Creative Time Management for Artists: Skills and Strategies
- Leia Emeera
- Jul 12, 2024
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 2
Time management for creative people and artists could be one of the challenging tasks for some. Moreover, this phrase looks corporate-sounding in the creative world, where freedom and creativity are essential in the process. Even though there are a lot of books dedicated to time management, guides tailored specifically to creative time management and time management for creative people are not that easy to find.
However, good strategies for creative time management can have a better impact on the overall project management—in finishing projects on time and having peace of mind. So how can you work on time management as an artist? Read more in this article.
Jump to:
Why is Time Management Important for Successful Project Management?
Time management impacts the quality and cost of a project. Broadly, it helps to ensure timely completion and reduces wastage. More specifically, creative time management can also save you from a lot of headaches—when you have a secure timeline and you follow it with discipline, you’re a lot more likely to be less stressed and anxious—which could positively impact the quality of produced art.
Top 3 Skills Needed for Creative Time Management
Skill #1 - Organisation: The First Step
Staying organised could include physical factors, like a clean desk, or could involve digital factors, like having one place where all your work and tasks are noted down and stored. Having a clear overview of your creative assignments is important for effective time management and overall project management.
It’s undoubtedly more difficult to accurately predict how long a piece of art will take to complete, in comparison to something more straightforward like sending emails. Moreover, it’s even more cumbersome if your thoughts and notes are a mess.
Here are a couple of practices we can start doing today to organise better:
1. Clean up your working desk. Decluttering and reordering your art supplies and tools will reduce distractions and open up space for your work to invite more creative energy and help you focus.
2. Consider your digital spaces as well. Use a project management tool to help you with organising. For example, TESSR is a tool designed for artists and animators where you can upload all your projects in a specific hierarchy designed for animation studios. For optimal organisation, TESSR project management software will help you arrange your creative tasks through the built-in order. If need be, you have the option to make “Playlists” to create custom playlists or recommended ones for your scenes.
Skill #2 Prioritisation Techniques for a Successful Project
Once you’ve organised your workplace and your tasks, it’s time to move to prioritisation. There are many ways to do so, and it should be done based on your preference. One of the ways is using TESSR project management tools, in which you can use the colour-coded labels to sort your priorities.
Prioritising tasks is an important step in time management, as it helps you properly plan a timeline and have a clearer overview of your work. If you look at all tasks with equal importance, you’ll overwhelm yourself and feel burnout—thus delaying the whole process.
There are different methods of prioritisation that you can research then choose what is best based on your personal preference, such as ABCDE or Eat the Frog. However, the foundation of this prioritisation exercise tends to come down to two (2) things.
Importance: Weigh the importance of certain tasks. Smaller, less critical tasks can be put aside. Save your time and energy on what matters most in the present moment.
Deadline or Target Time: Set up deadlines for all tasks on your plate to have successful project management. Project management tools could help you lay this out in an organised manner. TESSR, project management software for artists, for example, allows the designation of due dates to find out what needs the most of your attention.
Skill #3 Goal setting
To aim for the overall project success, set milestones for yourself to track your progress and performance. It mitigates the risk of large mistakes or at least helps you catch them in time. Make sure your goals are specific and relevant to your project.
Within the context of time management for creative people, goal setting can help you establish both short-term and long-term goals—clarity can help you gain a better sense of purpose and minimize distractions. These two are key factors of creative time management and p.s., this helps with staying motivated too.
How do I start goal setting?
Take time to reconsider what your creative goals are, as an artist. Reconnect with your inner artistic intentions and break them down into smaller, achievable, and actionable goals.
A project management software like TESSR can aid in this area, especially when it can visualise your progress and how close you are to your goals. For example, TESSR app’s feature, “Woohoo”, allows the progress of a project to be tracked through a doughnut chart. Therefore, you’re able to set measurable goals with this data.
Creative Time Management Strategies for Creative People
Prioritise ‘important but not urgent’ type of work
In the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey classifies work tasks based on their importance and urgency. Most people spend too much time on tasks that fall under the category of urgent and important, often rushing to solve emergencies or responding to ad-hoc tasks that arise at short notice. However, this can lead to endless overtime to meet deadlines.
Covey's solution is to prioritise work that falls under the category of important but not urgent. This can be challenging at times, but by doing so, you are making progress toward your own goals rather than simply reacting to urgent tasks as they arise.
Start your day by working on your own projects first, even if only for an hour or two, before tackling important and urgent tasks. This creative time management strategy allows you to make steady progress on your goals while still addressing pressing matters when needed. As a result, you'll feel more satisfied with your accomplishments and overall progress.
Use time blocking to help you focus on your projects
Your time is limited, and so are your energy and focus. Therefore, you need to manage all three rather than working only on time management. In maintaining laser focus and getting the work done while staying creative, you can try to identify your most creative time of the day. Being aware of your golden hours can help you to let your creative juice flow. For example, you can start your day earlier, list down your priorities for the day, and start doing tasks that you can complete before external interruptions come.
Once you are aware of your golden hours, you also need to nurture the right state of mind. Start by finding a suitable workspace, be it in the office, your home office, or even a spot in your favourite coffee shop, where you can block time and focus on your creative work. If you are in the office, set the "Do Not Disturb" sign on your desk or working app to let others know that you need uninterrupted time.
Manage distractions to protect your time
Social media and notifications are the biggest distractions that artists and creators often face. The only way to eliminate this is to create a distraction-free zone and focus on your creative work. Turn off notifications during work and use noise-cancelling headphones so you can have full concentration.
If you need help, there are many apps you can utilise to block those distractions and protect your work time. Try Freedom and StayFocusd to block sites that can distract your working time.
Use project management tools to help you stay organised and productive
Project management is the implementation of a carefully thought-out project plan that involves the supervision of funds, time, and resources. In the context of a creative project, this includes prioritising the most important tasks and setting goals.
TESSR project management software could help you with time management strategy by helping you collaborate and communicate better with your team members. In our latest Review v2 feature, you can annotate and assign tasks to the right members, thus minimising back-and-forth communication.
Moreover, with TESSR Woohoo, you can look for a quick overview of how far you are from your goal or target on each project or track your team's progress. So, you can manage your time management accordingly by setting deadlines to avoid burnout.
Conclusion
Time management for creative professionals and artists is an essential factor in good planning. Once this practice becomes a part of artists' daily routine, it allows artists to have more room for both time and energy to maintain their creative health.
We hope this has helped you gain a better grasp on how to personally manage your time and, in turn, your projects. However, there is still more to project management, so stay tuned. TESSR will be back with a few more pointers on how to become your project manager.
Author Bio
From Malaysia, Leia Emeera is a writer at TESSR, and a published author. She has been putting pen to paper ever since she learned how to, and has an anthology to her name, titled 'Ten'. Leia loves music, games, and her beloved Labrador retriever, George. She aims to further her studies in English Literature and Creative Writing the moment her gap year ends. 'Till then, you will find her sitting behind a desk, writing with TESSR.
Connect with her on LinkedIn: Leia Emeera
Comments