Thread: Getting a little stressed

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Maybe I was too ambitious with planning, but I've been feeling more & more stressed about my halloween setup.

Maybe it's because I've been working, off & on since November 1st on this year that I'm getting burnt out. It's become such a big event and eagerly anticipated by the community, I feel every year has to be bigger & better. That means that 80% of last years props have been changed, even just slightly to keep them fresh. On top of that there's a bunch of new creations that need to be incorporated some how.

So many ideas & plans, but now I feel like I'm running out of time. As a result, I don't feel like I'm enjoying the ride as much as previous years.

Anyone else getting a little worn out?

I get that way sometimes. Take a day off from the prop building and just relax. Just take a walk around the neighborhood and enjoy other peoples stuff.

Just a LITTLE stressed, Doctordoom?

Things are never, ever as I plan them or as I've got it envisioned in my head, so by now I've learned to have a few moments (or days) of stress, and then just accept it and enjoy what is.

Ask yourself, If I stop creating now and just put out what is done, will it be better than last year? I bet the answer is yes. You've created new stuff all year and you've tuned up your older props.

I say finish the item that you will feel the most personally rewarded by completing if the time frame is reasonable. If there's time when this is done move onto the things which are easiest to complete. If you finish these enjoy your sense of accomplishment and if you have more time prioritize the items you feel you want for this year. If not

The rest can be forgotten until next year.

Remember, it's already better than last year. Anything you do now should be for self-reward and fun.

Sit back and enjoy, you've got Markhams best already.

I'm starting to feel the stress too. I thought tombstone building would be much quicker then it actually is. I should have started ages ago! My front yard is supposed to be a graveyard, but whoever saw a graveyard with only 14 tombstones?!

Last night I made a check list to make things more clear and have a plan. So far today I got one thing off my list and am going to work on some others... as soon as I get away from the computer!

Just think you could be like me and have not even started I am not sure what the deal is but I have props like crazy actually added close to $500 bucks worth of adds at the spirit day after sale, but i start to lay out my haunt and just get overwhelmed with new ideas so I had to come on the forum to get motivated!

The only thing that's stressing me out is not knowing what the weather will bring. Last year was a good night but there have been halloween nights with snow condetions that kept people inside. So basically I worrie my money and time spent might go to waste.

I was feeling the same way. This is my first year as a solo pro haunt owner. I had been helping my cuz on his for the last 8 years or so. He left the area and left me what he did not take. I also have been a mobile dj for years, so I decided since I had enough props from his stuff and already had all the sound I needed and lighting from my mobile dj stuff I would try it.

Got a great deal trading radio spots on a radio station that I own for a large spot in the mall.

I also had worked a deal for lumber to do the entire thing, well that fell through, plus the mall changed manegment right in when I was supposed to get in to start setting up about 2 months before open. By the time I finally got settled with the new lady in charge (which turned out to be wonderfull) I had lost about half a month.

So now I have a month and a half and have a large 15-2000 sg foot spot to build a maze in and had to buy lumber! Decided the budget would not allow all the wood I would need. Salved a bunch of old stuff and bought the 2x4s to build atleast the main frame work. Wound up having to buy fire retardent black plastic to put over the frames. I got sooo stessed, Even had one of my most depenable helpers walk out one night because he did not have the materials to work with. I finally got all the lumber and stuff needed and called on a bunch of family and friends to spend an entire Sunday getting all the maze frame up. Then my helpers saw that it was coming together and kicked in.

We got it. I actually worked right untill opening day getting it all set up. In the end, it would not have happened without a LOT of help.

unfortunatly due to the late start and the wood deal, I did not have time to get the signs up for opening weekend and had a terrible turnout. Good news is this weekend I got most of the signs out and had a better night tonight. So it will all work out. Just have some help, but don't count on them too much. I had many nights just working on it myself.

Many different levels of haunters, many different levels of stress felt. At my level, it's a matter of setting up a pretty big yard display which has grown enough this year for me to not really know how it's gonna come together until probably the night before. There's a hell of a lot of improvising on the spot.

What keeps my head the most together is a really simple thing- the master check list. My check list has everything on it, all organized. If new things come up, they get added. I find that having that simple list keeps my brain much clearer, makes planning and execution much smoother, and keeps my stress level manageable. Since I have to wait so long before starting on the outside, my checklist, coupled with a layout plan of what's going where, keeps my head screwed on along the way.

Dan

Originally Posted by dustin2dust

I'm starting to feel the stress too. I thought tombstone building would be much quicker then it actually is. I should have started ages ago! My front yard is supposed to be a graveyard, but whoever saw a graveyard with only 14 tombstones?!

Last night I made a check list to make things more clear and have a plan. So far today I got one thing off my list and am going to work on some others... as soon as I get away from the computer!

My graveyard I don't think has that many tombstones but it looks awesome...all depends on placement, area to work with, lighting and other props that accompany the graveyard...you could have very few graves if you know how to set the ambiance right! I had plans to make a few more too, but I had far too many other props to work on this year than to worry about tombstones. Couple of wood crosses fills in quite nicely I have been stressed since I started 6 months ago...today is no different and probably won't change until after halloween when I can breathe again.lol