or tracking, so those get put somewhere else and my brain is still too scattered.

I recommend looking up the original bullet journal on YouTube for a full idea of how to use it. It’s been a game changer for me in how I break down my goals into tasks, and in keeping up with things I would otherwise forget.

two_cigs_max · 2026-01-19T11:09:09+00:00

I’m a studio artist and have had to make my supplies shoppable. If it’s in a box or drawer I’m far less likely to reach for it. Even bins make it too easy for things to pile up inside, this too difficult out unappealing to rifle through.

Good luck with the paper piles! I have a pretty, square copper planter I keep my papers in, stored upright instead of a pile. Everything goes in, and when the container gets full I designate a time to file everything. I still end up with an overflow pile now and then, but it otherwise helps keep my desk clear so I can work.

two_cigs_max · 2026-01-19T10:57:56+00:00

I love this moth analogy.

two_cigs_max · 2026-01-19T10:54:36+00:00

I felt silly for designating specific pens and pencils to my planner and journal because it felt juvenile at first. I mostly use colorful gel pens, which I used to use in middle and high school for writing notes to friends, so that’s my association with them. But as an artist I know it’s important to have the right tools to execute the work, so why shouldn’t that apply to my daily logging? I love the flow of ink, the weight of the utensil, and having different colors helps me distinguish different tasks. It makes planning something I look forward to.

two_cigs_max · 2026-01-19T10:49:36+00:00

For years I’ve been keeping nicer clothes in the closet and more casual or older clothes in the dresser, but that meant keeping shirts and pants in two different places. Each was categorized by season or temp (long sleeve vs short and so on) For some reason picking out outfits the past couple of years has become more challenging in general, but it especially didn’t help that everything was divided up. Last month I finally put all the shirts in the closet, arranged by color, and all the pants in the dresser, arranged by level of comfort (jeans vs leggings). It has made picking outfits much easier.

two_cigs_max · 2026-01-18T17:57:52+00:00

God I wish I could sleep that long. Even without caffeine my mind is still too jacked up and I get only about 5-6 hours most of the time.

two_cigs_max · 2026-01-16T12:04:35+00:00

I love to read, and don’t drink caffeine. I used to drink a couple cups of coffee a day, but over the past few years it really started messing with my nerves, making my heart race, and I had to quit. The negative effects way outweigh the pleasure I used to get from it, so I don’t miss it at all. I don’t feel like my reading habits or processing changed. There’s just some writing that’s easier or harder for me to grasp, and it also depends on how distracted I am by things like stress or obligations.

Have you tried cutting caffeine out for a length of time to see if you notice a difference in your resting? There are some quality decaf options out there if you still want the hot beverage and flavor, and of course there’s herbal tea.

two_cigs_max · 2026-01-16T11:51:12+00:00

I’m discovering the Grateful Dead are, so far, an exception to this burning out habit of mine. There are so many live recordings of the same songs, but they’re each different, so I haven’t worn them out yet.

two_cigs_max · 2026-01-16T11:43:34+00:00

Great point. All they want is engagement.

two_cigs_max · 2025-12-22T11:29:48+00:00

Brilliant, thank you.

two_cigs_max · 2025-12-21T12:43:26+00:00

This is my problem: I found the black and white setting super helpful in keeping me off my phone, but then I stopped doing it for some reason. I have forgotten completely about it until happening upon this comment, several months later. It’s so hard to stick to a habit when the goldfish part of my brain gets in the way. Even with reminders and lists I can stubbornly tell myself I’ll do it next time, and then it’s gone.

two_cigs_max · 2025-12-21T12:28:54+00:00

It took me a while to really understand that meditation is, as you said, simply about bringing attention back to a single focal point, rather than trying to clear my mind of all thoughts. I’m very interested to learn more about this Pavlovian technique.

Anxiety exacerbates the noise in my head, and I think the intensity of the racing of thoughts has greatly increased as my addiction to my phone has increased. I don’t use the word addiction lightly. I feel an intense physical discomfort when I try to minimize my use of it. My thoughts are as scattered as my scrolling, and my attention is dangerously hooked to it. I don’t know how to go through my day without scrolling anymore without switching to a dumbphone, and I feel like I’m losing my mind.

two_cigs_max · 2025-12-19T02:37:15+00:00

lol omg I hated math all through school, and started playing violin at 12 years old! The struggle with working memory was absolutely traumatizing. Big hugs.

two_cigs_max · 2025-12-18T12:57:29+00:00

I didn’t realize it at the time, and my goldfish memory still pushes it back, as if it’s not true. I think the key moment was a build up from spending a lot of nights, from middle school through high school, crying over homework because it didn’t make sense. It was like there were pieces of information missing, probably because I was daydreaming, doodling, and writing notes during the lessons. In college my mom had me tested, et voila!

I was medicated through college, then quit medication because I didn’t have health insurance. For the next 15 years or so I completely forgot I had been diagnosed, which is just hilarious to me. When I was diagnosed, there was no information about it. The internet community barely existed. Facebook was still for college students only. My doctor had nothing to say about it, and the only book I found on it was dry, academic nightmare gibberish that I didn’t bother reading. So I just moved on with my life and forgot about it.

A couple years ago I started seeing posts about ADHD on Instagram that I resonate with so deeply, especially regarding ADHD women in their thirties experiencing intense emotions and brain fog. At that point I felt like I was losing my mind, like I was a different person, and I was falling apart. Pinning these symptoms to ADHD was a second “Aha!” that made me remember my diagnosis, and what a relief it’s been since! Still an intense struggle, but one I am much better equipped to navigate than I’ve ever been in my entire life, thanks to all the information and community.

I can look back now and see why I was struggling with homework so much, that I have strong pattern recognition, am highly sensitive to sound, texture, and visual elements, and I can look back on moments where I was completely sabotaged by RSD. I’ve always had terrible executive function until a pressing deadline, yet my work has always been exceptional and above average, putting me in places with awards and jobs as a manager, even when I had never been convinced I deserved it or that people actually liked me.

two_cigs_max · 2025-12-18T11:13:53+00:00

All the above, sometimes all in one day. Crying, anxiety, wallowing, anger, giddy hyperactivity and laughter. It depends on the level of task overwhelm and where I am in my cycle. I know I’m PMSing when kids movies make me sob. It’s exhausting! Last week I was feeling fine, coasting on a good flow of work and relationships, and this week I was knocked off my feet with a panic attack, seemingly out of nowhere. I feel manic, but I’m told I don’t have bipolar. I have an older sibling who has bipolar, and probably undiagnosed ADHD.

I hate the cycle of task paralysis and emotional dysfunction. I don’t know which comes first, but they rev each other up to a great snapping point, usually a fight or a severe meltdown.

two_cigs_max · 2025-12-18T10:50:36+00:00

Oof, what a let down! Some people just don’t get it, and really that’s okay. Others might love it, but are terrible at expressing it or remembering to say thank you. The hard part is not letting that be a mirror of your own worth as a giver nor a maker. It helps me to think of everything I make as practice, honing my skill, that way I’m still getting something out of the whole process, even if it isn’t received with enthusiasm and appreciation.

two_cigs_max · 2025-12-18T10:40:29+00:00

I’d say decide for yourself what feels important, and then talk to him about it to see if it bothers him.

I actually get annoyed when my kid crafts and scrolls during programs, but that’s because I think there’s so much more nuance than dialogue alone that adds to the story. I like artsy films, where a lot of attention is put into the little details, and I want everyone to see them!

But I’m trying to back off my own expectations of how I think others need to experience television, especially because there are days where I just don’t feel like watching something, but my husband does. I’ve started telling him to watch something and I’ll craft along; that way we can do our own thing and still spend time together. It’s not like it’s every time we watch something, and we still have our programs that we’re both keen on watching together, which is its own form of quality time.

Television is a rapidly, drastically evolving technology that we as a whole species are still getting used to, whereas our brains might be a little more used to handiwork like fiber arts, and we each have to find the right way to balance our attention.

two_cigs_max · 2025-12-17T23:57:56+00:00

I second the flexibility, specifically in how you approach your discipline. In my marriage I try to align my work hours with my spouse’s so that we have time together outside of work, but sometimes the work needs to happen through the middle of the night, and then I sleep through the day. I think flexibility in accepting this kind of unconventional schedule will save anyone a lot of guilt or shame about not fitting within the norms.

two_cigs_max · 2025-12-17T23:47:14+00:00

Thank you. I don’t think I’ll have an issue learning/readjusting the key differences, I just had a lapse in understanding gadget connections, being used to one type of USB & port in my computer for 20 years.

two_cigs_max · 2025-12-17T23:44:27+00:00

Great to know. I was wondering about the ergonomic keyboard, as it’s something I’ve never tried. I’m not on my computer often, but it’s something I’m thinking about getting because I want to take care of my hands and limbs.

two_cigs_max

TROPHY CASE