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"The key is in not spending time but investing it" - Stephen R. Covey

Feel like you don't have time to make art? I say bull feathers! Research has shown that 40% of our time is being spent on unimportant tasks every day. 

We waste almost half of our life on unimportant tasks. Let that sink in. 

Stop viewing time you use for your art as an expense and call it what it truly is, an investment. Time spent on making art is an important investment in yourself, your mental well-being, and your growth as a creative being. 

Here are some proven ways to reclaim some of that 40% of time spent on unimportant tasks. Figure out how you can implement them and start freeing up your time to do the things you love! 

• Do a time audit- Track everything you do in a day over a period of 3-7 days. Write every task you do down and include the amount of time spent doing it. You want to account for every hour of your day. If you need to set hourly alarms to remind you to write down what you're doing then do it. I know that sounds tedious but do you want more time to create art or not? Ok then, get to tracking!

To help with your time audit, I've created a free guide with instructions on how to do a time audit, 5 daily audit pages, and an Eisenhower Matrix to help prioritize activities. Get it here:

• Prioritize- Once you have all of your activities tracked for a few days, then sort them into 4 categories. Need to do now, Need to do but can wait,  Delegate, and Do later or Eliminate all together. This is adapted from the Eisenhower Matrix, look it up to learn more about his method.
• Schedule- Once you have your activities sorted into the four categories, schedule the Need to do now and Need to do but can wait on your planner calendar. Delegate tasks that can be delegated. For example, instead of spending 2 hours grocery shopping, can you have them delivered? Can your kids do a few loads of laundry for you or clean the kitchen? Child labor is totally underused these days. (Joking! don't email me.) Eliminate tasks that are unimportant. I mean, really, do you NEED to binge-watch The Crown? 
• Batch Tasks- Set aside time to do similar tasks at once. This saves tons of time. Don't get it confused with multitasking. Multitasking has been shown to be less productive and involves doing several unrelated tasks at the same time. A batched task could be doing all errands in one trip instead of making several trips or unloading the dishwasher as you cook dinner.
• Get up an hour earlier- You would be surprised how much a single hour can impact your daily productivity. 
• Dedicate a day or block of hours- Designate a day of the week or a block of hours for art and art only. Make this time non-negotiable and don't allow anyone to disrupt it and don't you dare decide those dirty dishes in the sink are more important than your art! They'll still be there when you're done creating art. If worse comes to worst...use paper plates.
• Reduce Screen Time- Watching TV or mindlessly scrolling social media would definitely fit into the category Eliminate. At the very least cut back on the hours spent engaging in these two giant time sucks. You can even set your phone to limit the amount of time you spend on social media. 
• Get Organized- an organized schedule, home, and art space will save tons of time and energy.  Having things organized also calms your brain and streamlines your activities. 
• Accountability- Join an art class or art membership you have to attend at a specific time and day each week. This also gives you the opportunity to find other artists that can be accountability partners. You can keep each other on track or make art dates with each other. 
• Adjust to time available- Try keeping a travel art kit in your purse or a sketchbook and create while you're in the waiting room at the doctor's office, or while your traveling as a passenger. Make smaller art pieces that take less time. Do mini paintings while you wait on clothes to finish in the dryer. Find those little bits of time and put them to creative use!

Now start finding ways to implement these strategies, reclaim your time, and invest in yourself and your art!