artists and time management
So many of us complain that we just don’t have enough time to do what we need to (or want to) do. This is often the reason we can’t find time to work on our art. But I have found that what I have to do fills the time I have to do it.
What do I mean by that? When I was younger and had a full time job, came home and did the food shopping, made dinner, cleaned up, did the laundry and housework and ran errands on Saturdays, I still found time to sew. And even when I had small children (who are time sponges) I did all those things and still found time to sew. So how is it that now, when I am a full time “artist” there are days I can’t find time to get into the studio? Mainly it is because the adrenalin isn’t pumping to get me through my list of things to do each day, and as a result, what I have to do manages to fill the time I have available to do it. Some days just going to the supermarket and the post office feels like an accomplishment. It isn’t.
It is important to remember that we always get the important things on our lists done–we never go without dinner, the dog always gets a walk, and those with jobs always show up for work. I think that time management can be a self esteem issue–that we don’t consider ourselves important enough to spend time in pursuit of the things that make us happy and fulfill us. We feel guilty doing something for ourselves.
It is also important to evaluate how much time we actually waste. How many hours a day do you watch tv? OK, it helps us relax, but working on our art should do that too. How many hours do you sit in front of the computer–time that wasn’t even in the mix ten years ago. Somehow, we all manage to find time to surf the internet and answer emails–so where exactly did that time come from?
Start by stealing half an hour a day to work on your art. Just half an hour. It can come out of your tv time, your computer time, the baby’s nap time, or the time that the laundry is in the washing machine before it is transferred to the dryer. For those of you with dedicated spaces, this isn’t as hard as it is for those who have to set up and break down every time they work. But even in that situation, put your current project in one container with the “tools” and supplies you need so that you can grab it, work a bit and put it back in. For sewing time, find somewhere you can set up the machine and leave it for a while–so you can go back to it in little spurts. Even a folding table somewhere will work.
Make 2010 the year that you allow yourself to spend the time you need to work on art, and set goals to achieve. Set small goals (I will finish this quilt by the end of the month) and bigger goals (I will enter three juried shows this year). Write them down and check them off your list as they are accomplished. Then you can update the short term goals in pursuit of the long term goal. If you benefit from taking classes, take one. You don’t have to commit to lots of them at once, just find one class that looks like it will stimpulate and inspire you and take it (classes are usually on nights and weekends, so you can make it fit into your life). If you benefit from books, set a goal of reading one and testing out the techniques. How about the goal of producing one small journal quilt each week? Think about what you want to accomplish this year (in your art) and then think about the little steps you need to take in order to get there.
By setting goals, setting aside a little time every day (or every few days–what about two uninterupted hours on a Sunday, for example) and allowing yourself to make your art a priority, you can find the time you need.
Tags: setting goals, time
December 23rd, 2009 at 9:53 am
You hit it right on the head with time management being a self-esteem issue. I always think that I have to get my work done first before I can go “play.” By the time I’ve gone shopping, gone for a walk, done the dishes, taken the trash out, maybe done some cleaning, then I feel like I’ve “earned” the right to go work on a quilt. But by then I’m exhausted and don’t feel like sewing any more!
The other day I was working on a quilt and was really rolling along. I went into the kitchen to get a drink, and noticed the pile of dirty dishes sitting on the counter. My first urge was to drop everything, and wash those stupid dishes. But this time, I stopped myself, and said “NO, they’ll be there later!” And for the first time, I walked away from a chore and went back to my quilt, and finished what I was working on. I didn’t lose my momentum, and I finished what I was working on, instead of letting a pile of dirty dishes have a higher priority than being creative.
It sounds like a little thing, but it was a huge step for me. The dishes got washed later on, and the world didn’t end! The interesting thing was that I wasn’t tired out, like usual. I suspect my chronic tiredness has something to do with being mad at myself for hiding out in everyday chores instead of taking a risk and being creative.
I’m going to take your advice and make time every day for my quilting in 2010. Thanks!
December 24th, 2009 at 9:37 am
[...] Weiner had a really good post on her blog, entitled Artists and Time Management. It really made me stop and think about what I want to spend my time doing. She starts out by [...]
January 10th, 2010 at 10:16 pm
Ah Leni, you’ve stated so well what I’ve been feeling! One of my goals this year is to create time to do all the important things in life, whether it’s make art, see friends, or read a book. Now, I just have to stop feeling guilty about doing a bit for myself …. though if I get off the computer, I’ll certainly have more time!
January 15th, 2010 at 11:55 am
You really hit the nail on the head here Leni = it is so good to know that I am not alone! I don’t (at least I think I don’t) have guilt issues about doing things for myself but I do find stuff expands to fill the time available for it. As you suggest, setting targets is a really good way of doing this. I also came across (on a time management course) the idea of prioritising two lists of “ought tos” and “want tos”, and the making yourself do the thing at the tope of each list before you do anything else. Works for me anyway: I set myself the task of making a quilt a month, and have (more or less - December’s quilt is just finished) kept to that since I started it at the beginning of September (and one of them selected for an exhibition over here so I haven’t lost in terms of quality). One thing I found useful was incorporating the skills I learnt doing work for other people into my current routine. Not that I haven’t still got a long way to go on this! Many thanks for this posting.