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Art making is not as idyllic as it may appear. Sure, you are your own boss, but ordinary life interferes.There is always something more impending to do.
Like what, you ask?
Well, first of all, family, job, daily necessities, all require energy and time. Without balancing basic needs such as hugs, communication, making good nutritious food, exercise and a good night’s sleep and cleaning and organizing a house, a person wouldn’t be able to find their art supplies or his clothes.
I started to get a little suspicious of my intentions when I found myself searching for golden retriever fur tumbleweeds under my furniture and thinking about lining my shoes up differently. These are good cleaning practices. Not necessary to spend priority time on them though. I faced up to the fact that I could make better use of my time and was perhaps in need of a different approach.
There are only 24 hours in a day, right?
I realize that for a while now, I have been having trouble achieving that very crucial balance between living life fully and making time to be creative. Understanding that time crunch is currently viral,, I scoured my bookcase and internet for suggestions…yes, I know… chewed up more time…!
How to make more time?
I incorporate these changes and it seems to be helping:
Think of life in the center with several different radiating threads representing whole areas of your life. The number is variable. I chose;
A rt
S piritual
P hysical
I ntellectual
R elationships
E nvironment
R iches
Decide what needs to be done daily, weekly, monthly, etc.
Prioritize my time.
Limit my time for each item, including creative time. This sounds counterintuitive, but it works!
Use an organizer to remind me of my goals. Either computer or paper will work. I use both.
Allow for adjustments when needed.
Right now, my biggest problem is that in “springing ahead” to daylight savings time, we have lost an hour!
looking at the bright side, we’ll get it back in the fall.
I’ve made time for writing and reviewing my blogs tomorrow after drawing and meditating!
Send your comments suggestions, aha moments my way. love to hear the way you balance the life.
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Jim Carpenter - Organizing the day is tough when you get to be the organizer. I was a HS teacher so for decades my day was organized by the bell. And I knew well how to devise a weekly schedule of things to accomplish. That all went out the window when I retired and was “free at last free at last” – but I have often toyed with the idea of printing out a calendar and making a “rehearsal schedule” (I taught theatre) for my art projects. So far, it’s just an idea. Maybe confessing to you on your blog will get me that much closer to actually doing it. – Jim