Last week I blogged about boosting your creativity. This week I want to focus on actually finding the time for all that boosting. Many of our team members have day jobs outside of their Etsy shops, families and everyday life to take care of before they can get down to working on new items. Here are some ideas for the time crunched:
Always keep a small project with you. Much of our time is spent waiting for buses, interviews, doctor's appointments, commercials to end while watching tv...and the list goes on. Use that time for mindless work. Perhaps punching holes onto handmade price tags or cutting loose threads off quilted items.
Keep your hands busy while you learn. One thing I have challenged myself to do is learn more about the business side of Etsy by checking out Etsy's virtual labs. Many of them last a half an hour or more. I use that time to listen and learn while doing handiwork. A tactile experience also improves your aural retention on the subject of a lecture. Knitters know this well!
Invest in a kitchen timer. If you are spending more than hour a day looking at blogs and tutorials for inspiration, you're probably daydreaming projects more than actually starting them. Before you get sucked in, set a timer and promise yourself you will walk away from the computer when it dings. Working on your own site doesn't count. That's work!
Pencil creative space into your schedule. As artistic people we like to wait for the mood to strike us. Too often though, it strikes in the middle of something. Find three solid hours in your week and isolate yourself from the world. Turn off your phone, drop the kids off at grandma's and shut the door. After awhile you will jones for that three hours and bust out the goods.
Comment, comment, comment! Where do you find the time?
I coulda sworn I left a comment on this last week! Anyway, great suggestions! I've got plenty of time for MAKING things, but feel like I have very little time to be CREATIVE. That may not make any sense, but since starting the listing a day challenge, I find that I am making lots more stuff, but it's all patterns and designs that I've created and tested in the past. I need to find more time to be creative and test out new things. Will work on incorporating your suggestions to find more time for that! Thanks!! Any suggestions for finding as balance between spending time on CREATIVITY and time on PRODUCTION?
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