Your time is precious.
Our time is so valuable, and how we use our time matters.
Think about the things that matter most to you. For me, it’s my family, my friends, my spirituality, my health and well being, and my creativity.
Are we spending our time on those most important things?
Or are we wasting it?
As an artist who’s worked with a lot of artists, I’ve come to know that us creative people have a bad reputation when it comes to time. Creatives are always late. Creatives never show up on time, and are often unprepared. They fly by the seat of their pants, often live a very unstructured, imbalanced, and unhealthy life, and have no respect for the time of others.
I do not want to be that type of creative!
Here are some simple practices to help you use your time more wisely:
Know where you’re going.
Get your Jack Sparrow inner compass out and let it point to what you want most! Have a vision. Dream big. Set goals. Get specific. Create a mission statement. If you know where you want to be and who you want to become, then you can make a plan to get there.
Go to bed early and wake up early.
I always forget how amazing it feels to be up before the world is in motion, enjoying the peace and quiet of the morning until I experience it again!
Waking up early gives you both the flexibility and structure that will help you reach your goals and stay productive.
Leave your phone alone!
This is HUGE! Choosing to minimize the amount of time spent on my phone has helped me to manage my time better. A few years ago, I developed a really bad habit of checking my phone first thing in the morning and scrolling through Instagram to wake myself up.
It took me YEARS to realize this was interrupting the flow of my thoughts and feelings in the morning, as well as contributing significantly to the anxiety I experienced throughout my day.
About a year ago, I started leaving my phone in my office about an hour before I went to sleep. That small change allowed me to have time to wind down before going to bed.
I heard somewhere that we should create before we consume, and choosing to stay off my phone until I’ve already been awake and creative for hours has really helped me find my creative workflow.
Put everything on your to do list in one place.
Ditch the post it notes and create a master task list to help you stay on track to make things happen!
At the beginning of the week, I write down everything I need and want to do for the coming week, first listing my top personal priorities and those important steps that will help me work towards my goals or dreams.
Throughout the week I add to my list IMMEDIATELY as things come up because I will forget if I don’t write it down! Then, after I’ve got my to do list ready…
Schedule EVERYTHING!
I break down my goals into measurable steps and put them on my to-do list, and then schedule them into my calendar. At the start of the week I put everything that’s not already scheduled (like daily tasks) into my Google calendar.
Even if I don’t get to everything I wanted to do, I can still feel accomplished and at peace each day if I try to at least do one thing for myself, one act of service for someone else, and then one thing that helps me move one step closer towards my creative dreams.
At the end of the week, I carry over whatever I didn’t get to on my to-do lists for the next week, or let things go if I realize it’s not a great use of my time.
Schedule your life around the people you love, your dreams, your biggest priorities and the things you value most, and you’ll feel more balanced and connected!
Day by day, you’ll be amazed as you get closer and closer to reaching your goals.