Whether you are an inspiring artist or you a veteran art business owner, you know the importance of creating more art.
The reality is that you can not sell what you do not have.
But how can you make more art if your daily to-do lists are overflowing?
By the end of this post, you will know…
- What works best for you
- Discover when you are most productive
- How to write weekly goals
- How to schedule work time
- How to block off time
- How to tackle big jobs
- How to avoid distractions
- How to prioritize jobs
- Write weekly goals
- How to write to-do lists you can accomplish
How To Make More Art – 10 Productivity Tips For Artists
Have you noticed how many artists and crafters are trying to sell their work online?
The number of crafters selling their work online is increasing every year.
The benefits of selling art online:
- You are the boss
- You do not have to answer to anyone
- You decide your working hours
Would you like to be your boss?
Would you like to decide when you will work and when you will have time off?
Would you like to earn extra income selling your art and handmade crafts?
There are many benefits of owning a business, but the problem with being the boss is the responsibility of getting everything done.
You will have to dedicate time for:
- Create new art to sell
- Marketing
- Selling and shipping
- Talking to customers
- Managing contacts
- Accounting
- Inventorying
- Staying organized
How can you do it all yourself?
It is easier than you might think.
All you have to do is learn how to manage your time and become more productive.
No matter how overwhelming it might seem at times, it can be done.
Below are some of the most valuable tips I have learned over the years to help get you started.
What Works Best For You
Everyone has different responsibilities and lifestyles. Because of this, there is no one solution for being productive.
Trying to mirror someone else’s schedule will only leave you discouraged and frustrated.
You have different skills and strengths than I. What works well for you might not work for me and vice versa.
Learning more about you and what makes you tick will help you to discover when you are the most productive for different tasks.
For example, creating art in the morning might not work for you because you help get your children ready for school.
Maybe you work second shift, so the only time you can create art is in the morning hours.
Discovering when you are most creative is crucial if you want to make more art.
Discovering when you are more focused on marketing your art will help you to sell more art.
The first tip I want you to do is to take a few minutes for self-reflection.
Grab some paper ore create a Google Spreadsheet and write down your strengths and weaknesses.
Write down your best time for:
- Creating art
- Writing blog posts
- Answering emails
- Marketing on social media
- Engaging with your social media following
- Packaging and shipping
- Accounting
- Taking inventory
When Are You Most Creative
While you are taking the time to learn more about you and your lifestyle, you will want to focus on knowing when you are the most creative for different tasks.
For example, let’s say you have half an hour in the morning you can devote to your art blog, but in the morning your mind is clouded.
You will be wasting your time if you find yourself drinking coffee while you are scrolling down your Facebook feed for half an hour instead of writing a post.
Maybe you are more focused on writing in the evening or at lunchtime.
It does not matter what your best time for writing is. What matters is that you know when the best time is, and you take advantage of it.
Write Weekly Goals
The next step is to write goals.
Write down everything you want to accomplish for the week.
Below are some jobs that are on my weekly goals list to give you an example of what you might have:
- Create two new pieces of art
- Write three blog posts
- Send one newsletter
- Schedule Pinterest pins with Tailwind
- Schedule daily Tweets and Facebook posts
- Answer emails
- Package and ship sold artwork
After I have documented what I would like to accomplish, I start developing a plan to complete the list.
Writing goals will help you to develop a productive plan and keep you focused on essential tasks.
Assess the outcome of your weekly plans and goals.
See if there is something that you could have done better to help you get more done or even save time doing what you did.
The point of writing down your weekly goals is:
- To keep you accountable
- Prevent you from derailing
- Learn what is working and what is not working
- Prevent you from forgetting an important task
Goal Resources:
Artist Goal Planners in Light Pink
How to Write Goals You Can Achieve Workbook
Schedule Work Time
Now that you have an outline of your goals and when you are the most productive for creating new art, writing blog posts, answering emails and so on, take a calendar and start filling it out.
Be realistic with your workweek.
If you can only devote 15 hours a week towards your art business, then you can only schedule 15 hours of work.
Take the spreadsheet that you have created and fill it out.
Give it an honest try for three weeks and document how it worked for you.
After three weeks, look over your notes and revise anything that is not working for you.
You might find yourself revising your schedule for the next few months, but that is ok.
Every time that you revise your plan, you will become more productive with your days.
The bottom line is that you will be making more art than you were in the past.
The work schedule you write will hold you accountable to complete essential tasks instead of putting them off on the backburner.
Block Off Time
Like I have mentioned earlier, you will find it challenging to complete all the jobs necessary for building a successful art business.
Why not take advantage of some of the downtimes you have during the day and make it a productive time?
Start by blocking off time during the day for specific tasks.
For instance, instead of trying to write a blog post when you first wake up. How about scheduling Pinterest pins with Tailwind or find the perfect hashtags for your Instagram posts with Tailwind.
Maybe you can engage with your social media followers on your work breaks.
You will soon notice that many jobs can be accomplished throughout the day during some downtime.
The other jobs that take more time and concentration like creating art, writing blog posts and answering emails should be blocked off during the times you are most focused and productive.
Now that you have your new work week start blocking off times for specific jobs.
Break Up Big Tasks
There are going to be jobs that take a great deal of time to complete.
For example, I can not create a graphite drawing in just a couple of hours.
Writing blog posts and preparing them to be published takes time.
Instead of trying to tackle big jobs all at once, try breaking them up into smaller tasks.
For instance, below is how I write three blog posts a week:
- Spend 2 hours Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday writing the posts
- Thursday spend one-hour gathering images for the post and inserting them in the posts
- Friday Proofread the posts and schedule them for the upcoming week
This schedule works well for me.
Break up large tasks into smaller jobs so you can get more done in less time.
Avoid Distractions
Breaks are essential for your health, mentally and physically.
But with all the distractions around you like smartphone alerts, text messages, and social media, you can easily find yourself losing track of what needs to get done.
Working at home or in the studio is difficult. You are alone, and nobody is checking up on you to see if you finished everything on your to-do list.
You must keep yourself accountable and focused on the goals you are trying to accomplish.
I have found that scheduling a ten-minute break every hour to move and address the alerts on my phone keeps me focused on the jobs I am working on.
It is easy for me to ignore the alerts on my phone because I know I can get to them when I am taking my break.
What will help you to stay off your smartphone or social media when you are working on your art business?
Try different strategies until you find what works best for you.
Start with my plan and if that doesn’t work for you try something different like keeping your phone in a separate room or turning it off.
It is ok to not respond to a text or Facebook private message immediately.
Unless it is an emergency, the people who are contacting you will understand that you are working.
I am sure that if they were in the middle of a project, they would not stop what they are doing to answer a “how have you been” text.
Prioritize Tasks
There are going to be jobs that come in during the week that you have not accounted for.
Maybe you have sold a painting, and you must prepare it for shipping.
Maybe you are receiving print orders that you must address.
These are all significant problems you will have to address and hopeful they happen often.
When new tasks come in you will have to sort them into two different categories, “Must Get Done” and “Do Later.”
Below is how to manage incoming tasks:
- Record the job
- If you can accomplish the task while you are sitting there, get it done.
- Revise your to-do list if it is something that takes a little more time but is a priority.
- If it is not that critical document it and put it on your next week’s tasks.
Following the strategy above will help you to reduce unnecessary stress and prevent you from derailing from your objectives.
If you want to sell more art, you have to make more art. Planning will help you to do just that.
Write Weekly Goals
I have talked about goals and scheduling your workweek
Now I want to talk about the importance of writing weekly goals.
The only way you can be productive with your time and develop strategies that will grow your art business is to write goals.
Writing weekly goals will help you to reach your larger goals quicker.
Weekly goals help you to stay focused on the big picture and will also help you to be more productive with your time.
You can assess what is working at the end of every week to see if there are any adjustments you will need to make for the upcoming week.
Take a few minutes on Sunday to decide what you would like to achieve for the upcoming week.
Write them down and plan how you are going to achieve them.
This will only take a few minutes, and when you wake up on Monday, you will be focused on what needs to get done to grow your art business.
Write Realistic To-Do Lists
To-do lists are essential to keep you focused on what needs to get done.
However, they can easily discourage you if you are not careful.
If you write unrealistic to-do lists, you will find yourself becoming stressed and unmotivated.
When you are writing your to-do list, place them into these categories:
- Do they complement your objectives?
- Are they important?
- Can the job be broken down into smaller tasks?
- Can the job be done at a different time?
- Wishes, things you would like to do but do not compliment your goals at the time.
Delete everything on the last two categories and start addressing the critical tasks. Doing this will help you to keep your to-do list realistic and productive.
Be Consistent
The last tip I would like to talk about is being consistent.
You have to be mentally prepared for the change.
Everything that you do is a habit that you have created over the years.
So if you would like to make more art, you will have to change your lifestyle and create new habits.
The tips outlined above will help you to do just that.
All you have to do is do then for 27 days, and they will become a part of your new lifestyle.
Conclusion:
Change is not easy. But if you genuinely want something change is a good thing.
Do you want to earn an income selling art or do you want to be the person who says I wish I could sell my art?
It is your life, and you have total control of your actions.
Not addressing habits that distract you from your goals will only prevent you from achieving them.
Act today and start becoming more productive with your time.
Popular Art Marketing And Sales Tutorials
Below are some of the most popular art marketing courses that will grow your online art business:
Most Popular – How to Make a Living Selling What You Make by Megan Auman
Most Popular – Build a Successful Creative Blog by April Bowles-Olin
How to Build a Business While Learning Your Craft by Megan Auman
Pinterest Marketing for Makers & Designers by Megan Auman
28 Day Blogging Challenge for Visual Artists
Are you ready to start building an online presence?
Available on Amazon or Download your copy today.
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 critical 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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