Planning to be Creative! #timemanagement

Hi There!

I read this article the other day: "The Pace of Productivity and How to Master your Creative Routine" (thanks to a friend of mine who shared it!). It was interesting and inspiring, and it gave me a big enough nudge to evaluate my daily habits.

I waste SO much time.

I don't really mean to waste time. I have come to the point where I only blog about stuff I truly feel is important, versus blogging because it's "Blogging Monday". I'm pretty good at not constantly nitpicking about housework, because even when the house is clean, there is still something to be done. I don't turn the television on during the day. I don't go out drinking for hours. I do well at only going on Facebook in between customers as I wait on tables, or while I shove cereal down my throat before work, or while in the car (but not driving, of course!). And I hardly ever play silly games on my smart phone. (If you're wondering, yes, I still have time for fun...)

My biggest problem?

The After-Work Time Suck.

That's what I'm naming it, now that I can easily recognize the monster that it is. Being a waitress most nights and a creative person most days, by the end of the day both my body and brains are tired and sore, and I just need to zone out. So my husband and I plop down on the couch and then it goes all down hill from there.

The worst part is that half of the time we aren't even watching our pre-recorded shows. We're mindlessly staring at whatever garbage happens to be on, even re-runs and stuff we don't care about. We're just too tired to go to bed. Go figure!

Normally this sort of thing wouldn't matter, since I am pretty useless at being creative or even receptive to new information at that time of day, but the late nights turn into even later mornings, where I am hitting the snooze button about fifteen times. And THAT is a waste of precious creative time!

Plus, I really do miss being able to sit and read a book for a bit just because I want to.

So I compiled some notes and put together a little schedule for myself. It's strict only during those important morning hours, and then after 11:00 am I am welcome to do whatever my little heart desires. Like chores. (Ha!) But it gives me those few extra morning hours of creative fun, a solid seven hours of sleep, and an enforced bed time... all of which I am in dire need.

Here is what it looks like:

Of course, this can all change at the drop of a hat when the schedule gets all messed up or someone goes on vacation or calls out sick. But this can be useful for the majority of my days. And, here, take one for yourself! Print it up and fill it out, and give this Creative Planning a shot!

I don't know if I will fail or succeed, but I'm certainly going to give it a try to see if these new habits stick! Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below! Do you schedule your creative time, and how well does it work for you?

As always, thanks for reading! :)
~Melanie

~*UPDATES*~
6/7/13
So far, it has been over a week, and EPIC FAIL.
But I will conquer this.
I will.
I will do it!!!
I will try again, fresh, starting tomorrow, June 8th.
Yes.
YES!
(Plus, I have begun to read "Manage Your Day-to-Day" and it is spurring me on!)

A Healthy Artist is a Happy Artist!

Hello!

Today I'm going to talk about something extremely important for artists, writers, and all other beings with bodies: OUR HEALTH.

YUM!

I'm not usually the one to be super healthy. Rather, I'm the type that will eat breakfast for dinner or pie for breakfast. And I know of some artists who live off chocolate and caffeinated beverages all day long in order to get their work done. Heck, I've done it too! But I have become more health conscious over the years as I... ahem... age. (Yeah, I know I'm young now, but that won't always be the case!) I've obtained a few health annoyances: back and shoulder pain, weird sinus headache things, some form of heartburn/GERD/tummy troubles, a big bottom from sitting and painting and writing... and I am afraid there will be more to come if I don't change some things.

I've often asked myself, Why books? Why art? What is it that keeps me doing it or why I need to do it? And I've come to the conclusion that it's because, firstly, I HAVE to do it. And secondly, I won't live forever. In order to live a happy life, I know I have to create art, otherwise I become stressed and miserable. Art just makes me happy. And I know that long after I have gone, if I'm lucky, some of my work might endure the ages. (At least I know it will passed down in the family, anyway.) Art makes me immortal, in some ways. It is proof that I have lived on this earth, and maybe even made a difference to somebody.

My goal in life as an artist is to create and make as much work as I can, simply because I love doing it, and I want to do more of it! I love continually improving on my talents, polishing stories until they shine, and learning new techniques that keep creating fun!

But if my health starts failing, and I'm in too much pain, or too tired, or too round to physically get up and move, then there is a problem! It's hard enough trying to manage freelancing hours in between an already busy life. Throw in (future) poor health into the mix and I'll never get anything done!

So, recently, my husband and I decided we need to take control of our lives and be healthier. It was the result of a little chain of events that started with buying a new juicer, which led to the discovery of this documentary called "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead," and has led us to aim to eating a plant-based diet. It's only been a week and I'm already feeling different, more alive... and I like where it is taking me.

I'm not going to get into further details about my diet here on my blog- this blog is about art and books, and will forever be- but I am going to share with you all the stuff that's helped me change the way I think about my health. I know most of my readers are artists and/or writers, and I want our community to be a strong and healthy one! I want my friends and my readers to last as long as I do! You will find the links below, and you shall do what you will with the information. If these links help even just ONE person, it will make me super happy! 

*lifts glass of juice* To your health! :D

~Melanie

On the stuff that goes into your body:
"Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" the documentary that started it all
"Forks Over Knives," another great documentary
"Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease," a good book to read
"The China Study," another book to read
"Food Matters," a documentary I'd like to see
John, from DiscountJuicers.com, shares his juicing secrets!
Raw Rebecca's account of how this changed her life.

On how sitting is bad, and how to keep that body moving, (even though our job consists of a lot of sitting!)
How Sitting Can Kill You (click on the tall, red picture)
Death by Desk Job, and how to fight it!
Sit At Your Peril!
Workout at Work
Free Fitness Workout Apps for the Office!

Set Up Your Standing Desk:
http://chrisoatley.com/is-your-workspace-ergonomic/
How to Determine Proper Desk Heights

(When I finally manage to create my Standing Studio, I will post it on my blog, and link to this post as well!)

Organization is Key... to Creativity!

Every once in a while, I get too antsy to do anything creative. 

There are too many things on my To-Do list that I can't concentrate even on one of them. I find myself flitting from project to project, opening one book as I remember I should be looking up something in another, starting one blog post while I think about the next blog post idea. 

This is a sure sign that I just need to sit and organize. Or stand and clean. 

So that's what I'm doing today. 

I'm cleaning and organizing my studio, so that when I'm ready to work I'll know where everything is. And yes, I'm nerdy enough to label it all. (I love you, P-Touch label maker!)

The piles on my desk, table, and floor (of papers, clippings and ideas) are being sorted through, tossed and filed. 

There has been a wall of junk clogging up my studio doorway and hallway. So I'm cleaning that up, too. I want creative energy to flow right in! (And it truly is hard for myself to get in right now, much less the creative energy.)

I'm sitting down with my master To-Do List and Goal sheets that I re-write every few months. (When I FIND them.) I keep them in a handy folder, and write them by hand and highlight important things in pretty colors. It is something I find calming, because once that is organized I know I won't forget anything. 

I've also got a lot of cleaning up to do on Chapter One of Little Raindrop. Yes, it's still in the sketchy stage, and I haven't done any final art. But I want to make sure it's clean and neat and ready for the book dummy that will need a good thorough critique prior to finishing. 

Organization is important, because when you're me and you get less than 24 hours a week to work on your current project, you need to streamline your work time. Organization keeps forgetful people like me in line and punctual. And when I know all of these things are being accomplished, that time is not being wasted, and that I'm not forgetting anything, organization makes something magical happen...

...I can sit, relax and create! *sigh*

Also, I get a great excuse to find nifty things at the Container Store online! Alas, if only they would open a shop here in Rhode Island. I LOVE that place. Love it. Looooove. 

Have fun organizing!
~Melanie

Success... Time Management... and The Balancing Act

Today I'd like to talk about Time Management Skills. This happens to be the area I am most... well, I'll just say it- struggling with at the moment. (And the result of my struggle is the "s" word we are not allowed to use in my family because it becomes our scapegoat.)

Drawing, painting, writing, reading, blogging, networking, emailing (and now Twittering), waitress-ing, wife-ing, exercising, living... how do I prioritize? When I'm on the treadmill, I think of how I should be painting instead. When I'm painting, I think of the other stuff I need to be doing. How to I fit it all into my day without biting my nails down to the bone, going prematurely white-haired, and losing myself in the process?

I guess my first step is to break it all down and find out what is really most important to me. You can skip on down to the end if you'd like, because I'm sure this little exercise will bore you to pieces, but I need to sort it all out in the open to find a solution. Once it is out there in cyberspace, I might feel more inclined to follow through with my solution because there are eyes that can see whether I fail or succeed. You are those eyes.

The Important Stuff:
1. Practice Makes Perfect: Draw, Write, and Read!
One of the recurring themes of this past weekend's NESCBWI Spring conference (#nescbwi11) was not only in almost every one's speech, but it also was the most important (and probably why it was in every one's speech. Actually, I'm sure it is why it was in every one's speech). It was said in multiple ways:

• "BIC... Butt in Chair," from Jane Yolen, Keynote Speaker
• "Follow Malcom Gladwell's 10,000-hour Rule," from "The Search for Singular Style" panel
• "Humor is not a shortcut to hard work," from Donna Gephart's "12 3/4 Ways to Tickle Young Readers' Funny Bones" workshop
• "Do the Work... Make your creative life your TOP priority," from Lin Oliver, Keynote Speaker
• "Read. Write. Read some more," from Mark Peter Hughes' imagination-sparking workshop
• "Success can take you years to achieve... but if you don't keep at it, you won't make it," from Harold Underdown's Keynote Speech

And here's another blogger's talk on the practice topic: http://ingridsnotes.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/butt-in-chair-put-in-the-hours/

2. Get Your Stuff Out There
At the conference we also talked about Social Networking, Twittering, Facebooking, and self-promoting. In particular, there was a workshop called "Improving Your Online Presence," and you can find the lecture here. And on the topic of social networking, what does a children's publisher expect from us?

3. Get Moving
And because we artists and writers are Sedentary Beings, let's not forget to get our hearts pumping and our butts moving! There is an article on Illustration Island "What I Wish I Knew When I Started," where someone says they wish they had gotten into the habit of exercising every day, because it gets harder as you get older to stay in shape. Health is very important to me- how else will I live to be a hundred and fifty so I can read to my great-great-grandchildren???

4. Spend Time With Family
With my rotten upside down schedule, it's hard to spend time with family and friends. Most people are just getting out of work when I clock-in to serve the world some delicious Chinese cuisine. I'm lucky because many of my friends and family visit me while I'm working, and sometimes we even get to have a nice conversation... but I'm still working and not totally there mentally so it isn't quality time.

5. Do Something... else
My new career is super fun! I love to draw, read and write! But sometimes it is also good to step outside of the box (or studio... or house) and just find something of another kind of fun to do. Go for a walk, watch a movie, take a drive, go on a date with Hubby. But I shouldn't chastise myself for taking a guilty pleasure when I do go out and have a bit of fun. It is Life after all, it's okay to do some living!

6. Write Lists
THIS part is by far my best quality. I am a professional list maker! I have a Short-Term Goal list, a Long-Term Goal list, a Blog Post Idea list, an Audio Books to Read list... the list goes on! The cool things about lists are that I forget less, and I even get to see my progress as I cross things off. And I can almost feel myself getting calmer as I write something new down on my Master List, because I know I won't be forgetting to do it!


7. Oh! I almost forgot... SLEEP!
Regardless of what time we get home from work (sometimes as late as 1:30 am!), I need to be sure to get eight hours of sleep. It isn't good to lose out on sleep- not for the mind or the body. So what if the public eye thinks ten o'clock is too late to get up? They should be seeing my art, not when I'm eating my breakfast. I need to let go of the guilt I put onto myself for not "sticking to the schedule." It just gives me heartburn to worry so much!

8. Savoring
There is this book, called Savor, which I've been trying to read (and have yet to finish) but at least I've got the general gist of it. The author explains and teaches us how to really live in the moment of what we are doing. Don't think about other things while you are doing something- don't even DO other things while you are doing something. If you are eating, focus on the thing you are eating. Don't watch tv and scarf it down. Really immerse yourself in that thing. So from now on, I'm going to do that. With everything that I do, I'm going to savor each moment, enjoy it for what it is, and not think about the other things I could or should be doing.

And What About that Evil, Time-Sucking Thing We Call the Internet?
Email, reading the "daily news" via Facebook or Twitter, you know... the path you end up on due to your self-promoting social networking? The one that takes five hours from your day? The one I am effectively adding to by writing this huge blog post? There is an article I found on this, so here it is: Getting Sucked Into the Internet. I think it's time I really put a stop to my tomfoolery, and to start focusing on the real work.

I'm sure there is plenty more I could add to the above list, (notice how I didn't include chores on there? I did too... I wonder if that's a bad thing?) but really, life doesn't work that way anyway. Weddings and birthdays and stuff just happens, but if I have a set of rules for myself, (really simple, easy rules), then I won't feel so much pressure when things go awry.

My New and Improved Goals:

• 30 minutes of cardio, five times per week, (or a total of 150 minutes in any combination)
• ONE finished illustration per week. Sketch all I want, but I need to follow through and paint at least one of them. Spot illustrations count. Illustration Friday helps.
• ONE blog post per week. Don't feel pressured to do more, just put the new idea on the list until after all my other stuff is done. Make Mondays my blog-posting days!
• Listening to audio books on the way to work = reading. I've got a forty-five minute commute, one way. Anything else I choose to pick up is just an added bonus! If I watch less television at night, I can whittle down my pile even faster.
• ONE writing session per week. Sit down and write. Blogging counts as writing, however I've got manuscripts to edit and stories to put down on paper. So my Special Writing Time should be committed to my stories, and nothing else. I'm working on how long that session should be...
• ONE relaxing and fun activity. What will it be? Should it be weekly? Do I have time for that? I guess I'll try it and see what happens!
• Make plans and visit with somebody, IN PERSON, not at work, TWICE a month. Only twice a month seems a bit lame, but I need to start somewhere. 
• Remember to SAVOR it all.
• As for the Time Sucker, the Internet... I will check my email briefly each morning to see if there is anything pertinent, and if there isn't, I will dutifully put away the Internet until I have accomplished some of the stuff on my list of goals. I can do all the Internet Dawdling I want on my phone when I'm on the go, and NOT while I am trying to get some work done. No Twitter or Facebook unless there is an actual message. I can post stuff for self-promotional reasons, but that will be all.
  
  AND! Drum roll, please...
• I'm taking a night off a week from work for the summer. No phone, no Internet, no tick-tock of the Mickey Mouse clock. Just me and blank paper in the studio for a few hours. I think this is going to help me quite a bit, at least for now. We'll see what happens when classes start up again in September.

Well! I think I'm feeling better already! In fact, I'm going to print my goals and stick them onto my studio door to remind me what I've promised myself. I'll keep you posted on how it's all turning out, and it would be super duper nice of you to share some of your own Time Management and Balancing tricks down below in the Comments box! 

Thanks for reading, and Happy Balancing! If things go as planned, I shall see you again next Monday! :D

Yes, Yes, You Need a Nest!

Not one made of straw and scraps, Silly! You need a place to yourself, where you can write and create to your heart's content! A place that inspires you, gives you room to breathe, where you can close the door on the rest of the world for just a few more minutes...

How do I know this? Because the books told me.

But how do I really, truly know this? Because I can't get anything done!

I look at the kitchen table, (my current studio space), covered in my artsy mess, and can't bring myself to sit at it and work. I would tell myself things like:  "It's too messy. The kitchen needs cleaning first. I really should vacuum. The house needs dusting before I can play. There's a good show/movie/nothing on, I'll just sit here on the couch and watch instead."

And in the meantime, the deadlines I have so kindly made for my book dummy are whoooshing by, and I am totally losing faith in myself.  Will I actually be able to meet a deadline I have created?  Will I be able to freelance and work under my own regime? I've been thinking hard about this, and I came to the conclusion:

Having my kitchen table be my place for creativity isn't so bad.  Having my kitchen table be my place for creativity while it's still in the kitchen...yeah, that's bad.

So, to my husband's dismay, yesterday I moved everything out of my spare/craft/storage room, including the queen bed set, and I moved everything back in again, including the kitchen table. Yes, I swapped a bed for a table! But what a difference this has made!

It is still a MESS, I'll give you that much.  But give me a few days to really tidy up, and I'll have a wonderful, cozy little nest for myself where I can preen my artsy feathers and give a hoot when I want to! I have no tv to distract me, no computer screen to brainwash me, ample lighting and space, a door that shuts, and all of my supplies are right there when I need them.

The best part is that I can wake up, cross the hall, and step right into my own office, pajamas, messy hair, morning breath and all! I can't WAIT to get to work!

Oh, and if you're worried about how we manage without a kitchen table...you know, patio tables work just as well for eating. Silly goose.

Do YOU Have an Elevator Speech?

For my homework this week I need to polish up on my elevator speech. An elevator speech is a summary or an introduction of yourself, stating who you are, what your business is all about, etc.

Why is it so important? Well, let's use my own situation as an example. I have a few stories I would like to get published, and in order to do so I need to have established some sort of a relationship with an editor. In order to meet an editor, I would have to do some social networking at conferences, gatherings, retreats, and other places where I would find those who work in the same field. Through this networking I will end up meeting someone, who knows someone else, and that someone else could be my ticket to gaining some sort of contact with the right people, or even the editor him/herself!

That's all fine and dandy, until you begin to talk to all these important people and realize you have nothing good to say, and you end up chatting about the weather. This kind of talk is not productive! You need a plan! Words of action!

And that is why YOU need an elevator speech!

(In case you've been wondering...it's called an elevator speech because it must be quick, just in case you find yourself in an elevator next to the President, and you might only have until the next floor to say the most vital of information. The guideline is about a minute.)

Some good things to include in your elevator speech, as we have learned through trial and error in class:

• This seems a bit obvious, but state your name, your business, and CLEARLY. Make them remember it!
  
  
• State what you are as if you are already it. Give your words conviction! (Don't say things like "I will be a children's book illustrator," or "I hope to..." You don't need to say what other job you are working at right now if you are in the middle of a career change: "I'm a server at Restaurant Q, but I want to be...")
  
  
• Show passion for what you do. This should happen around the time you do the next bullet, listed below:
  
  
• Say what project(s) you are currently working on. This shows the listener that you are actively working in your field, even if it isn't necessarily within the professional world. It doesn't matter that you don't actually have a job in that field, just show that you are doing. You don't need to graduate first to be able to design or create!
  
  
• Give a CALL TO ACTION! This is important! People have a natural tendency to want to help someone else. If they hear you are "looking for a position" or "if you know anyone who needs services like my own," then their minds begin to process the information and they might actually be able to help you. They might happen to be best friends with the person you are dying to work for!
  
  
• Have marketing materials handy at all times. You never know when an opportunity to hand out a business card will arise.

So with all this talk and tips, what does an elevator speech sound like? Here's mine so far, though I haven't perfected it just yet:

"Hello, my name is Melanie Linden Chan and I am an illustrator and author of children's books. My goal is to create books that teach children how to live in harmony with nature and with each other. I have a few stories that I am working on at the moment, and I am currently looking for a publisher who is willing to take my ideas and make them real. In the meantime, I am studying at the Rhode Island School of Design, where I am learning as much as I can about the world of children's books. If you know anyone who is interested in having their book illustrated, kindly pass on my information."

Hmmm. Well, it's not too bad, but I'm sure it needs some work! But that is the general idea of how an elevator speech should sound anyway. So give it a try, and get yourself one! I'll let you know how my speech goes in class!