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After reading the entry about “Managing the Natural Ups and Downs of your Workweek” on The Simple Dollar a few months back I’ve been paying attention to my own ups and downs. I’ve been working out how to build this into my day, and watching how my ups and downs work out. Here’s what I tried, and so far it works.

Mornings

I think clearer in the mornings, before I get involved in the chaos of the day. It’s also quieter in the mornings, so it seems to work out better for writing, and editing. I’ll try to focus on my writing first thing after I eat breakfast, alternating a bit with cleaning when my hands need a break. My mornings will basically look like this:

Edit bog draft, and post it.
Clean for 10 or 15 minutes.
Work on a fresh draft for something else.
Repeat as necessary

About 10:30 or 11:00AM it starts getting too chaotic to work on my writing more. On days when it’s not my turn to cook lunch, I’ll work on my knitting, while listening to a podcast. It worked out quite well today as I got about 6 rows on my knitting done between tending to the laundry.

Afternoons

In the afternoons I tend to be more inclined to paint, or draw. So I’ll focus on my artwork then, as well as brain storming ideas and jotting down outlines for entries. So there’s not really a rhythm to this time, as I tend to paint better wile not really focusing on anything time wise. The only real interruption that I normally have to worry about is supper.

Evening

Around 6 or 7 PM after supper I’m going to try to cut off computer time and wrap up anything that I absolutely have left and wind down for the evening. I want to be able to be off the computer by 8PM at the latest.

And over to you…

How do you roughly schedule your day?

I’ve been fighting with procrastinating the last couple of weeks our so, yesterday it finally got me.  Hence my not posting a blog entry up. I got quite a bit done yesterday in the way of other projects, such as the art desk, and NaNoWriMo, but nothing when it came to blogging. I started in the morning with full intention of writing first thing, then I let myself get sidetracked first thing into reading a PDF that I wanted to finish up. It was all downhill from there. I didn’t think again about blogging until it was time to shut down for bed!

I’m working on getting enough posts ahead so that I can take 1 day off for brainstorming new ideas during the week. That way I can work up drafts and let them sit until I need them. That will help immensely, as I won’t have to think up a new topic every single day. I’ll have some prewritten for days when my brain just doesn’t want to work!

Dealing when sidetracked happens….

I’ve found the best way to deal with being sidetracked after it happens, is to just do whatever you need to do at that moment. If it’s bed time, go to bed. Meal time, go get something to eat. That way you’re clearer headed to deal with the after effects of the pile up.  Of course this only works when there’s no deadline involved. (You should still get something to eat though, no point working on a completely empty stomach.) The only way to deal with those is to just dive right in and do the best that you can. It’s not going to be pretty, but at least whatever you’re working on is done and you made a valid effort to get it done.

The aftermath of getting sidetracked can leave ’scars’, and it’s hard to get moving again after you get sidetracked at times due to the shame involved. The disappointment from messing up, or failing, can sometimes lead to a bad round of the blues, worthlessness, etc. The only way to deal with it, is just get it over with and go on. It’s very hard to do that as you tend usually want to go an hide from the world after having been sidetracked… Unfortunately, in my experience, that always makes things harder to deal with. Sometimes though, prevention is the best cure.


Preventing Sidetrackeditus

Most of the preventative measures for sidetracked, are the same as the one for procrastination. One most of the time leads to another, so the same type of tools tend to prevent them both. To do lists, routines, timers, and memory tricks, are usually the best ways to avoid getting sidetracked.

Another thing I’ve found immensely useful is a notepad that is carried with me almost everywhere I go. It stays in my purse most of the time. If I’m trying to concentrate on something, and my mind wants to go somewhere else. I write down what’s bugging me to ‘get it out of my head’, so I can pay attention to what I need to be doing. It can backfire sometimes, like it did with that NaNoWriMo outline, but 90% of the time it’s helpful. The hard part is remembering to go back later and get all of your ideas out of the notepad. The best kind is usally a small one that fits in your pocket, it doesn’t matter what kind, as long as it works out well for you.

And over to you…

How do you prevent yourself from getting sidetracked when working on a project?

October is Paper Clutter month on FLYlady.net which means that a lot of the special mission to dos are centered around filing your papers, and organizing them. Which immediately got me to thinking about how this especially applies to artists. While we generally have some of the usual problems with unsorted mail stacked up, and other important things not filed away. We also have a special set of problems that come from being an artist.

1. Storage of clean, unused paper (or canvas).
2. Storage of works in progress
3. Storage of finished artwork.
4. Sketchbook Storage

Storage of Clean, Unused, paper (or canvas)

Most smaller art papers, and canvas, can be stood up or laid down upon a shelf. I do not recommend laying canvas flat if you think that there’s any possibility of someone laying a heavy object on top of it. A heavy object might stretch the fabric to the point it’s unusable. With paper pads heavy objects are not so much of a danger. Perhaps a small space on a bookshelf next to your art books would be a good spot. Or if you have enough a shelf of their own.

Larger canvases and papers pose a challenge due to their shear size. A friend of mine who used to paint 4 ft wide in oils and bigger used to store hers leaning up against the wall. For bigger flat papers, perhaps a large sized portfolio that you can lean up without worry of them folding, or curling up.

Boxes are always an option, but be careful which you chose. Corrugated cardboard, and boxes that are not acid free can leach acid into paper that was previously acid free. Although it won’t show up now, later on it will probably catch up with you, and your paper under your works will turn yellow. An after all the hard work that goes into our artwork, we definitely don’t want that to happen!

Storage of works in progress

Although we would love to get our artwork done in one sitting, it’s sometimes impossible to do so. Because it’s wet media and needs to dry so the colors won’t go to mud, or we simply have to take a break and go eat lunch. It tends to make us uneasy to leave our works in progress just laying out on a table, for some with little kids or pets it can be downright dangerous.

One of those fancy paper racks would be ideal, but most of us probably don’t have room for one (at least I don’t anyway). One possibility for paper type artwork could be some padded alligator clips, or maybe just clothes pins, over a rope or string hung on the wall. That way you have a ‘clothes line’ type setup for your artwork. Just make sure that it’s out of reach of kids, and pets, but not you.. ( Pet birds are a different matter because they can fly, we’ll get to them in a bit.)

For canvases perhaps a hook, or nail, on the wall that you can slide them over would be great. Or some place safe to leave them laying out flat. If you have to lay them flat, but are worried about your pet bird, or cat, getting into them. Perhaps you could have a big, strong, cardboard box that’s big enough to fit over the painting without touching the edges of it.


Storage of finished pieces

For Oils even though a piece is finished, does not mean that it’s dry. You have to be very careful of where you put them for a month or so after the last stroke of paint goes on, as drying times vary from color to color, and brand to brand. The safest option for oils is generally to hang them up somewhere. Even if you have to clear out a closet just to have room. Acrylic on canvas tends to dry quickly, but it is still safer to hang it up due to the nature of canvas being so easy to damage due to being poked or dropped.

For paper based paintings, storage can be simpler. For watercolors, colored pencils, and some acrylic paintings, a simple portfolio will do. Or perhaps a plastic storage container in a dry place. I keep my artwork in a plastic storage container in the floor of my clothes closet.

Note: Pastel and Charcoal users, I cannot offer any advice due to that I don’t use those media on a regular basis. If you have any suggestions for your fellow artists, please post them in the comments below.

Sketchbooks

For me the hardest thing to store has been sketches. I’ve ended up using 3 ring binders filled with prepunched acid free printer paper. I don’t have to worry about sheets comeing out as much as other types of sketchbooks. That way they’re all together in relitive order by date they where drawn.

And over to you…

How do you store your paper, and keep it organized? What media to you generally use?