Steps on how to carve out the time in your busy schedule to create on a regular basis
Is "not having the time" really a good enough reason not to create regularly, grow your skills and accomplish your goals?
The only way to find time to create regularly is to find gaps in your busy schedule, eliminate time wasters, come up with a passion project and commit to it publicly.
Have you ever heard of the saying "talent is overrated"? One doesn't become good at something due to talent. It takes a lot of effort and time to develop a skill and achieve any type of success. Finding the time to practice and create on a regular basis to develop a skill is one of the most difficult first steps.
I often hear aspiring creatives complain that they just can't find the time to practice and create regularly. Daily responsibilities and tasks take up most of our time. It feels as if there aren't enough hours in a day to accomplish everything. And usually, creative practice gets pushed aside because it’s not urgent. But the awareness of how important it is to practice and work on a skill to be able to grow and achieve goals remains present. The feeling of frustration and guilt starts building up inside for not making that time for our dreams.
I've had my fair share of this rollercoaster ride between musts and wants, thinking that they are two different entities. But the truth is, they are just one entity, my life. I struggled for many years to find time to create on a regular basis. I had a full-time creative job, that took up a lot of my creative energy, but it didn't necessarily challenge me creatively. I was working as a Graphic Designer and after a while, I realized that my skills weren't growing anymore. It became repetitive work, and I was bored. The feeling of dissatisfaction and boredom grew every day more and more, and I knew that if I don't do something about it I will quit not just my job, but my career. During that period I discovered Lettering. It became my obsession, and all I wanted to do all day, every day. I had to find the time to practice Lettering outside my day job if I want to become good at it and eventually start freelancing as a Lettering Artist.
I started a passion project called Artword of the Week. For 72 consecutive weeks, I illustrated one uncommon English word a week. Since it was only one word, and I had a week to do it, it was manageable and allowed me to practice and make lettering art on a regular basis.
Once I started making lettering art for this project, an amazing thing happened! My whole energy at work changed because I was feeling creatively fulfilled. I started showing this project, and other personal art to people at work because I was so darn proud and excited about it. Eventually, my boss at the time asked me to illustrate a theme for a special event using my lettering skills. Everyone was blown away because the concept was different and unique and all of a sudden making custom lettering for event concepts became my main accountability at work. That was my first paid gig as a Lettering Artist.
Artwork made for a special event in Nashville, 2019
Today I want to share with you the exact steps of how I organized my busy schedule and made time to practice lettering, while having a full-time job, spending 2 hrs every day commuting to work, doing all the daily chores at home and still managing to get 8 hrs of sleep.
There are three phases to this process:
Come up with a passion project, put it in your calendar and treat it like client work;
Use small pockets of time to brainstorm ideas, do the research and create mood boards; and
Identify time-wasters, replace them with practice time, and don't overthink it.
Here is a list of the steps you can take to improve your organizational skills and start creating on a regular basis.
STEP ONE: Come up with a passion project - Passion projects are the best way to commit to creating on a regular basis. Ideally, come up with a long-term passion project, for at least 3 months. The best is to commit to making one piece of art per week, not to overwhelm yourself.
STEP TWO: Make it official - The only way it will get done is if you carve out the time for it. Commit to it by officially putting it into your calendar and giving it a deadline. Treat it as if it’s a client project. Communicate with your family members and explain why this time you’re taking to work on your passion project is just as important as actual work. You can use project management software like Asana or Monday, to make a strategic plan.
STEP THREE: Eliminate time-wasters and find small pockets of time for creative practice - Pay attention to how you spend your time throughout the day. Which daily routines/tasks you can shorten, outsource or eliminate? Find pockets of time for smaller project tasks, such as brainstorming, research and mood boarding. Early mornings, commute time to and back from work, lunchtime, and evenings are great to tackle some of the prep work before you start creating. The one thing you should not sacrifice is your rest time. You will need it if you don't want to burn out.
STEP FOUR: Don’t overthink it & keep it simple - Be mindful of grandiose ideas. The key to sustainable creative practice is simplicity. While you want to challenge yourself and get out of your comfort zone in order to grow, you still need to make sure your idea is doable for an extended period of time.
STEP FIVE: Make a public commitment - To hold yourself accountable make the project public on social media. Announce "to the world" that you will be posting once a week content from this project. And even if you think no one will care, believe me, you will care not to let yourself and others down.
By following these steps, you will integrate creative practice into your daily routine, start progressing and growing your skills, and subsequently achieve your goals.