5 Best Time Management Skills for Artists

It’s often tough to describe what a full-time art career is, or who a full-time artist is. A rough description of a full-time artist would be if you’re not working on any other job and all of your professional efforts are concentrated on art and other art-related tasks.

Not all artists start off in their careers as full-time artists. There’s always a transition from either a different professional field or student life to a part-time and eventually full-time art career. It’s worth noting that artistic talent alone does not guarantee a successful full-time art career.

The Importance of Time Management for Artists

Indeed, if you don’t have the right time management skills, you might never get to make that transition to a proper career in the field of art. Maybe you’re an underachieving artist who’s frustrated with the many months wasted without completing a single painting, or you’re an overachiever who’s burning themselves out creating a new piece every day. That is why developing your time management skills will make your life much easier.

Knowing how to utilize the 24 hours will go a long way in helping you escape the stresses of an art career. Not only that, it enables you to create art productively while still having time for leisure and rest. Plus, this also allows your mind to be inspired by the world around you. 

Managing your day as an artist often seems like a Catch-22. The more time you spend creating art, the less time you have to rest your mind and gain inspiration. That is why following the best time management skills is so crucial for artists.

On the other hand, if you spend too much time in search of inspiration, you won’t have any completed artwork to sell and make a living from. The solution lies in maintaining a balance.

What Are the Best Time Management Skills for an Artist?

Here are the 5 best time management skills for artists that will help in creating an amazing work-life balance for a successful art career.

1. Allocate a Fixed Amount of Time for Art Everyday

Before you start reading the first time management tip, please understand that we are strictly not talking about a timetable. We are fully anti-timetable and believe that an artist should have the liberty to spend their day however they like without being bound like a slave to the clock.

However, for productivity purposes, you’re advised to decide the amount of time you want to spend daily in your studio, creating art. This does not have to be a strict rule. It’s a general guideline to help you develop consistency in your art career.

You could, for example, decide that you need to paint for at least two hours a day to reach your goals. You can decide a time of the day that is best for painting. Dividing your day as such can help you a great deal in making substantial progress in your art career.

Don’t forget to set aside some time for yourself. Allocate an hour or half that you want to spend exercising, doing yoga, or whatever you like to do for self-care. This will help in keeping your mind and body in good condition.

When an individual enters their professional art career, this is one of those best time management skills that are highly beneficial for artists when practiced daily. You will learn to allocate proper time to the different tasks an artist must perform to be successful.

Apart from creating art, you must spend adequate time growing your artist brand online and across art galleries in your city to develop your business.

2. Use a Task Management App

To-do lists and sticky notes are still excellent ways to stay on top of deadlines. This way you can track all of your pending tasks. On the other hand, technology has made task and time management even easier.

There are different management apps you can install on your phone to get the most out of your day. These apps have great time tracking and reminder tools and will keep you updated with all your upcoming tasks.

Using a task management app will keep you on top of your tasks, never let you miss a deadline, and give you a sense of satisfaction when you finally hit that ‘complete’ button. Besides tracking time, certain management apps also help you identify areas of distraction that affect your everyday productivity.

3. Respect Your Art

Successful artists always treat their art as the most important thing in the world. It’s true that you’re completely free to do whatever you want with your art. However, you must give it the time it needs to succeed as a professional artist.

This means giving your art your full attention while you work on it and saying no to all distractions. Your art is your business and you’re your own boss. Don’t let trivial distractions take your attention away while you’re trying to paint.

Creating art, more specifically, creating beautiful art requires undisturbed concentration and a streamlined thought process. Design your art studio in a way so that there are no distractions when you work. For example, you can transform your living room into an art studio that’s free from all distractions.

4. Capitalize on the Early Mornings

The early bird takes the worm. It’s no doubt that early morning is when our brains are programmed to work the fastest. You can manage to accomplish great feats if you develop the habit of working early.

An artist needs all the creativity they can gather to create an impressive piece of art. Make sure you’re working around the time you’re most creative, in other words, early morning. This is also the time you can focus on your art without facing any distractions. 

Moreover, if you start your day doing what you love, you’ve already gotten an excellent, uplifting head start. This is an especially great tip for part-time artists who have to manage another job for the rest of the day. 

Accomplishing your artistic goals before the rest of the world starts their day is an absolutely great feeling. Plus, developing the habit of working early can put you years ahead in your art career.

5. Don’t Forget to Wrap Up and Relax

One of the most common problems with professional artists and other freelancers is that they don’t have a set work and non-work time in their day. As an artist, you might see yourself working, managing your professional social media handles, or updating your online art gallery portfolios all day.

You must understand that work is only meant to be done for a part of your day. The rest of the day is there to catch up on other aspects of life, spend time with family, and rest.

Decide a time to pursue your art, and work diligently during that time. Allow nothing to distract you so you can get the maximum amount of work done. But once that time is over, wrap up your work and enter the relax mode. Relaxing and de-stressing are absolutely crucial for you. After your work is done, you should be completely free to do whatever you feel like.

Best Time Management Skills for Artists – Conclusion

Time management is crucial to success no matter what line of work you are in. This couldn’t be truer when it comes to artists. This is because you have to do a lot more than just create beautiful art to be a successful artist.

We hope these great tips will prove useful for you so you can achieve all you want in your art career while having a healthy and positive relationship with it.