Are you finding it difficult to accomplish all of your art business tasks? In this article, Productive Artist – Beat The Clock I am going to share some strategies I use to increases my productivity.
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Productive Artist – Beat the Clock
If you have been following my productive artist strategy plan you should have your months, weeks, and days planned out.
You should also be in the process of batching jobs together.
By this point, you are already working smarter and faster with what you have learned.
Here are the posts if you missed them.
- Art Business Basics Before You Plan
- Art Marketing Basics – Keep Your Plan Simple
- When to Write Your Art Marketing Plan
- Short-term vs Long-term Planning
- Long-term and Short-term Plans
Even though you are accomplishing more during your days with the productivity tips above, there are still some ways that you can make your time more valuable.
I call the strategy I am going to be talking about, “Beat the Clock.”
The beat the clock strategy is a simple concept but it works.
All you need to do is set a particular time for each project that you will be performing.
For example, I start my day at 5:00 and write blog posts until 8:00.
From 8:00 until 9:00 I work on the drawing tutorials I am creating.
From 9:00 until 1:00 I work on a commissioned job or an original pastel painting.
From 1:00 until 2:00 I work on social media marketing.
This is just a brief view of my day, but as you can see, there is a time set for each project.
This keeps me focused on what I am doing, and I will work faster knowing that the time that I have is limited.
This is a consistent schedule for every day of the week that I work.
I also have a dedicated time I set aside for marketing but to keep things simple this is my blueprint.
It works perfectly for my lifestyle.
You might have an entirely different lifestyle that prevents you from working the hours that I do, and that is ok.
Discover what times work best for you personally and what jobs you will perform best during those given times.
Every job needs to have a set time and a set day for the week.
Having a consistent schedule helps keep a rhythm to your workweek which will help you to be more creative and productive.
You will know what you are doing every day.
This will prevent you from wasting time trying to decide what you should be doing.
It also prevents you from procrastinating because every job has a specific day and a designated time.
Every job has a set schedule.
When the job that you least like pops up you will just do it and get it completed in the time that is allowed.
Artists who are successful in making art and operating a thriving business learned about time management.
There will be times when it is challenging to motivate yourself, and art making feels like a chore. But using the beat the clock strategy will help you to get through those tough times.
At the end of the day, you will be proud knowing that you got everything done.
Action Step:
Take some time to think about how much time each specific job requires.
Write this down on your weekly schedule.
You might want to use a calendar or an app on your computer or smartphone.
I am old school and use a pencil and paper.
Do this for one month and stay consistent with your daily schedule.
After a month you will find that you will not need to write out your schedule.
You will know what to do and when.
The only time that you will need to write in your program book is when something unique comes up.
After the second month of working like this, you will be on autopilot.
You will be quicker, more efficient and more focused on every job.
Within two months you will have increased the value of your time again.
Congratulations, you have just received another raise, you have increased the value of your time.
How To Schedule Your Day As An Artist
Many artists have other jobs to supplement their income.
You will have to be creative scheduling time during the week to create art and market your artwork online.
Think about when you will be most productive during your free time for specific tasks like painting, writing blog posts, photographing your art, writing newsletters, shipping, social media marketing, and answering emails.
Block off the times on your calendar so you don’t forget them.
It will be a little more difficult to plan out your weeks if your work schedule changes week to week.
If this is the case, just write out your art schedule when you receive your work schedule.
Your weekly schedule will produce productive art habits that will help you to build a thriving art business.
Tips For Working From Home
I have been self-employed for over 30 years and I have learned a long time ago that if I am not being productive I will not be making any money.
It was important for me to learn how to be productive at home.
If I didn’t, my businesses would fail.
Below are many tips I have learned over the years to help you become a master at time management.
- 5 Effective Time Management For Artist Tips
- Best Time Management Strategies For The Working Artist
- How To Make More Art – 10 Productivity Tips For Artists
- 3 Time Management Apps For Creative People
- Sell Original Art Online By Prioritizing Your Lists
- 19 Productive Tips For The Selling Artist
- How To Be More Productive Working At Home
- How To Be Successful As An Artist – Stop Quitting
- How To Stay Creative And Productive As An Artist
- Be More Productive On Your Art Blog Series
- How Batch Processing Will Make A You More Productive Artist
- Become A Productive Artist With A Three-Item To-Do-List
- How To Get Rid Of Clutter And Become A Productive Artist
- How To Be More Productive Taking Care Of Yourself Mentally And Physically
- How To Be A Productive Artist Plan Everything
- How To Be More Productive Marketing On Social Media
- Be More Productive On Your Art Blog By Reducing Time On Social Media
- How To Be More Productive Working At Home
- How To Stay Creative And Productive As An Artist
- How To Be More Productive Marketing Online
- 7 Tips To More Productive Blogging
- 10 Easy Steps To Become More Productive With Your Day
- Productive Artist – Batching
- Productive Artist – Stay Away From Time Killers
- Productive Artist – Beat The Clock
- 5 Healthy Habits: Be More Productive
- Marketing Tools – How To Be Productive Selling Art Online
- Be More Productive Selling Art – Take A Day Off
- How To Be More Productive With Your Art Blog
- Importance Of Self-Promoting Your Art Work And How To Be Productive
- Blogging Strategies For Artists – How To Be More Productive
- How To Be More Productive Working At Home – Visual Artists
Conclusion:
How productive are you working at home?
Now is the time to be productive if you are planning on generating an income from your artwork.
These tips on working from home will help you to develop good time management habits.
The toughest part is just starting.
Everything else will come easy.
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