So how has my first week of my new schedule been going? Pretty well overall, with some adjustments here and there. I’m experimenting with blocking out time to work on specific things and plan my ideal day.
Here’s what I’m trying to do:
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So how has it really been? My plan was to keep track of actual time day by day, but I’m terrible at that. So here’s a summary of the week. I emailed all of my current clients and let them know that I was going to be focusing on my art in the mornings and client work in the afternoon. That I’d respond to their emails and requests as soon as my morning in the studio was complete. I didn’t set specific times, because I know myself and although my “ideal day” as listed above has me starting at 8:30 am, that’s really never going to happen! Part of the reason I love my life is that I only set an alarm if I have a plane to catch. So those times adjust based on my sleep schedule. And usually I work well into the night, so I tend to sleep much later.
With one or two exceptions, I have managed to stick to the schedule of making my mornings about art. I used to try to do it in the opposite order and spend the mornings on client work and afternoons and evenings on art, but once I start working on someone else’s projects, I tend to not stop! I’ve been putting everyone else’s deadlines above mine for – well, basically forever. So with Monica’s urging, I switched it up. And as my friend and client, Kristin Williams of Ephemera Paducah said, “JAW (her businessman husband) swears by the proactive morning, reactive afternoon thing!” And it’s definitely the way to go! I let my clients know I’d respond to their emails in the afternoons and they could text me if it was an emergency. And really, unless your website is completely down, there aren’t very many design emergencies! So far nobody has had a problem with that.
The two times that I didn’t start my morning with art were because I spent the entire previous day on art and was behind in client work. So I broke my schedule commitment, but I still spent more than my allotted hours in the studio or on art-related activities. I have always bristled at being kept to a schedule, so I have to allow myself the flexibility to alter it when needed. So far it’s working out really well!