Practical Time Management Strategies for Artists
Artists can significantly improve time management by reframing their relationship with time, viewing it as a valuable currency to be intentionally spent. Key strategies include eliminating the word 'busy' from their vocabulary, a practice author Crista adopted for a year, which led to reduced stress and more authentic interactions. Additionally, artists should manage their creative ideas by capturing and prioritizing them to prevent overwhelm, and break down large projects into small, actionable steps to make daunting goals attainable.
Do you constantly find yourself up against time? Afraid you’re wasting it? Never feeling like you have enough?
If time is your enemy, it’s time to change your relationship with it.
Time is a currency. And we are so lucky to be able to choose how we spend ours — yet instead of blessing it, we curse it. We’re insatiable, always damning the clock.
How can artists stop saying “busy” to improve time management?
Artists can stop saying “busy” by consciously removing the word from their vocabulary and replacing it with more meaningful descriptions of their work and life. The author shares a personal experience of taking "busy" out of her vocabulary for a year, which led to less stress and more authentic connections. By avoiding the word, she was forced to articulate her experiences more thoughtfully, ultimately improving her relationship with her work and time. This practice helps artists to reframe their perception of time and workload, moving away from a constant state of overwhelm.
But I started to get tired of hearing myself say it. Every time I said busy, my teeth would set on edge. I loved what I was doing — just not how I was doing it. So for my New Year’s resolution, I took the word busy out of my vocabulary. I was not allowed to say it for the whole year. By doing this, I was forced to connect in a more authentic and truthful way. I had been using that word to keep people at arm’s length. In simply not using it anymore, I became less stressed out.
Stop using the word busy to describe yourself. We’re all busy. It’s not interesting. Use your other words. Make them more meaningful.
2. Ideas are your currency — don’t let them own you
How can artists manage their ideas so they don't become overwhelming?
Artists can manage overwhelming ideas by capturing them consistently in notebooks or a master digital list. This practice allows artists to gain control, prioritize, and leverage their ideas, reducing stress and guilt. By capturing ideas, artists prevent them from becoming distractions and can focus on tasks at hand, utilizing only the ideas relevant for the present moment. This method helps artists become the 'boss of their own ideas' rather than being overwhelmed by them.
The best way to solve the problem of too many ideas is to capture them. Carry a notebook with you wherever you go. Keep another next to your bed. Have a master list on your computer that you can update and consult. By capturing your ideas, you gain control over them. You prioritize them. You even start to leverage them — one idea supporting another. You’ll feel less stressed out, less guilty, and free to utilize the ideas that are relevant right now.
I am the boss of my own ideas.
3. Break the big idea into the next small step
Very big ideas can be very scary. They can feel overwhelming and unattainable. Self-defeating thoughts love very big ideas — it gives them a chance to sing their song of failure. Ignore them. You are the boss of your ideas.
The best way to deal with a big idea that won’t let go is to make it a goal. Then list out every single step — no matter how small, no matter how scary — everything necessary to achieve that goal. Start by identifying all of the steps and put them in an order. Then begin at the top. All you have to focus on is what is right in front of you.
If something comes up that you hate to do but know you have to — here’s my trick: set the timer on your phone. One hour, two hours, whatever. Do what you can during that time and come back and do the same thing the next day until it gets done.
It’s not the goals that we seek — but the experience of attaining these goals that we’re really after. The experience of realizing our goals is what shapes us into the people we want to become. So managing time is really about owning who you are.
Start small and you’ll do great things. Start now.
This is a call to arms. The world is changing — don’t you feel it?
Are you just going to sit by and watch?
Or are you going to take the jump?
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Written by Crista Cloutier, artist mentor + founder of The Working Artist. (learn more about Crista here)