I spend an average of 8.2 hours per day on social media. (My phone alerts me to this fact every week.) I tell you this so you’ll realize I converse with artists, literally, all day, every day. Interacting with over 119,000 followers is part of my job; and it’s truly my pleasure to do it.
One topic that comes up again and again is time management. We Creatives suffer from, what my daughter calls, Type A/B Syndrome. Type A’s are often pragmatic, driven, and disciplined. Type B’s are often dreamy, flexible, and prone to procrastination. That duality gets in the way of satisfaction when one tendency overtakes the other.
My Type A side defines satisfaction as a job completed. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just done. My Type B side wants the piece to be exactly as I envisioned it, even if it gets in the way of completing the piece, possibly forever. Here is the method I use for finding balance.
Quick history: In my second year of claying, I went to a class by The Wonderful Christi Friesen. Meeting her and feeling the joy she exuded was a revelation to me. I decided then and there I wanted a career in crafting. I asked Christi what it took to accomplish that. She generously gave me a verbal list of the steps I should take to reach that goal*. But the most important advice she gave me was, “spend as much time on business as you spend on crafting”. Mind blown! It never dawned on me to structure my time that way. Of course, it varies for each of us. “Business” might be creating and maintaining a FaceBook group, or posting every day to Instagram, or writing and photographing tutorials, or answering Youtube comments, or doing the many tasks required to sell at Craft Fairs. The “Crafting” side includes maintaining the proper supplies, organizing your work space, designing your projects and, YES, finishing your pieces.
One method of balancing your time may be alternating days, for example: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays-Crafting. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, taking care of business. Here’s my method: Every Monday through Saturday, from 9am to 1pm, I do business tasks. After lunch (my fave meal of the day) I reward myself with crafting until I tire out - about 6pm. I do social media in between all tasks seven days a week.
I know that not everyone wants to be a full-time crafter; but, for those who do, I can tell you it’s pretty satisfying. *Here is Christi’s List for Success. Thanks, Christi.
- Make something every day.
- Interact in online clay groups.
- Post pictures daily.
- Enter contests.
