As artists, we often find ourselves walking a tightrope between our passion for creating and the demands of running a business. It’s a delicate balance that many of us struggle with, and one that truly needs our attention if we want to sustain a successful and fulfilling art career.

In the early days, I struggled a lot with this—juggling a day job, small children, and an art side hustle. It was a seesaw of guilt! If I focused too much on making art, I felt guilty for neglecting the business side, and if I concentrated on the business, I felt guilty for not creating enough art. Can you relate?

Let’s get real for a moment—I don’t believe this challenge is something you can “fix” once and for all. It’s likely to resurface throughout your art career. However, through my own journey, I’ve discovered some tools that can make a significant difference.

Balancing the creative process with the business side of things is crucial because both are essential to not just sustaining, but also growing your art practice. My goal is to help you find a system that works for you, so you can truly enjoy and have success in the creative lifestyle you love.

My Top 3 Time Management Tips

Prioritise

Task prioritisation is hugely important! Running off an endless to-do list is a recipe for stress and frustration because you never reach the end! Spend some time identifying the most important activities in both the art and business aspects of your art career. I recommend doing this every day and writing down just three tasks that you will complete that day. Either choose the items that will “move the needle” (bring results) or use a method like the Eisenhower Matrix (rate by importance and urgency) to categorise tasks.

Time Blocking

Time blocking is another tool that will really help you live the creative lifestyle you want and reduce the guilt and overwhelm. Look at your weekly calendar and dedicate specific times to your art and business tasks. Start small, maybe blocking out just an hour for business tasks each day, and grow from there. Complex, over-designed systems do not work from the get-go. They need to evolve. Start small!

Consistency Over Perfection

Remember, consistency is key!!! Small, regular steps in managing your business can lead to big results, even if they feel slow at first. Often we overestimate what we can do in short amounts of time and underestimate what we can achieve over longer periods. So, keep moving forward with consistent, small steps, and you will be amazed!

Lastly, believe in yourself!  A mantra I’ve been discussing a lot lately is that when you have your own business, you are the boss! You get to call the shots, which means you can design your art business your way. If you want to spend more time on art than business, you can do that. If you prefer to focus on the business side only during school holidays, that’s entirely up to you. You get to decide the balance that feels right for YOU.

Stay creative and keep believing in the possibilities—because anything is possible!

If you’re looking for more tips and support to help you thrive as an artist, be sure to subscribe to my email list. You’ll receive regular advice and inspiration to help you balance the creative and business sides of your art career. 

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