Finding Time to Create
Progress is not achieved by luck or by accident, but by working on yourself daily.
EPICTETUS
Our days and weeks are jam packed so how can we possibly find time to make art?
Question everything you think you have to do.
Does it all really have to be done and does it have to be done by you?
Can you delegate some things or simplify them?
Are there things that can be eliminated completely?
I used to think dusting and vacuuming were avoidable. I hate doing it but I’m a little OCD (or a lot depending on who you ask) so I also hate a dirty home.
Eventually, I came to the conclusion that it didn’t need to be done as often as I thought AND there were a couple things I could do to make it faster and easier.
First, I bought a robot vacuum.
They were new at the time so it was a big investment but I had a good job and thought it was worthwhile. (After I got over the initial excitement of watching it work, it did become a huge time saver.)
Second, I got rid of a lot of the stuff that collected dust.
It may sound like my home was starting to look like a prison cell but I promise it was still beautiful and cozy (to me anyway). I realized that I prefer having less stuff. I like a clean and simple space.
I choose to hang art on the walls and paint my walls interesting colors than to have a bunch of dust-collecting tchotchke (yes, I had to Google how to spell that) around.
I’d accumulated a lot of things from my travels, eBay and those home décor stores where everything is irresistibly cheap and stylish (maybe sometime I’ll write about how creating art helped me kick my conspicuous consumer habit).
Not only did it all collect dust, it also made the act of cleaning slow because I had to go around all that stuff.
Those two changes made a difference. Maybe I had only managed to free up a couple of hours each week, but it was more time than I had before.
There are so many areas we can examine to steal away some extra time. Errands are a big time suck. Is there a different approach?
- How often do I have to go to the grocery store?
- Can I use Amazon Pantry or a local grocery delivery service for some things to save a trip or at least make shopping faster?
- Can I get mail order prescriptions?
- Is there a faster way to prepare meals?
- In cooking more simply, can I actually make healthier meals? (A large pot of soup could last for several meals)
- Could the kids be responsible for a dinner?
Where else can you find time in the day? A few suggestions:
- Try keeping a sketchbook with you, maybe in your bag or in the car
- Get a painting app for your tablet
If you keep these things handy, use them (instead of looking at your phone) when you’re on a lunch break or waiting at the doctor’s office.
If you don’t feel like sketching, use the time to:
- Plan what you’re going to work on
- Organize inspiration photos on your phone
- Listen to creative and inspiring podcasts like The Savvy Painter
If you’ve managed to carve out a little time, now what? Where do you start? I’ll share some ideas in an upcoming post.
