...and not let it kill your productivity! Dealing with procrastination as an artist can feel really defeating. It's like, 'I love what I do, so why is it so hard to make myself do it?!'
Oftentimes we tend to procrastinate when the task at hand seems either really boring, or scarily daunting, so today I'm going to give you some real tips you can start applying to your own art and art biz practice to not only be more productive, but to give yourself a little self-care in the process.
Don’t let yourself live like this hilarious quote… get good at LIMITING your procrastination :)
“Do I struggle with procrastination? Nope I am really good at it.”
Tips for dealing with procrastination as an artist include:
Listen to your body and give yourself permission for a little downtime before getting right to work. Sometimes we can procrastinate because we are tired and our brains just don’t feel like functioning at full throttle so it will make us lethargic and prone to watching or scrolling because those are sedentary, mind-numbing activities. If you really need to, take a 20-30 minute nap first and then you’ll feel refreshed to work.
Conversely, maybe a 20-30 walk will help you wake up a bit more. Getting your blood flowing and your body moving with some deep breaths of fresh air is an excellent way to wake up - and don’t miss this opportunity for brainstorming! You’re much better off saving the music for later to use this refreshing time at hand to think about, plan, and get inspired for your next project.
Get rid of visual distractions. Put away anything like games or toys, or even laundry or other chores that make it too easy to walk away from some of the more boring tasks we have to do for our small businesses. Sometimes even leaving your house with your laptop to sit at a coffee shop or park bench is a fantastic way to give yourself only the one task at hand to deal with - this is a trick I use often to help me concentrate on writing for blogs, newsletters, and emails.
Learn to tell the difference between educating yourself and procrastinating. It can be easy to watch a million YouTube videos or take a million classes, but at a certain point you need to go ahead and get your hands dirty. The best way to learn is by hands-on practice, so in life, in general, you should never stop learning. However don’t let instruction take the place of actual application.
Write a list! Have a list of what you need to get done, then break it into smaller, more manageable tasks that you list out on your daily planner. (Check out the video for tips on how I use a list to turn ginormous daunting projects into bite-size pieces that are far less intimidating to complete.
Do the easy small tasks that you can first. The momentum of checking things off the list will encourage you to keep going. Always realize that any big task can be broken down into much smaller steps
Break your work time into small manageable chunks. Sometimes I set a timer for only 45 minutes and give myself a 20 minute break after that much work. Surprisingly two or three sessions like this in a day will yield far greater work than you could have imagined!
Sometimes it helps to have a goal written up someplace where you will see it all of the time. Attaching something to your cork board or a piece of painters tape across the top of your laptop reminding you of your biggest goal can be a huge inspiration in the fight against procrastination.
Let me know in the comments here or on YouTube if you would be interested in a video about how to effectively write and manage your ‘To Do’ list!
Resources:
Yes, this Puma Skull 3D oil painting is for sale here.
4.11.2021
