Hey y’all! I’m Ashley Shelly Trotier. I am a graphic designer, product photographer, and owner of the brand Ashley Shelly (my maiden name). I design and sell planners and notebooks for my brand, and I just love it! It is my true passion. Two of my most popular products are the Ashley Shelly Planner and the Budget Notebook. I am an ISTJ personality, so I enjoy working alone as an introvert, but I’m also not that shy, so I enjoy chatting with others too. Relationships are so important to me and life is truly about the memories we build with our family and friends, in my opinion.
How I Work
I work daily from my home office, which I call the AS Home Studio. I’m living my dream every day and that is so amazing to me! I’ve been working from home full-time for about 3 years now, after leaving my corporate creative director position in April of 2015. My home studio is very organized, haha. Fitting for a planner girl, right? I thrive in a clean, orderly surrounding, and it’s one of my biggest priorities to keep my workspace nice and neat. My mind does not handle clutter very well, but luckily I enjoy the process of cleaning and organizing. I love cool colors, so I am surrounded by lots of white, cool gray, aqua, purple, and navy. Those are mostly my brand colors, and it’s so much fun to see them around me!
For daily organization of my business tasks and to-do lists, I use my weekly Ashley Shelly Planner. I created it to be a perfect combo of handling my business and personal life, so everything runs smoothly day-to-day. I have one side of the day laid out for appointments, and the other is a to-do list. I love checking things off! Super satisfying for this type-A personality. If anything doesn’t get checked off for the day, it gets moved to the next day so it doesn’t get forgotten. Even with all of the digital apps and things out there today to track productivity, I still get the most done by writing things down physically on paper. I doubt that is going to change for me.
During an average work day, I typically check emails and respond to anything quick, or star the ones that require a longer response for later in the day. I check in on my Instagram and Facebook accounts, respond to any comments or DMs I’ve received from the previous evening, and usually post a new product image or share a behind-the-scenes sneak peek or story. More recently, I’ve been designing the 2019 line of planners to send to the printer and I’m now waiting on the physical proofs to come in. I always, always get physical proofs of any product I design. That way, I can see it exactly how it will look and make any necessary changes before large numbers get produced. The actual design and proofing process of paper products is probably my favorite aspect of my job. Choosing color palettes and creating new patterns is just way too fun!
Around 1-2PM, I go into my online shop’s order management system and pack up the orders waiting to be shipped. I love packing everything myself right now. One day I might not be able to do it all, so for now, I enjoy taking care of the little details as my company grows. It’s a very special thing for me to put my hands on every order that goes out and thank that person in my mind as well as on social media, as their order gets sent out. I truly believe in putting positive energy out into the world, and I think it matters to be grateful for every sale I make.
Mid-day I always stop for a lunch break. I take my health seriously and definitely enjoy a hearty lunch while catching up on YouTube videos from my favorite channels. It’s a great way to break up the day for me, and I really look forward to that no-rush lunch. After that, I check in on email again, and respond to the starred emails that I saved from the morning. I can definitely focus more after a food break! Haha.
After emails have been taken care of, I work on any design files that need to be continued or finished, or photograph products for my website or social media channels. I do all of my own design work and product photography, so that typically takes up the end of my afternoons. Then, I tidy up my work area to create a great environment for the next day.
I truly feel blessed to live the life I am living right now, as the owner and designer of the Ashley Shelly brand. I never thought as a younger person in high school or college that I’d be right here. I always saw myself working for someone else, but I wouldn’t trade how things ended up. I started creating my products on the side while working full-time. The Budget Notebook was my very first business baby. I made it to help myself keep track of my finances in my mid-twenties, but quickly realized how helpful it would be for other women just like me, who felt overwhelmed in that area. From there, I kept adding products to my line that would truly help women stay organized and live their best days. Each day is a blessing, and I think it should be lived without too much stress. Sometimes we go through stressful times no matter what we try to do to prevent it, but there are ways to get through those moments and enjoy our days even in those times. Every product I make is meant to help create that mindset.
Habits and Routines
My mornings are very relaxed. I have never been a fan of jumping out of bed in a hurry and rushing around. That thought alone makes my stomach hurt, actually. I am a super night owl and always have been, so I sleep in usually until I feel like my body and mind are refreshed. Being able to set my own schedule is probably the best thing that ever happened to me in this case. I get up about 11AM and have breakfast right away, usually cereal, nothing too sweet though, and watch a little YouTube. Watching the news or TV first thing just depresses me, bleh. I prefer to control what comes into my mind that early. Positive people I subscribe to on YouTube are a much happier way to start my day! I enjoy watching channels like Mimi or Alex Ikonn, Alex and Michael, Franceska Garza, The SacconeJolys, Pretty Neat Living, and a few others. If I want a motivating kick in the butt, I watch Gary Vaynerchuk. And as far as my commute, it’s pretty short, from my bedroom to my office down the hall.
For rituals around my work, I am constantly referring to my planner throughout the day, checking things off as I go. I usually have a YouTube video playing in the background to keep me company, as I work alone, or I listen to a podcast. Some of my favorite business podcasts right now are A Podcast for Creatives, She Did It Her Way, How I Built This, Hack the Entrepreneur, and The Product Boss Podcast. There are some amazing podcasts out there filled with people who are sharing their lives and inspiring others!
Life Balance
My husband gets home from his job around 6PM. We sit and chat for a bit about our days, and then decide on what to do for dinner. Since we both work, we make that choice together, to either go out for dinner or have something at home. Dinner time with him is special each day and I really enjoy that quality time to just focus on each other.
After dinner, we usually will go walk through a store and look for home décor pieces as we just moved into a new condo, or we’ll come home and relax on the couch with a comedy special on Netflix. Some of my favorite shows lately have been The Bachelor (of course), The Ranch, Fuller House, or Shark Tank. We love the neighborhood we just moved to, so I see a lot of sidewalk strolls in the near future as well. I’m also going to be setting up our balcony to be a cozy relaxation area for us. So far it has two rocking chairs. It just needs an outdoor rug, some string lights and outdoor curtains and it’ll be a special place to chill in the evenings. I love to make a comfort food snack late at night, like a yogurt parfait, or sometimes just a nice cup of hot chamomile tea with honey and cinnamon in it. I also balance that out some nights with Sour Patch Kids or gummy worms! I enjoy my evenings.
When we get ready to go to bed, I bring my planner with me and put it on my nightstand. I check over the tasks for the next day, add anything that needs to be done, and make a mental plan for the day ahead. After I do that, I feel like I can let go and completely relax because I have a plan. That’s just how my mind works. I thrive on routines and being prepared. I know in life there will be lots of moments that I will just have to wing it, but I much prefer to think things through when I have time to.
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Thank you so much, Ashley, for hanging out with us today!
Be sure to give her some love! Her content is inspiring and calm-inducing (and man, couldn’t we all use a little bit more of that in our lives?) I came to know Ashley when I discovered her planner online and purchased one for myself! To say I’m obsessed would be an epic understatement. Do yourself a favor and peruse her shop–you’re sure to fall in love. You can keep up with all the cool things Ashley is doing on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Youtube.
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