How to Get Stuff Done
Page From My Sketchbook Used to Track Studio Time (click to see larger image)
Tracking Studio Time
I wasn’t planning on writing tonight but I want to write this down while I still remember the thoughts I had today thinking about the post I wrote last night and some of the comments that were left.
I mentioned several times on my blog that I track my studio time. The posts I wrote early in 2008 ( This One and Another One ) are very interesting reads.
These posts indicate a change I made in tracking studio time. I went from being very systematic about it, to taking a more laid back approach. It was all part of the search for who I wanted to be.
I’ve since decided that is a bunch of crap-ola. Yep – I’m going back to a definite plan for how much work I want to get down in my studio.
It Didn’t Work
I discovered that trying to take the "Oh, It doesn’t matter, I’m more floaty and creative if I don’t put rules around it" approach to studio time resulted in my getting significantly less done.
In Jan-Mar of 2008, right after I devised that crazy scheme, I did basically nothing in my studio. My kids were in Europe – I was home alone – there were no excuses or distractions. It was simply me being less systematic. As a result I would often say "I’m tired" or "I don’t feel like it" and stuff like "I’ll do it tomorrow".
None of that stuff really results in things getting done. Instead it’s a good way to get nothing done but have a lot of lofty reasons for why I didn’t.
Like "self care is just so much more important than making art". Hm – NOT! Making art is the #1 thing I say I want to spend my time doing. Not avoid doing.
Why Does A System Work?
So I’ve thought a lot about why my old way of doing things, with rules and precise tracking, worked and I think the answer is it is basically the same thing as setting a timer.
There has been tons written about boosting productivity by using a timers (check out these google results). I think my old plan was essentially that. I timed myself.
When I walked into the studio I trained myself to look and the clock. That was it – timer was running. I didn’t stop working until the time was a even increment of 15 minutes. And then I wrote it down.
Because the timer was running I wasn’t tempted to run off and do other stuff, like check email or do my laundry.
When I left my studio the timer was off – I wasn’t racking up minutes. So I’d hurry back to get the timer going again.
I know this sounds kinda crazy but after seeing it in action and reading all the timer and productivity stuff (my favorite person that write about this is Christine Kane) I’m convinced – it really works. And not just for studio stuff. I now use a timer for my writing and planning art business stuff now also.
I have been spending 15 minutes each morning entering addresses into my snail mail mailing list. Fifteen minutes isn’t a lot but over time it adds up and with no big drama effort, I’m going to have the last 18 months of avoiding this task whipped into shape.
Going with No Goals
In my attempt to be more floaty I also gave up setting goals for how many hours I would spend in my studio each week. I decided to just let it happen. As I mentioned – it didn’t.
What happened is the emotional side of me got all excited and it had a field day. Woohoo – we get to run the show and stop her from doing what she wants.
I only made art when I felt like it. Or when I magically had time.
Okay – really – I work full time as a software engineer. I’m a single mom every other week with 2 teenagers constantly wanting stuff. I own my home, have to pay the bills and do all those house things that need done. There is the yard (okay there was the yard – it’s now dirt). Family, friends, quack quack quack.
I don’t have time to put in 20 hours a week in my studio so of course if I give myself an out I’m going to take it. There weren’t any goals so it didn’t matter. No disappointment so why bother doing it.
Thumbs Up To Goals
So forget that no goals thing. I’m now setting my goal to 15 hours a week. I’m making it lower than before because I also plan on doing a lot more art business stuff than I used to.
By setting goals I have something to aim for. I may not always make that goal but by identifying it and writing it down I have a much better chance of making my goal than without writing it down.
By setting goals I am no longer giving the emotional side of me free reign to do what I want. I get scared or worried or anything about what I’m working on. Great – recognize the feelings – but I’m not going to let it stop me from pushing forward.
Eventually those feelings realize they aren’t in control and they get a little less loud.
By setting goals and being systematic I’m significantly more creative and make much more art than when I’m all new-agey. Trying to be like those non-driven people I sometimes think I should be like, who always seem more creative and spontaneous and fun, didn’t work for me at all.
I need structure and systems for my creativity to work.
Posted by Lisa in: Being an Artist
Tagged: art, art business, creativity, distractions, Getting Things Done, goals, home, planning, rules, self care, Studio Time
This was a great and beneficial read Lisa! I also work 80% at teaching, have a busy family life etc.and work as an artist. I have also came to the realization that when I chunk the work of big projects into small sections of time on a more regular basis, I get less overwhelmed and am more productive. Those frequent but small amounts of time really add up over time. Thanks for sharing and wishing you lots of productivity!
I SO agree. I am just discovering the importance of time management and goals myself. While I dont have a “job” job, and have no children, I am married to a commuter and am both a potter and a fiber artist. (I weave, spin, knit and occasionally felt.) I struggle knowing what to do next. Pottery usually wins out simply because I leave the house and head to the community studio and I am less distracted.
After reading your entry that is all going to change. NOW.
Thank you so much for your thoughts! I’ll let you know how it goes. :)
Good post Lisa. I’m with you 100% on this. Sometimes I Iet people make me think I’m too rigid about getting my art done, but that just results in nothing getting done at all.
Last year my goal was 100 paintings, and it kept me track and really helped me improve my work. This year I didn’t make any quantity goals, thinking I wanted to work on more nebulous things like “working large” and “improving the quality of my work” – in the end I’ve just been floundering without a quantifiable goal. Granted, I’ve been feeling atrocious for two months, but once I start feeling better I’m going to set a numbers goal for myself again – it’s just how I roll!!
Glad to see you’ve figured out what makes you tick! I too find that when I’m timing myself at a task it gets done faster…I need to do more of this!
This is why ’structure’ is my word for the year. :) It’s great when I have one of those days where I’m so into the artwork that I lose track of time, but frankly I’m not one of those kinds of artists.
And I’ve been using a timer for years now. Your emailing list story makes me think I should have a 15min accounting session now! right now. So I’m off…
Several years ago when I had my own reweaving business my eye doctor told me I needed to watch tv when I worked. Sounds crazy huh? Well seems my asstigmatism was going crazy and he wanted me to exercise my eyes by looking across the room several times in a hour while I worked to stop it from getting worse. It worked. Another thing that came from it though was when I started making art again. A friend told me I needed to keep track of my time but I seriously couldnt see how I could do that. I am terrible at keeping track. Then I realized that I had fallen in a habit of having a tv running in front of me when I worked. Now I only watch recorded shows mainly on the computer. I keep track of my time by how many shows I watch while I work. each is around 40 minutes long. This is perfect for me because if I stop to do something else I pause the show. Now I can set goals by the number of shows I watch. i.e. I am going to get 5 shows worth of work done today. I know it seems crazy, but I dont really ‘watch’ the shows, I listen to them and occasionally glance at them. Keeps my eyes healthy and keeps me on track.
I will buy a clock to seeing if to my me your method works. I think that maybe to many stress generates to be dependent on a clock, but probably then I get used and am effective for my. Thank you for sharing your experiences.
Thanks for this post. I also track how much time I spend working on my quilting business. My goals are 25 hours a week/100 hours a month. It does cause me stress when I have a bad week and don’t make my goals, but it really makes me focus and not waste as much time as I would otherwise. I don’t usually track sewing time and art business time separately, but maybe I should since I would always rather sew than think about marketing!
You have tried it both ways and have found the way you KNOW works for you. Stick to it and keep those incredible works of art coming!
So many people associate being an artist with being loose and carefree. They all hang out at coffeehouses and bars. They float around in caftans and gaze up at the sky. NOT!!
I know this will sound crazy to some, but, thanks for the inspiration to set a rigid schedule for myself.
I’m also a worker-within-systems artist. After a major life change earlier this year, I’ve found myself floundering without a system. My goal for the next two weeks is to set up the framework that I need to be able to focus on my work. They may be out there, but I don’t know too many artists that don’t use some sort of time management system and still produce a respectable amount of art.
Hi Lisa,
thanks for sharing how to get stuff done!! everything in that post rings alarm bells
(pun intended!) in my head! I’m sure you were describing me!
I’ve followed your blog for a while now and find it inspiring. The post ‘how to get stuff done’ is exactly what I needed to read, which is why I am prompted to make contact, as a kind of affirmation of sorts.
Hi Lisa, I subscribed to your blog several months ago and share your commitment to living an art-centered life. Creating a structure to spend 15 hours a week in the studio again will certainly fuel the new directions you’ve started exploring.
I hope you will continue to share your insights into the question in your last post about identifying what it is you want. Self-reflection and adjusting the “map” seem to reoccur periodically for me too. Since we can manifest whatever we desire, that makes choosing what we want to set in motion important, so I’ve also been asking myself, what are my truest desires for my life as an artist?
The answers to that seem to evolve and change. Right now for me it is boiling down to focusing on refining and advancing my work.
Hi Lisa,
This entry (and the ones from 2008) are very helpful for me. During the school year I have an external structure that helps me get in the studio, but over the summer that all falls apart. I am going to try tracking my time in my sketchbook because I think that will help. I too need structure and I am beginning to think that I need to impose a strict schedule on myself. Floaty gets me nowhere.
I like that you also track the specific quilt you worked on – does that help you with pricing?
Thanks for writing about what I feel is the answer to my problem. I’m product oriented but since retirement I’ve had a terrible time getting the work done that I expect from myself. I’m not setting the long range and the short term goals that I once did, and working in the midst of all my home responsibilities gives me all kinds of excuses not to work at what I really want to do. Thanks to you I will spend some time writing out attainable goals and start working with a timer and a work chart. I play a game with myself using my timer to clean up my studio… set the timer for 30 minutes and work as fast as I can picking up and putting away. That works well, so why not do the same with my painting?
You’re talking to my heart, singing my song!
I have found that without goals nothing is obtained. Without schedules nothing happens. Art simply fades away.
Rather than stressing on the weeks I have not been able to “meet” my goals, I celebrate what I did accomplish as it’s all good!
Thanks for the reminders, and for being the living, breathing example that it can be done!
Thanks for this really thought provoking piece, like all the others here, I create art and work full time and have a busy and active family and friendship life and therefore the art creating suffers.
I am going to try your method, I will put aside time and note times spent because at the moment nothing is happening in my studio except the growth of dust on the fabric!
Thank you for this post and all the comments. I am going to buy a battery for my timer today!!! I just loved reading “the Creative Habit” by Twyla Tharp. She write about the need for structure around creativity
I don’t have problems getting & staying in the studio working. But I use the 15 minute timer when I have things I don’t like to do, like book keeping. You CAN get a lot done 15 minutes at a time and I find that once I start on a project I work well past the 15 minutes But knowing that I’m ‘allowed’ to quit gets me started.
Thanks Lisa, very timely for me. Since my partner doesn’t teach in the summer it tends to get awful floaty around here. I am setting up a better system right now! And the #20hrchallenge on Twitter is helping, too. Since I have the luxury of being a fulltime artist/writer, my art time needs to stay at least at 20, with another 20 on the business side of things.
I miss the time I used to spend only painting. Now it seems there all kinds of other obligations artists need to fulfill to market their art. It’s such a big gap between “love your art’ and ‘I’ll buy your art’ that I feel guilty when I don’t work on marketing goals. Some days I wonder if I have a hope in hell of selling my digital art in enough quatiities to make a difference to my standard of living.
Thanks to everyone for your comments – so glad to hear there are so many artists out there working with structures and goals also.
Caroline – yes- In addition to the sheet above I track some of the individual time for each of the pieces I make. Not always but often. It really helps in estimating how long things will take.