Finding Time for Your Dolls

It can be hard! I work from home, but I tend to be pretty much occupied 6-7 days a week, and so try & get my doll-time in small chunks! It can be a real effort to try and get, say, the sewing machine out after a long stretch of work to try and do stuff... as such, my dolls are all still works in progress... really, really slow progress...

I try and bring them out when I have breakfast, or get them to sit on my desk in the evening when I'm still working ^_^ That way, at least I get to see them frequently, even if I very rarely get time to do more time-consuming stuff like photo shoots ^^

 

I'm in a similar situation, during the week I basically wake up with just barely enough time to get showered and out the door to work, and when I get home I'm ready to crash. Weekends are usually super-busy, as are some weekday evenings. I just try to fit things in as I can. A few minutes in the evening, here and there. If I want to do a real photoshoot or photostory I have to plan in advance and usually try to do it the second I get home from work and then eat dinner while editing photos. My main problem is that I'm a night person, but work regular days, so by the time I'm feeling motivated to do photos and things I really should go to bed. Sometimes I put it off until the next day, sometimes I sacrifice sleep and do it right then.

 

I'm a full time student, part time worker, and I volunteer one morning a week. Honestly I think we have as little time off as people with full time jobs at times. I usually have a one hour switch over period between classes and work that is usually meant for a quick lunch or dinner. Also studying and school work eats up doll time very easily . Any free time I have lately is being spent doing assignments, working on my thesis or studying.

Usually I do try to take out my boy from his box at least for the night and have him around the room. I've also been trying to keep him around my desk when I'm writing assignments and such or just standing somewhere so that I'll see him when I take breaks or wander in and out of my room.

For the upcoming 2 weeks of finals though, he'll likely spend that time in his box unless I have a day or two in between exams to let him out and have him around. It's really not his fault but seeing him during exam study will want me to start sewing and making things and I can't afford that distraction ^^;. I really do wish I had more time to spend with him, but unfortunately university comes first.

I don't have time to do photoshoots and things like that though so those all have to wait until I have at least a day off from everything or winter holidays (most likely winter holidays ^^; ).

 

I know exactly what you mean. Three days a week I work 9-2, come home at 2:30ish and do homework for the other two days of the week which are eaten up by school. In the evenings I pretty much just zone out with a book, the TV or the comp.
Any 'free' time on the weekends is usually taken up by projects around the house or by friends who claim me. It's an endless cycle and since I just got my first doll I'm still learning how my doll schedule will be. It's not easy. I generally just take her out and sit her next to me while I do homework, or watch TV. But haven't really had any sewing or photo time with her at all. I hope I'll get some during Winter Break...

 

Even without working outside the home, things can be very hectic and crazy in the day-to-day world...and there never seems to be enough time to get everything done. What I've found that really helps is to create some little display space for your doll in an area that you frequent...doesn't matter where, but this thread has some great ideas: http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81136

Even if it's just a couple of folded towels on a shelf to simulate a bed, propping your doll up there in a pose makes them seem like they're part of your home, room, whatever...like they're a part of your daily life. You'll find yourself chatting with them in that nano-second of walking past or handing them a wrapped candy to hold for you when your hands are full. Just catching a couple of glimpses of them on a routine daily basis is a form of interaction...and interaction is a form of play. This works for me anyway, and helps me remain connected to them without requiring any extra time be set aside for the activity.

 

Well, I work an irregular schedule, 40 hrs a week (retail! during the holidays! eeeek!) But its easy for me to find time for my dolls anyway. They are usually my top priority when I get home. lol My husband works second shift, so he's not home until nearly midnight. I have no kids. Most of my friends are also in retail with conflicting schedules to mine, so I barely see them anyway.

If I go out shopping or to dinner, I take a MSD in a purse. My dolls sit in the den with me if I'm playing video games, on the internet, etc. And if I'm exhausted when I come home and just want to crash, I usually have a doll snuggled up with me.

 

During the week, I'm out of the house 12 hours a day, and most of the time I'm home, I'm sleeping. Yoru pretty much lives on my couch those days, always nearby when I'm awake and napping on the back of it when I'm sleeping. ^_^ Weekends I usually spend at a friend's house, and Yoru and Sage always come with me (she's a doll nut too, and owns Yoru's significant other, anyway. XD) While I may not have as much time for the dolls as I would like sometimes, I do what I can.

 

Sometimes it's difficult. Let's face it, I'm not able to make time for her everyday.

I'm self employed and work from home, but I work 7 days a week (including holidays). My shifts are all over the place - mornings, evenings, sometimes even midnight into the early morning. It works for me though, and I love it.

If it's a slow day I'll pop in to see her between shifts. Sometimes I'll sit her in her rocking chair across from my desk so she can "watch" me work. It really depends. She's a cabinet baby (though very loved!) - but really the only time I "play" with her is when I get her a new outfit, new accessory, have a mini photoshoot, etc.

My time is pretty much occupied with our business. In the years to come hopefully I'll have more time on my hands. Until then, the hobby helps motivate me to work harder, achieve my goals and enjoy life to the fullest.

 

I am a dot-com troglodyte, so I'm always at work - home is just where I keep my stuff. Dolls included. They're for evenings & weekends. But most evenings I don't feel like playing, I feel like paying the phone bill and scraping together dinner and watching Nova and falling asleep. (Yes, kids, enjoy non-grownup life while you can!)

I make time for the dolls on the weekends, and that's enough... anytime I have free time it's still daylight, I almost always take doll photos. Upload them in the evening after sun goes down. If my friends are free on a weeknight, I might invite some doll-folks over, or go visit someone across town, & we just admire our dolls and chat for a couple of hours. But mostly it's just weekends! And some weekends I have too many social calls to make (which is a side effect of having friends ^^), so there's no playtime at all.

No, I don't feel bad about "not making time for" the dolls, because they aren't sentient beings. They sit there till I'm ready to play with them. They can sit there unattended-to until the Apocalypse comes, & they will still be looking just as stylish, & their serene smiles will not waver.

I would like it if I DID have more time home during the week to play with them... but then I couldn't bring home the money it takes to keep these expensive little bastards clothed in style.

 

i take my brownie to work to the University ^^ as for my SDs whenever i can they tag along, otherwise they wait till i am home a few hours to play with them abnd put them to sleep ^^

 

Like everyone else, there really is no time.

Fortunately I just like to have them around. Like sitting next to me on my desk, or having them on the table when I get to eat lunch at home. I'll touch their heads when I leave for work and whisper good night before I go to bed. I don't really have time for them anymore, but it's always nice to just have them around.

 

I have a schedule that gets so busy I'm surprised I don't keel over some weeks. So the answer is, I don't have a ton of time for my dolls. I figure I will likely have more time down the road but for now I've just accepted that if I'm lucky I get a few hours a week and a lot of dollie things I want to do will just have to wait a bit.

If it were possible, I'd wait to buy dolls till I have more time, but as these dolls are discontinued on a regular basis and I'm not all that crazy about the way most companies are going with their lines, I don't have much of a choice.

The hardest part isn't really having to wait to play with the dolls - I know that one eventually gets or makes time to do what they want to do, assuming we live so long, which isn't something I can control, and I'm OK with that. I'm also not a person who believes that the doll has the capacity to feel sad or bad about having to wait in its box till I'm not so busy.

The hardest part is not getting unduly frustrated when something like a bad transaction takes up time that you don't have, because there you are spending like 2 hours of your day sorting it out, and you're not even getting the enjoyment from it.

 

I work in an office with full-time day-shift hours and have graduate school classes at night. I also have many family-related obligations, and find my already short weekends shortened by travel to see said family.

However, I do what I can to still enjoy my doll. When I'm at work, in class, or otherwise away from home, she waits in her box. When I am home and on the computer, she sits on my lap or the desk. When we watch television/movies/etc., Claire joins us. She stays nestled away when we're cooking, cleaning, or doing any kind of work where she'd be endangered or a distraction.

Really, it's all about finding just a little bit of time to enjoy as best you can. I don't sew or stage elaborate photo-stories, so just a little bit of acknowledgment is pretty good. I'd like to take some nice pictures of her, but I haven't had any free time during daylight hours. ;_; Maybe soon?

My doll isn't 100% involved in my day-to-day activities, but I try to do what I can so that I don't feel I'm "neglecting" her and it doesn't add more stress to my life. n_n

 

Jenny it's sooo true.

In the winter I have more time it seems, but it's almost dark by the time I get home.
This weekend I went to all the trouble of setting up things for a massive photoshoot, only to misplace my camera, so nothing got done. (sigh). I may try again tonight.

Weekends is when I would play with them, but darn I'm rarely home on the weekends. If I am free, there is usually a dollmeetup I can go to instead. Generally before a weekend with a dollmeetup, I try to make sure the dolls I am taking are dressed and packed up during the week.

I don't feel guilty for not having time to play with them. I do however wish I did have more time. I bought them so I could do photostories and such, not just sit on my shelves. But I figure in time, I'll find the time. So atleast at meetups I try and take a lot of pictures.

-Anneke

 

I think you pretty much typed my working time there (only my shift is 9.30am-6.30pm).

Although, I think its almost like a daily routine for me to bring him out of his box after I got back from work, he'll usually sit beside my laptop whenever I surf online (or beside the TV when I'm on my Xbox360) , I pretty much almost bring him everywhere around the house during my time at home.

If I have no plans or events on Sunday, he'll usually get my fullest attention on that day, but only if I feel like having a photoshoot with him, if not, he'll just be my shadow throughout the whole day.

You dont really have to commit a whole day for your doll, for me as long as I get to see his resin face, I'm happy, lol.

 

I've barely had any time for my dolls this semester, and I presume that it will only get worse with more advanced science courses. I've wanted to suede and restring my Soulkid since September but just haven't had the time. Both of my MSDs need new face-ups (which I do) but also haven't had time either. I would love to sew clothes for them...you know where this is going.

Pretty much for now, I realize that I'm getting close to the end, and I should have plenty of time over the upcoming winter break. The next few weeks will be rough, because I tend to get really antsy when the end is near, and I'm itching to do something more artistic.

I try to at least study with a doll near me when I'm at home to prevent the hobby from fading out.

 

Although I'm only 16 and I don't work during the week, I still have school from 6-2:35. But, by the time I get home I have to do homework until- what? 4:30?? So by the time I'm done it's almost completely dark out and the lights not good for pictures.
On the weekends I work, and during the Summer I work 2 jobs all week. I find it hard to find time, but I try my best to spend time on my days off.

 

For me, finding time for dolls is just like finding time for any other hobby: it's all about prioritizing what little time I have. If I have a free evening or day without prior commitments, what should I do for 3-4 hours after I've come home and had dinner, before I take a shower and go to bed? Play the Wii, or do a photoshoot/process photos from previous shoots? Or, put it this way: sit down in front of the TV and pick up the Wii remotes, or set up backdrops and props, change my dolls' clothes, pose them, and take photos? Yeah, it takes more effort to do a photoshoot -- but it's a lot more fulfilling in the end, and never a waste of time (which I sometimes feel when I'm mooching on the Wii, heh! ).

But really, I always think there are never enough hours in the day to do EVERYTHING that I want to do! So it's a matter of prioritizing. Now that I'm doing more photography and dolly stuff, I'm not reading as many books as I used to, and my art is pretty much in limbo. But books and my art materials will always be there. Same with dolls -- some days I'll spend the whole day reading (or playing video games) and not think about them. As long as I think I've spent my time well, it's all good.

I try to do a little with my dolls on a regular basis -- even if it's just moving their heads or arms into a different pose, or sitting them in a different location. But they won't mind being ignored and will always be waiting ready to go, and I'm glad about that!

 

I'm also one of those who work full-time albeit with unpredictable hours, sometimes 14 hours one day or 8 hours the other. What spare time I have I use to exercise, eat, sleep and tie-up transactions here and there. So the only time I really have for my dolls is when I'm on the computer where I line them up next to the screen. For me, that is enough for now. ^_^ Time for my dolls does not necessarily equate to me having to play with them, otherwise how can I afford them and all their junk? xDD