Six Tips for more Productivity as an Artist – includes a printable “To Do”- List!
I often hear artists say that you just have to wait for the muse. But if you want a career in art, artists are also entrepreneurs-in addition to their talent and skill, they must dedicate time after work hours or on weekends marketing themselves by doing things such as displaying their artwork at galleries. I compiled here my list of ways how any creative person can find more free time.
“Getting Shit Done”: The first step to being more productive is getting more focused. Here are my tips for my fellow artists:
- To Do – Lists. I love them! Try to figure out at what times of the day you’re in a creative flow and when it’s better for you to focus on must-dos like replying to emails, finishing tasks or taking care of errands; plan your schedule accordingly. You should really take advantage of this time for creativity and set aside some blocks as appointments with yourself–I recently booked an appointment afternoon that was supposed to be devoted exclusively towards working on my project but ended up being very unhelpful because I got sidetracked by other things going on around me.
- Deadlines can be inspiring, motivating you to get things done and not procrastinate on a task. Deadlines also work well with competitions or exhibitions because they help break the project into smaller tasks that are easier to accomplish over time. If your deadline is too big for one person to take on themselves, consider breaking it down into small chunks so that you have more manageable deadlines in between!
- One interesting way to stay on task is by taking breaks. Breaks are helpful because they help you refresh and increase your productivity, but only allow distractions during the small break periods that don’t last long enough for it to be a distraction from what needs done. You can also try using “Pomodoro” technique; which means 25 minutes of work followed by 5 minute break then repeating until finished with tasks at hand or time has expired whichever comes first.
- You need to keep on learning. New skills and techniques will help you implement your ideas better, but it’s not just about the knowledge – new experiences broaden people’s perspectives too! There are always opportunities for self-improvement; if we can challenge ourselves constantly while also developing our capabilities then there won’t be anything that stops us from achieving great things in life.
- A designated space for “arty stuff” in a corner of the room helps you situate and focus on what needs to be accomplished before it gets too busy with other things.
- Determine the end of your day. It’s important to know when it is and how you want to make sure that eventuality will be as productive for yourself in order not have a distracted, unfocused work ethic. Whether this means getting home before dark or rewarding yourself with some time off from work at night after an exhausting week, take care of your mental health by scheduling downtime into every hectic schedule!
I’m sure you know that feeling when your brain is buzzing with a million thoughts and ideas, but there’s not enough time to get everything done. That can be really overwhelming for anyone at any point in their life (even if the items on their list seem super easy). I used to find myself constantly worrying about what was next or stressing over how much work still needed completion even after hours of working diligently.
What finally helped me make peace with my workload? Creating my own “To Do” list! It gave me an opportunity to see progress as each task checked off completed one by one like little victories throughout the day!
You cn download it here for free as printable TO DO LIST – PDF Template:
Click to download!
If you’re a struggling artist, or the owner of an independent business that needs to expand their horizons and figure out how they can grow as fast as possible then look no further than my “Success Planner for Artists” planner. This handy tool is perfect for artists who have grown tired with living on ramen noodles in order to save money- this will give you all the tools needed to start thinking big!
My newest project includes my very own “Small Business Planner”. If your small company has been functioning like it’s one person doing everything (or if there are just two people), but now need help hiring employees or figuring out where finances stand, I gotcha covered too!