Hello, hello my creative friend!

I hope you’re safe and well in these mad times we’re going through.

I have kept my sanity in the past few months by dedicating most of my spare time to art and creativity, but since I have also the goal to start my own creative business, I actually needed to dedicate most of my spare time to my art and creativity!

I’ve often been asked if it is possible to study an 8-week course for example, while working full time, and the answer is yes, of course you can, I have!

I have found some ways to “create” more hours in a day. I know, you’re probably thinking “Katia, what are you talking about? You can’t just magic up more hours!” and you’re right, 24 hours is still all we’re getting in a day; however, we can use those 24h in a better way and I’m going to tell you how I personally do that. Spoiler alert: you might not like some of the tips and advice I’m going to give you, such as getting up a little earlier…

Image by Luis Wilker Perelo WilkerNet from Pixabay

The main culprit of eating up our hours is television. Yes, that’s right, we’ve all done it. “I’ll just switch on the TV for 5 minutes while I take a coffee break…” 2.5h later you’re still binge watching that series with dragons and swords! You don’t have to admit it to everyone, but you know you’ve done this ( I have). And then there are those cool games on your mobile, checking emails, Facebook, Instagram….

So, here are a few steps to take to “create” a few more hours in your day…

Step no. 1: Cut the time you spend watching TV. Just think about it; in the evening, instead of just sitting there and passively watch TV for 2 hours, you could use the time to draw, watch a class to learn a new skill, or do whatever activity helps your craft move forward. You don’t have to do this every single evening but maybe 2 or 3 times a week.

Do you still want to watch that favorite series? Allocate a set time for it; if the series is on TV, you could record it and skip the ads when you watch it (another time saving hack). Most TVs nowadays have a timer you can program to switch off automatically, so if you’re still struggling to tear yourself away from the TV, set the timer so it will auto switch off after a set amount of time (no cheating and setting the timer for 4h!)

Step no. 2: Delete those game apps from your phone. Have you ever thought of doing just one little game during a break and ended up playing till the battery on your phone run out? Some of these games can be so addictive, you don’t even realize how much time you could spend playing them.

Step no. 3: If you’re planning to paint or draw or work on a pattern, and it’s something you can do away from your PC, switch it off and put it away. The temptation of checking the emails or have a “quick” look on Facebook or Instagram sometimes is too strong to resist; and we are so good at fooling ourselves with thoughts like: “I’ll just check quickly if my Amazon order has dispatched” or “I’ll see if I got a like on my FB post” and down the rabbit hole we go! If you can’t avoid using the computer for your work, switch the internet off. Set a timer and concentrate on your activity for 45 minute or 1h and then set another timer for 5 minutes and check your email or you FB likes. You don’t have to do this forever but only until it will become a habit, then you won’t need timers anymore.

Step no. 4: Avoid procrastination. You know, when you want to start working on a new artwork and you have no idea where to start.

It’s so much simpler to find something else that “needs” to be done instead of facing that blank page or compute screen, right? I put my hand up here, I’ve done that too. “Look at those plants, the leaves are so dusty, I better clean them, and yes I need to sew that button that came off my jacket back on…” Again, set a dedicated time for your project, sit at your desk or stand at your easel and just start! And stop only when the timer goes off.

Step no. 5: Set the alarm clock one hour earlier than usual. I know many of you won’t like this advise and skim right over it but hear me out. Last year I took my first 8-week course in surface pattern design with Anne LaFollette and I was still working full time (commute and all), so how was I going to find the time to study and complete the assignments? I started setting the alarm 1h earlier than usual (in my case 5:30am). I magically gained 5h per week that I could use to study and draw and make patterns. If we don’t count the weekends, 5h per week it’s 20h a month and 240h in a year! And that’s just by getting up 1h earlier every weekday.

If we add the hours we gained by cutting TV time, let’s say 6h per week (2h x 3 days), that’s another 24h per week, 288h per year; add this to the 240h and we get 528 extra hours per year. Imagine what you could do with all that extra time!

If you really want to step up your time-creating game, you can also use the little time gaps we have every day, such as commute time, waiting in a queue, waiting at the doctor’s, lunch beaks at work…

You can use those gaps by reading, doodling, listening to a podcast or audiobook…

Of course we all need time to relax as well! So do include some time for that in your day too. I tried to fill every single waking second of my day, every day, and ended up so exhausted I couldn’t even think anymore.

You don’t have to use all the tips I gave you here all the time, but you can pick and mix them to help you find that little bit more time to do the things you love.

Do you have any tips and tricks to “find” more time? Do share your thoughts and advice in the comments below!

Till next time

Create and be happy!

xoxo