Monday, October 31, 2011

Scheduling Studio Time?

It's Monday morning, and it is also the start of a new practice. From now on, Monday mornings from 7:00 am until 11:00 am will be Fiber Nation mornings for me in the studio. It will be scheduled time to work on the blog; writing, videos, research, etc.

This is much different than I've always worked in the past. I'm not 100% good at it yet either; for example before opening Pages I cleaned up some paints laying around, moved some furniture and organized some fabrics. Fear of blank page, fear of being "scheduled".

One of the things I am discovering is that my lack of a true schedule is hurting my progress as an artist. I'm hoping Monday mornings will now be a good start to the remainder of the week. Of course, each day can't be scheduled like this; I now attend and host several meetings a month between SAQA and the Contemporary Quilters group I am in. (And I must be insane that I'm thinking about joining SDA!)

Perhaps part of my Monday mornings should be allocated to sitting down with my day planner book and scheduling in studio times dedicated to just being in here. Whether I spend that time cleaning or creating, just as long as I'm in here. Present.

Truth be told, I have gotten up a zillion times already to clean bit and pieces in the studio. (It's a mess, what's new?) I've also made tea. Oh, and started laundry. One benefit (drawback?) to the studio location, is that it is immediately next to the laundry room, making it very (in)convenient to do laundry.

How do you make time for the studio/sewing/creating? Do you schedule it into your week? Do you "get there if you get there"? Leave a comment and share how you deal with getting your creative time in.

5 comments:

  1. Stephanie, I have just as hard a time as you with my scheduling. I'm more of a morning person, I don't work outside the home and only have 2 1/2 to 3 hours after getting up before my husband gets home from his job (he works nights). In that length of time, I always get distracted. Always the dishes, laundry, etc. get my attention. Then the phone rings too much,(I don't always answer it) and before I know it it's 10:30 or 11 AM and I have to drop everything and get dinner for my husband who gets home about 12 or so. I admit that I spend too much time on the internet and there goes my time to create. And of course, there are always relatives demanding attention. Honestly sometimes I feel like a hamster on wheel. So my answer to your query is that I create when I 'steal' the time back. Thus I find it is really hard to get motivated and inspired.

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  2. I work full time at a Monday to Friday job so my quilting time is Saturday (amidst laundry, house cleaning, etc.!)

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  3. Quilting has been a priority for me for the last 25 years. I do my planning in the bath- so when I get out I know exactly what I want to do- it does not realize always- life get in the way, but at least it is most important every day.

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  4. Stepanie,
    I'm on the internet way too much and in front of the boob tube. I can see my studio from where I'm sitting. First thing is to clean it and then move it to my longarm studio. I think one will work better than two, don't you?

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  5. I'm reading "I'd rather be in The studio" and she recommends having your studio and office space be in the same room if possible. It helps make sure you don't neglect either side of your business. :)

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