Time Management & Organization
featuring words from Randy Sexton
As an artist, we wear so many hats. Some artists might have a shipping or advertising department. But, most commonly, artists are on their own in every department. It is an incredible amount of work to be a full-time artist (not to put fear in anyone's hearts, you can still do it!) and you do have to be on top of things. Sometimes, Randy would get into his studio at 9 in the morning and does not leave until 7 at night. Some days he focuses on shipping, other times his website. There is always something to prioritize. Randy has to manage his time on a daily schedule and figure out when he can even squeeze in painting time! Being organized is extremely useful to creative occupations like painting. Randy used an app called “To-do” that helps with scheduling and organizing what tasks he needs to get done. Then, he indicates what type of time frame he has for those certain tasks. It gives you alerts that help you stay on track.
The more you are out there doing things, the more demands on your own time and the more challenging it is to balance different parts of your life. Randy tries to accomplish and finish certain things that he has set up for himself, like shipping paintings out to be framed. It could be this, or teaching a workshop, where he knows he has to get everything together in time. You can’t paint 24/7, it just doesn’t work. Sometimes you need time away to reboot your system. his helps our creative process. Doing other things, even if they are not-so-fun tasks, helps you build up to that point where you are excited to get to paint once you are done.
“ You can’t paint 24/7, it just doesn’t work. Sometimes you need time away to reboot your system.”
Some people are not morning people and prefer to work at night, so you have to find the rhythm that works for you. Being self-employed is nice in its ways, but you do need to be able to manage time. You do have the luxury of scheduling your own life, but you do have to get the work done. Once you start putting stuff off, it begins to snowball. When Randy did have more of a regular 9-5 job when he was younger, it just wore him down. It wasn’t meant for him. He looked forward to the times he was able to paint more and finally turned it into his full-time job.
Want more tips like this from Randy?
Find more details on Randy’s self- study course, “From Seen to Scene” Click to find out more:
Check out Randy’s video download package, “Let Your Brush Sing! How to Push Paint to the Edge,” or his F R E E webinar to start off:
To learn more about the many hats we wear as artists, listen to Gabor and Randy on the Concept to Canvas podcast here.