MORE about Potion sans Prescription, my new e-magazine

We get so caught up in mindless activities, daily chores,unyielding deadlines, juggling with various roles for others that we never seem to have time for ourselves! Before we get burnt out, it is essential for our emotional and spiritual wellbeing to regularly take time to play. We all deserve some ME time at some point during the day and Psp is one of the many antidotes (a potent drug without the side effects) created with busy people in mind. Psp allows me to pull my love of words and all things pretty and fun into one glorious space.

The content that you find in Psp will vary in different issues. There are articles, poetry, artwork, DIY templates, photography, affirmations and more. The project took me roughly 3 months to complete; the process of which includes an e-course to learn the technical aspects of creating an e-zine, deciding on the theme and creating relevant content, liaising with artists for contribution, designing the layout, and constantly churning out surprises both from the Internet and my own artwork I believe is worthy to share with my readers.

I have faced the fear (I am technology-phobic) and created my first e-magazine all by myself (of course there are credits which go to the contributors). I have been working 24/7 for 3 months straight with one thing in mind: to deliver something of value to my readers who need a breather from the insanity the IT world has brought about. Never mind the sweat and tears, the swearing and frustration, the long hours into the night trying to work out how the software works, I am proud to have finally produced my first issue of Psp, which is by no means perfect, but can only get better and better in the process.

If you have enjoyed Psp, please consider gifting an issue for your friends; and I would really appreciate if you could share it on social media platforms.

Once again, THANK YOU.

Here is the content page to whet your appetite:

To purchase, click here. 

my slow progress toward fruition

I am feeling burnt out from making my e-magazine happen by my deadline and yet, there is always some kind of obstacles which I need to overcome; and in this case, the technical part of converting my pages into a flipping magazine. I hate to break my promises but alas, there is only so much I can do alone in a day and working 24/7 doesn't help when you are stuck. However, I am making little progress everyday and hopefully the mag can be launched in a week.

It's been a learning curve for me big time. For someone who is techno-phobic, there were many sleepless nights, tearful episodes and frustration in the last 3 months of working around the clock, trying to learn the new software and making mistakes after mistakes; all in the name of starting my own e-magazine, which is a long time dream I am determined to make into reality.

There were times when I felt like giving up. However, my challenge mindset put me back on track. I thrive on challenges after all and the fact that I have already came so far is in itself a motivation to keep going. There were days when I didn't feel like working on the project and ended up watching a DVD or went back to bed but that is what my body was telling me: do something different or rest up before I get physically ill. Sometimes I shrink my objective of the day to tiny goals which doesn't seem too overwhelming and plough on

The sea is rough but it is important to stay the course if I really want to get to the end result. For a scanner, the project can become stale after a while and it is easy to become restless  and bored. To keep my eyes firmly planted on the horizon, here are some of the things which help me stay the course:

• be crystal clear about where I am going and why I want to get there
• try to enjoy the process even though I dislike technology
• ask for help
• find the fun part
• cut myself some slack 
• work in moderation
• show up everyday

Yes, I wanted to see the end product fast but sometimes the only thing we can do is to just face the direction that we want to go, and keep moving, even at snail pace. I know deep in my heart that I am on my way to the finishing line and if I keep doing the little that only I can do, the outcome would be phenomenal!

setting unrealistic deadline...

I have been working on a Super BIG project-creating my first e-magazine incessantly for almost 2 months now and when I originally set myself a deadline for its launch, which is in 5 days time, I didn't realize I have set myself an unrealistic goal and I honestly don't think it can be released end of the month as promised (to myself and my contributors). 

Starting anything for the first time ain't easy, especially when it  is something of such magniturde and you are doing it alone, and learning a Design software always takes time, especially for someone who is hopeless in technology. It is one mf my dreams to have my own magazine so I really don't mind working 24/7, navigating away in the winter darkness and getting rejection from people who are either too proud or too busy to accept my invitation to contribute. I have been toiling away in tears figuring out how the software program works,researching for artists from all corners of the world who I believe are expertsl in their fields for content. I have been using my scanner a thousand time over for printables I wish to share with my readers. A lot of writing is done on top of my weekly newsletter and blog to get my messages across in my e-magazine. I take the project seriously as I believe it would benefit adults who have forgotten how to have fun and be a child again. 

There are still a handful of pages to go and I am still learning to insert videos onto the pages. There were times I wanted to throw in the towel but I persevere anyway as I visualize my dream comes true. I learn to be patient with setbacks and obstacles which are inevitable in doing anything worthwhile. I am doing a little bit everyday, and instead of rushing to make it to the launch on a day I set for myself, I might as well delay my schedule to another week or so, as I prefer quality to a sub-standard product. 

I shall send out another post about my new baby as soon as it is done to my satisfaction!