Are you wondering where all the time went at the end of the day? Do you find it difficult to finish your to-do-list? In this post you will discover how tracking your time will help you sell more art.
Selling art online takes more than just planning.
You have to complete all of the tasks on your to-do list if you expect them to produce positive results.
In this post, I will go over some time management tips that I have learned over the past fifteen years selling art online.
How Tracking Your Time Will Help You Sell More Art
I am sure you have already heard, “If you work for yourself, you need to track your time.”
Why is it so important to track your time if you work at home?
Isn’t a flexible schedule a benefit of working at home?
Being able to decide your working hours is one of the many benefits of working at home.
However, if you are not productive with your time you will not be successful at generating an income.
Tracking your time will provide you with valuable information that will help you to hold yourself accountable and be more productive with your time. When you accomplish more you will earn more.
Where Did The Time Go
You can be more flexible when you work at home than working at a 9 to 5 job.
If you want to write a blog post after dinner you can.
If you want to paint after lunch you can.
If you want to sleep in you can.
You have total control of when you work and when you do not work.
The negative side is that there is no guarantee you will generate money.
To increase the odds of generating an income on a regular basis, you have to be consistent and productive with your time.
How many times have you said to yourself, “Where did all the time go?”
It happens to all of us.
Something distracts us and before we know it the day is over.
To prevent this from happening you need to know how you are spending your time.
Tracking your time will allow you to see how productive you are throughout the day.
Becoming aware of where your time is going will allow you to determine if you are spending your time wisely. This will also allow you to create new habits and enhance your time management skills.
Write A Realistic To-Do List
Before you can start tracking your time, you need to write a to-do list.
You should start every day with a to-do list that compliments your goals.
I like to write my list at the end of the day for the next day.
This allows me to review what I accomplished for that day and prioritize the tasks for the next day.
Every morning I have a cup of coffee (or two) and review what I need to get done.
When you write your to-do list make sure it is realistic and something you can complete in the time allowed.
When I started to wring my lists, I would write any and everything.
I must have thought there were a hundred hours in the day.
Needless to say at the end of the day only a couple of tasks got crossed off and I felt like I failed.
I would ask myself,”How can I build a successful business if I can’t accomplish what needs to get done?”
I learned very quickly that most of the tasks I wrote down would not help me grow my business. I was wasting my energy on strategies that were not producing positive results.
I decided to write only two or three important tasks for each day.
Document Your Time
Write down how long each task should take you to complete on the side of each job you have on your to-do list.
When you have completed a task write down how long it actually took you to finish the project.
Doing this will help you in two ways.
First, you will discover if there are any distractions that are preventing you to get the job done quicker.
For example, you will be able to make adjustments if you designated an hour to write a blog post but it took you three hours to finish it because you were distracted with Facebook notifications.
Just by being aware of any distractions will help you to make better decisions for the future.
The second benefit is that you will be able to schedule your days more accurately.
Beat the clock
Do you want to know how tracking your time will help you sell more art?
You will sell more art because you will have better time management skills.
If you can manage your time effectively you will be able to get more accomplished.
You will be able to create more art and you will be able to spend more time marketing your artwork.
The end result is more sales.
By now you have a good grasp on how to write realistic to-do lists and you have learned how to get rid of any distractions that are preventing you from completing tasks in a timely manner.
Now I would like you to challenge yourself.
Try to get your tasks done quicker than the time you designated for it.
If you give yourself an hour to write a blog post, try to get it done in fifty minutes.
If you give yourself thirty minutes for social media marketing, try to complete it in twenty minutes.
Do this every day for a month and document your times so you can see the progress you are making.
Remember, the more you can get done the more money you can make.
Learn What Your Most Productive Time Is
The last tip I would like to talk about is taking the time to learn more about you.
Everyone has strengths and weaknesses.
I do agree with working on your weaknesses but I also believe that you should utilize your strengths.
There will be times when you will perform the best.
Understanding your most productive times will help you to write a more efficient work schedule.
For example, if you write better between 6 AM and 8 AM it only makes sense to schedule blogging time during those hours.
You will find when you are more creative in the studio, when you are more productive on social media and when you are more productive with your content marketing strategies.
Take some time to discover when you are most productive with each job.
The goal is to get more done in less time.
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Conclusion:
Are you generating as much income as you could be?
Do you feel as if you are spinning like a top not achieving anything?
If you do you are not alone.
The good news is that you can enhance your time management skills and become more productive with your time.
How tracking your time will help you sell more art overview:
- Where did the time go
- Write a realistic to-do list
- Document your time
- Beat the clock
- Learn what your most productive times are
How are you at managing your time?
Do you have any tips you would like to share with us?
Let us know what works for you in the comment section below.
You might also be interested in:
- How to Be More Productive with Your Art Blog
- 5 Easy Tips to Beat Procrastination and Sell More Art
- Annual Art Business Review – How Will You Achieve More Next Year
- 5 Tips to Accomplish Your Art Business To-Do List
- Take a Step Back – Artist Motivation Tip
28 Day Blogging Challenge for Visual Artists
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The Productive Artist How to Live Your Dreams
The right mindset and time management skills are essential for any business. These topics are often not talked about but are key elements for your success. You will learn how to have a winning mindset and time management skills necessary for operating a successful art business.
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Get More Done in Less Time The Part-time Artist
Proven strategies that will help you to get more work done in less time so you can sell more art and earn more money.
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