Organizing your time for an artistic life may be easier than you think. Usually, organizing your time is perceived as difficult and sometimes almost impossible. So I’m doing it creatively. Of course!
I would love some feedback on what you think about it and/or how you do it!
My Responsibilities
Okay, a little background: I have a full-time, challenging job that is really more than a job, and requires a good bit of extra work. In fact, it could take up all of my waking moments and some of my sleeping ones, too, if I let it. I love it in a lot of ways because it is a very creative job.
I’m also a parent and a grandparent with one of my children and a grandchild living with me. In addition I take on a lot of other work to make a bit more money and I’m involved in outside activities like courses and I’m active in some groups.
Organizing My Time
So how do I organize my time for all of this and still feel like I’m living an artistic and creative life? Well, for one, it is always a work in progress . . . I mean that it is never perfect – at least to an outsider looking in. For me, it’s pretty great! But I’m always working on making it better, something that I enjoy doing.
Most Recent Success
I’ve set up an “Ideal Week” and this is how I did it.
- First, I looked at my priorities. To do this, I determined my biggest goals. Living life artistically, creatively is a big one. And there are others involving my family, my home and pets and other things that I believe in strongly. Once I determined my priorities, I asked myself what activities would align with those goals? For me, everything I do, I want to do creatively and that included what I do for my family, etc.
- Next, I used a spreadsheet to create my ideal week. So far, I’m just piloting it. It is VERY general. I’m using it for a couple of weeks and making notes on it for changes that I want to make. I’ll let you know how it goes.
A few days later: One thing that I have found is missing already is what I call transitions. For example, if you need to stop at the store on the way home, or you are interrupted on something with an emergency call from a friend or family member, or something breaking down, your whole schedule is thrown off.
Conclusions
My conclusion is that those things happen, no matter your best laid plans. Just acknowledge and adjust and move on. I just don’t look at it as losing. Make sense? If that happens, you didn’t fail, you’re just more prepared than you would have been by being organized!
Solutions
So try this 2-step organizing plan and let me know what you come up with and keep creating. I’ll get back to you in a couple of weeks on this.
Two weeks later: The best solution that I have found is to really SET the time for the priorities. Nothing short of a catastrophe will throw that off. The other times have become flexible and sometimes I just set a whole day to really tackle something that needs to be completed. I’m continuing to work with the “block” schedule. More to follow.
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
It also has a companion workbook: The Getting Things Done Workbook: 10 Moves to Stress-Free Productivity.
