This is a follow up post to Top 5 Excuses that Keep Me from My Artwork. If you want to read it first, check it out here.
When I was a kid, time seemed endless. Summer breaks felt infinite. Now, at the end of a day, I marvel over how it got so late and where the time disappeared. Interestingly enough, there is scientific reasonings for this phenomenon. If you’re interested to learn more behind the science, check out these articles from Psychology Today and Independent. If you’re like me, I find the science behind everything intriguing. But you don’t need a scientific explanation to appreciate that as adults we feel pressured to accomplish more and more in the same 24 hours of the day.
I’m a military wife and homeschooling mother of two sweet daughters. These responsibilities alone make for a busy life, especially during a deployment. Most parents want to raise their children into healthy, intelligent and productive adults. Add to that the responsibility of ensuring they receive the best education possible, while instilling in them strong Christian values that we feel are required to flourish in life. Of course, keeping up with laundry, meals, cleaning, repairs and appointments are also included in the job description.
All that said, is it any wonder that pursuing a career seems impossible to achieve? I’ve decided to list five of the strategies I’ve used to break through the “too busy” excuse that have helped me most.
#1. Prioritize
When I honestly break down my day to the absolute necessities, I find time to work on my dream. It is a matter of priorities. Neglecting to budget money leads to insufficient funds to buy necessities. In a similar vein, mismanaging time will lead to a deficit for those things most important to us. But unlike money, we’ll never earn more time.
For the majority of my life I’ve been a night owl, but that left me hitting the ground running in the mornings. My routine has changed so that now, I typically get up two hours earlier than my children to have time to prepare for my day and work on my dream. This, of course, looks different for each of us. It may require giving up your favorite evening television program. Or staying up an hour later in the evening or, like me, getting up earlier. It might not be easy, but usually things that are worthwhile are rarely easy.
Once I determined my priorities, it was time to get an action plan in place.
#2. Plan
I love the Bible’s relevant advice in Luke 14:28, where Jesus says, “For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?” This verse most certainly applies to the time required to accomplish a goal. When planning my day or week, I mark out time to work on my dream. It is non-negotiable, like a dental appointment. During that time, I block out all other distractions. The practical aspect of this is easier said than done. I’m fortunate now because my daughters are more self-sufficient. I can give them their assignments to work on independently during my work time.
As mentioned before, I try to get up a couple of hours ahead of my children. I also plan at least three afternoons a week (2 hour sessions) to work strictly on creating art. This is not paperwork, writing or social media. This has helped me to be more productive. I schedule the other tasks for early in the morning or later in the evening, when natural light is not needed.
Maybe the best time for you is during your child’s naptime. Or maybe you schedule two evenings of work time while your spouse takes charge of the household. Be creative, where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Planning your work is crucial. Next is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak: putting the plan into action. A plan unworked is just a nice wish list.
#3. Break it down
You’re familiar with the saying, “How do you eat an elephant?” Yes, one bite at a time. And it’s the same for goals. One thing I have done that has helped me organize my time more effectively, is to categorize my list of actions into time periods. For instance, it takes me 15 minutes to create a post for Facebook or Instagram, 30 minutes to edit photos or practice calligraphy and an hour or more for painting or drawing. So, now if I have 15 minutes to spare before I need to make dinner I can quickly do an action item on the 15 minute list and save the longer projects for the appointments I’ve made with myself.
Another gamechanger for me was writing down my goals and the plans for reaching them. Seeing them every day helps to organize my thoughts and motivate me to get to work. Next, is another way that has helped me with my planning.
#4. Work backwards
This one may sound funny, but it’s simple and it works. I decide how many art pieces I want to complete in a year. Knowing that number and how long on average it takes me to complete a work, I’m able to know how many hours each week I need to dedicate to the task in order to reach my goal. This year, one of my goals is to complete 50 watercolor paintings in 2021. In order to do this, I need to finish at least one watercolor painting each week.
I use this same strategy to plan lessons each year for our homeschool. After deciding on curriculum for each subject I break down each plan by week or term. For example, we recently read The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien for literature. There are 19 chapters, so I assigned one chapter each week for 19 weeks with the 20thweek for a Hobbit celebration, which included watching the film. Other books I may assign by page number if I want to finish the book within a different timeframe than chapters allow.
#5. One thing a day
This approach has been key for me. If I can accomplish at least one thing each day toward my goal, it sets a pattern and a mindset of achievement. It has made it easier and easier for me to make working my dream a daily habit. But more importantly, I feel like I am moving forward and truly pursuing my dream, even if it is one small step at a time. Each small step raises me closer to making my dream a reality. Again, it’s back to “eating the elephant.”
Hopefully, some of these suggestions will help you in crafting your own plan of success. Do you have tips that have helped you in achieving your goals? I’d love to hear them!
Comments