For the last 5 days I have finally got around to using a time management tool that just involves a pen and paper (or a note on your smart phone). I have known about this for years but have never actually got around to doing it. Now that I have, I can report back that when I say \u2018I have no time, I am always rushing around\u2019 I know exactly where my time is spent. In my case I spent a lot of time in the kitchen cooking and eating. In fact I have spent over the last 5 days as much time cooking and eating (yes as stated I love food and my belly) as I looking at my emails, sending CV\u2019s out and organising the business of my creativity.\u00a0 I have also spent 3 times more time in organising the business of creativity than on the actual practice of my craft.<\/p>\n
So how do you do this? Well you could build a spreadsheet but that is way too anal and focused for me. I just grabbed an old A4 page a day diary and scribbled in old fashion pen what I did during the day. So I wrote the time I woke up, how long I hit the snooze button for, how long it took me to sort out breakfast and morning coffee, feeding the cat. During the day as I changed activities from getting on a tube to cooking again, to travel and time spent on Twitter I just jotted down the time. I suggest you try this for 2 weeks, I hate the idea of it but just in 5 days I am already seeing huge anomalies on where I think I spend my time and where I waste time. The snooze button and I have a committed 3 hour relationship over the last 5 days, far more than I spent practising my instruments or my voice outside of singing rehearsals, or indeed on working on text and scripts. I hope doing it for a further 9 days will show I am learning to use my precious time better. I have been using my 13.5 hours travel time well, but I am now getting super organised about taking work and scripts etc to read on the tube. I remember Clive Rowe, the fabulous West End star saying to me that he used to sit and go round and round the Circle line to learn a script as there were no distractions, he couldn\u2019t get on the phone or on email etc. So rather than getting upset about your time schedule, see where you can make small positive incremental changes.<\/p>\n AiTunes rating would really help other people find the podcast so if you have a moment I would really appreciate it Tracking Your Creative Progress<\/p>\n Here we also look at the\u00a0 weekly tracking where I encourage you to do an end of week think back on what has been done, produced, worked on, booked and paid for creatively. (I don\u2019t mean you are doing ‘creative accounting”!)\u00a0 Whether you are a full time painter or a 40 hours a week office administrator who sings on the side, this is to encourage you to keep creating and make the world a better place, one song, poem, piece of art at a time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I also have written a mini tracking tune for you to sing along to while you track.Time To Track by Marysia Trembecka<\/a> The following is what we need to track each week as a look back in brief, full explanations are in the podcast on Tracking<\/p>\n How many CV\u2019s and emails did you send out for creative work? If it is zero then don\u2019t feel guilty, just look at the coming week and endeavour to do better. Each week track these statistics and review the same day every week. Other posts you might want to read<\/p>\n Blog on 9 fun ways to come up with a great title for your show or event<\/a><\/p>\n A Morning Routine with Seven Ways to feel better, more beautiful and strong<\/a>
\nWas it perfect? No. However at the end of each day I added it up into the following\u00a0 rough categories<\/strong> and then after 5 days totalled the lot
\nTravelling
\nWork on my craft
\nGetting ready to go out
\nCooking\/eating
\nFaffing
\nCleaning\/feeding cat etc
\nEmails.CVs out. Printing scripts,
\nebay, twitter,
\nRunning
\nThe snooze button
\nBlog\/podcast time
\nSleep
\nActual time spent on looking at scripts
\nRehearsals and time actually in auditions
\nPhone Calls.<\/p>\n
\nLet me know what you learn.<\/p>\n
\nhttps:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/gb\/podcast\/love-your-creativity-podcast\/id633181477<\/p>\n
\nPlus I did a Podcast<\/a> in detail on tracking and its advantages.<\/p>\n
\nHow many creative jobs did you actually do, whether 8 shows a week, a gallery opening or a song in a children hospice?
\nHow many auditions and meetings for creative projects?
\nHow many classes and workshops did you do?
\nHow much practise done that week, how much each day?
\nHow much money made through your creative pursuits?
\nWhat marketing of your creative output did you do and what revenue generation plans put in place?
\nDid you learn or see anything new or worth exploring creatively?<\/p>\n
\nLove Your Creativity.com is dedicated to all creatives trying to make great work and make a living from it.<\/p>\n
\nPodcast on being strong and wrong<\/a>
\nHow to find the Katniss Everdeen inside of you<\/a><\/p>\n
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