Make time for your art!

Key #2 - Make time to create.

“Be regular and orderly in your life,

so that you may be violent and original in your work.”

- Gustave Flaubert

You will become 300% more prolific if you do this one thing. I’ll show you how in this article and in the video below.

This seems so simple, yet sometimes it is a real challenge. It’s the first thing I hear from artists about why their art practice is suffering. They will say “I just don’t have enough time”.

My first question to them is usually, “If not you, then who is in charge of your calendar!?”.

YOU ARE OF COURSE! That is good news because it means that you can do something about it.

Time is the one thing that all humans have in equal measure. We each get 24 hours a day. Time management might make you yawn, but it is truly essential to your art to give it time to breathe and to develop.

The demands of full time work, study, children and family commitments and life in general can feel overwhelming at times, but I believe that time flows to whatever you prioritise.

A simple example is of people that go to the gym and work on their fitness, sometimes going 5 to 7 times a week. Does that person have more time than you or I? No, but they prioritise going to the gym over other things because it is important for them.

You need to make time for your art to become more prolific.

FREE download of The PROLIFIC ARTIST eBook

John Cleese delivered an address on creativity in 1991 where he emphasised the importance of time in the act of being creative and prolific. Here are his five steps to creative openness:

1. Space

2. Time

3. Time 4. Confidence 5. Humour

Notice number two and three. That is not a typo. He emphasises creating very specific times in which to do your creative work. You want to create a beginning and an end.

300% more prolific. Yes please!

A study to increase engagement in a fitness program proved to massively increase benefits and engagement by doing one simple thing. Schedule when they would do the task.

A group of college students were told about the simple benefits of exercise to significantly reduce their vulnerability to coronary heart disease by exercise. This boosted participation by 29 to 39 percent. Pretty good.

When the information was followed by a request to schedule where and when (create a space and time) they intended to exercise, engagement went up to a whopping 91 percent. A 300% increase in engagement just from consciously scheduling it in.

My belief is that if it’s not scheduled, it’s probably not happening. When you schedule time for creative work, you begin to prioritise it over the general noise and distractions of life. You take a moment to make a conscious choice and intention to do something that will be positive for you.

Take a moment now to schedule in 1hr of creative work this week some time and commit to doing it when the time comes. If you continue to do this one thing, you’ll start to see progress immediately.

I have created a free HOUR OF POWER checklist for you to download below. This is a 14 point checklist and 7 point do’s and don’ts of a super focused and prolific hour of power. Follow the instructions in there to take that 300% increase to over 1000% more productive.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR WORKSHEET

Native American Indians believe that we each have an hour of power each day. A natural peak throughout the day where our energy levels are high and we can be more focused and productive.

Think about a time in the day that you usually feel that wave of energy and plan your creative work in that time.