How To Make More Time For Your Art
Listen to this episode on The Josie Lewis Show podcast!
When I ask people what is the biggest barrier to creating art and a business they love, the number-one answer won't surprise you one bit... it's TIME.
We are ambitious creators. We have full lives with children, partners, other jobs, houses to clean, and bodies to take to the gym. We run out of time very quickly.
I think about this a lot because my brain feels completely full of butterflies. I like to flit and fly around, and it’s very hard for me to focus or drill down into dedicated task completion. Everything I’ve learned here, I’ve had to implement in my own life so I can actually accomplish anything! So, here are my main tips:
Tip #1: time management is different for creatives
One of the reasons this is true is because of flow. Artists are better than the average person at getting into flow, which is a state of effortless enjoyment. It makes time go by so fast. It's when you've been making something, then you look up to discover that four hours have passed without you even noticing! Harnessing flow is the best way to develop your unique voice and make wonderful art. However, one of the facts of flow is that, during the experience, your prefrontal cortex kind of slows down. The prefrontal cortex is for high-level reasoning, planning, and judging. It's known as the executive of the brain. We need the prefrontal cortex for basic human-ing, but I really enjoy shutting it off with flow. In fact, I would argue that finding flow as an artist is required to accomplish anything of significance.
Tip #2: You still need your executive brain for some things
I also need to turn the prefrontal cortex back ON to tackle less "flow-inducing" activities, such as posting on Instagram and responding to collectors. There are a lot of things in my art business that do not give me flow, but in order for my art business to thrive, I have to pay attention to them. I have to activate my executive brain, but I can only speak for myself here. I love to flow… a lot. And I don’t necessarily have an orderly, sensible mind when it comes to all the other stuff.
Tip #3: Learn to balance your flow
Sometimes I can spend way too much time on the flow side, and neglect the practical stuff, and sometimes I swing in the opposite direction. I can spend too much time on business stuff and neglect my flow. It's a tightrope that every creative will have to figure out. For me, I dedicate the first few hours of the day to flow tasks such as writing, then the next few hours to admin and business, then the afternoons and evenings to creative time-blocking. That's what works for my own brain and my own rhythms, but everyone is different.
Tip #4: Use personal rituals to create habits
Wherever possible, I try to transform my tasks into habitual actions that happen in the same way, around the same time of day, in the same manner. Then, I don’t have to rely on my executive function and discipline quite so much, because those tasks are now automated. For example, I check my email at 10 AM right after my workout, and spend twenty minutes attending to all the most urgent messages. I do it every day and I don’t have to think about doing it. I also like to take a look at my QuickBooks because I like to keep track of my finances and expenses. It helps me manage my business in a more regulated way. If I wait too long, say weeks or even months, I find it very difficult to sort the transactions because I just can’t remember what they were, and it takes a long time to figure it out.
tip #5: change up your rituals occasionally
Sometimes I have to break my schedule. Sometimes I will get a really good idea, like a flash of inspiration, at an odd time of day. Remember: I'm a butterfly! For most of my creative practice, I donot wait for inspiration. I just get to work. When the inspiration comes, I have learned to strike while the iron is hot. Because sometimes, those ideas come in and I think, “Okay, okay. I'll get to you soon,” but when I revisit it later the energy has left! So, I try to make at least a few notes or quick sketches so I don't lose the essence of my inspiration.
Tip #6: Do things for the future you
Understand that most people can accomplish far less than they think in one day, but can accomplish farmore than they think in one year. James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, suggests that we strive to get one percent better every day. A modest goal. My personal tendency is to pile fifty things in a day and accomplish one. It would be better to think of the fifty things I want to accomplish in a year, and then boil down all the tiny steps it will take to get there. I try to think in terms of long-term goals. I make lists out of everything, down to the most mundane tasks, to help me accomplish my goals. I call these Destination goals and Process goals. The best kind of process goal is something that I can do every day and takes less than twenty minutes or even five minutes!
If you are interested in going deeper with me into time management and other artistic skills, the doors to Art Revenue Coaching will be open soon! We have awesome resources and an active community to help you to build an amazing art business! Visit HERE or click the button below to get more info and sign-up for the waiting list to get an invite as soon as we open!
