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Time Management Tips For Artists

Time Management Tips For Artists

As an independent artist, it can sometimes be difficult to manage whatever time you have during the day. This is especially because for creatives, you cannot just set a time in the day to be creative. It rarely ever works. If you sometimes feel like you need to be more organized and/or more productive or you spend your day doing a lot of things but in the end, you feel like you haven’t accomplished much? Well, this article is here to help you take back control of your hours as we have provided our top time management tips for artists. 

Time Management Tips For Artists

Understanding the concept of time

This is the first step to any time management plan a person can have. The first thing you have to understand about time management is that no matter how organized we are, there are always only 24 hours in a day. Some may even say it is impossible to “manage” time, because time does not change. 

It is more of man management, which simply means managing yourself and your activities during the day to ensure you’re doing the right thing at the right time. All we can actually manage is ourselves and what we do with the time that we have. Developing strong time management skills for artists is crucial in order to ensure that you’re spending your time wisely on the tasks that will give you the best returns on the time investment you have made.

Here are our top Time Management Tips For Artists;

  • Set Achievable Art Goals

One of the best time management for artists tips is to begin with goal setting. Just like practicing positive daily affirmations, goal setting is a powerful strategy that improves your habits by training your mind to focus on results-driven goals.

After all, how can you successfully manage your time if you don’t even know what you want to accomplish within a specific time period? So, grab a journal or open a Word document to get yourself started.

First, you’re going to create a few categories in which you will write down your desired goals. Example categories include:

– Work/professional goals
– Personal goals
– Business/entrepreneurial goals
– Learning goals
– Miscellaneous goals

  • Identify where you are wasting time

There are several things that you may let distract you and waste your time throughout the day. Many of us are prey to these time-wasters and lose time that we could be using much more productively. 

It could be spending too much time Internet surfing, reading email, Facebook posting, texting, or making personal calls. You can specify what counts as a distraction or time-waster to you. Whatever it is, when you need to focus, block all distractions and treat your art like a job. 

  • Follow a schedule

It’s hard to prioritize weekly goals when you’re living task by task. Sit down and plan out your ideal week then make a schedule to follow throughout the week until all your tasks are completed. Write down everything you need to do, so as not to forget anything. Having a list is a constant reminder of things to get done. 

The hardest part of having a ‘to do’ list is actually marking things off. Don’t just push tasks forward a few days if you don’t get to them: it’s much better to schedule tasks realistically.

Whether it’s with a planner, a software program, or a phone app, a crucial step to managing your time better is to know where it’s going now and planning how you’re going to spend your time in the future.

  • Allocate time for non art related tasks

Making time to focus on a job is all about batching up other tasks. Check emails for one hour, once or twice a day. Restrict social media, make it a recreational thing at a certain time in the day, when you can take out time to enjoy it, rather than sneaking it in every time you get distracted.

For instance, reading and answering emails can consume your whole day if you let it. Instead, set a limit of one hour a day for this task and stick to it. The easiest way to do this is to assign a solid block of time to this task rather than answering email on demand.

  • Use Organized Systems

Keep your workspace organized. If you usually waste a lot of time looking for files on your computer, take the time to re-organize your file management system. If your filing system is slowing you down, redo it, so it’s organized to the point that you can quickly lay your hands on what you need.

When crises arise, you’ll be much more productive if you have an organized system most of the time. A good filing system lets you get right down to the tasks of the day rather than frittering away time getting started or organized. 

All these are the most important time management tips for artists to know and incorporate into their daily lives.

 

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