entrepreneurs are a special breed
karen klucowicz • October 27, 2020
the time management and priorities battle
My love of art, teaching, sharing, and painting inspired me to establish studio k2. With that comes a host of requirements to get the word out that we are here to support the arts, grow the industry, offer relevant services to companies for team-development and individuals to experience art. The effort to communicate with our markets takes time and continual effort (as I’m sure many of you know!).
So I know I’m not the only one that has to juggle multiple priorities and still have a life but some days!!*#!! I’ve been looking at multiple planning tools, ideas and directions for managing those priorities and this is where I arrived - maybe it’ll bring a few ideas to you as well and feel free to share yours!
first! layout the main areas that have to be addressed
Often it is like a game of domino’s but I choose to think of it like playing snakes & ladders. And I think of it as a work-in-progress - maintaining flexibility and fluidity, commitment and honestly, most importantly — having fun! My priorities shift all of the time but the overall direction still leads to a common goal to “live the power of art” through sharing the experience of art with clients, collectors and my peers. So my main areas are: the admin side (yes art is a business and paperwork has to happen); my personal art (the one I’d love to give most time to but have to reign in on); the marketing & client care (advertising then delivering!). Can you break your priorities in to three major areas then tackle the management of them from there?
after you have a handle on that...7 ‘easy’ steps
scheduling (event & admin manager hat on)
1. determine a regular studio routine (I’m not the best at following routine and nothing presently dictates specific hour requirements, so this is going to be a big one for me!) . if you have this flexibility what influences it? For me, it’s personal enjoyment of particular times of day (I LOVE morning coffee & meditation time); my body clock and productivity energy levels in a day (high in the mornings [after coffee] and a resurgence of it in the evenings [typically I have to force myself to go to bed at a reasonable hour ie before 1am!]); and stay flexible to schedule meetings, host events and meet project deadlines.
2. establish weekly and monthly minimum requirements . hand in hand with my plan goals (and mental health requirements) as well as the safety and operating guidelines our studio has to follow during the pandemic, there is the learning curve connected to that in terms of technology and creative adaptation of our services, so it means that the time for these areas have created demands on time that were not previously accounted for but have to be accommodated. Entrepreneurs have to maintain flexibility to meet new and ongoing challenges! How many has our pandemic given to you?!
3. commit a number of hours in a day to meet the requirements that will benefit the studio, and ultimately my peer group and clients (I think the only one I’ll have difficulty enforcing is painting time . a hard stop time is not always possible when you’re in the flow of creating new art).
4. centralize my to-do lists . I am one of those people that have multiple lists, notes and arrows within those to signify change, additions etc. some tasks become perpetual so if I use one list maybe procrastination won’t happen (as much), I’ll have a sense of accomplishment, and goals will be attainable! Recently I met an artist that absolutely commits to one work of art at a time, while I can’t do that, it did make me realize that accomplishing a task is ideal to move forward so maybe I need them in smaller bites. idea! apply my event management skills to my overall to-do’s — that should work I’ve never had issues with time management when project managing! Is there some process that you undertake in a particular part of your business, that you can adapt to time manage your overall schedule?
environment (interior designer hat now on)
5. functional space . declutter my work areas ? not my style - I realize many must work in an organized fashion but I believe I work best (and it’s inevitable) in a state of organized chaos. I know where things are possibly due to being a visual artist - I can picture where things are whether it’s a list within a pile or a particular paint under a pile of paint tubes. If this is you - embrace it and don’t let the person with a one-file desk (or none as is apt to happen in our virtual worlds) dictate how your area looks and functions. However if you know you operate more efficiently and effectively with a clear area do it! On the other hand I do recognize that organizing ‘stuff’ is a skill and I draw on the talents of another to do that for areas I need better control in - storage, inventory, supplies... which assists me in being productive but doesn’t lay claim to my day-to-day work style.
6. your visual surround . this one is critical to me and I believe often neglected in many work areas. We are supposed to take eye breaks from the screen regularly so what does your line of vision include? I’m lucky I have windows where I’m working and a group show of art on the walls so my breaks are great! What can you do to make yours work to best advantage? If a window, great! if not, maybe bring an image to the area that gives you a visual distraction and rest spot for your eyes. If you’re surrounded by corporate imagery that doesn’t allow for your personal flare maybe you need to tuck a photo in a desk drawer or create a photo file/screen saver you can tap in to occasionally.
So I know I’m not the only one that has to juggle multiple priorities and still have a life but some days!!*#!! I’ve been looking at multiple planning tools, ideas and directions for managing those priorities and this is where I arrived - maybe it’ll bring a few ideas to you as well and feel free to share yours!
first! layout the main areas that have to be addressed
Often it is like a game of domino’s but I choose to think of it like playing snakes & ladders. And I think of it as a work-in-progress - maintaining flexibility and fluidity, commitment and honestly, most importantly — having fun! My priorities shift all of the time but the overall direction still leads to a common goal to “live the power of art” through sharing the experience of art with clients, collectors and my peers. So my main areas are: the admin side (yes art is a business and paperwork has to happen); my personal art (the one I’d love to give most time to but have to reign in on); the marketing & client care (advertising then delivering!). Can you break your priorities in to three major areas then tackle the management of them from there?
after you have a handle on that...7 ‘easy’ steps
scheduling (event & admin manager hat on)
1. determine a regular studio routine (I’m not the best at following routine and nothing presently dictates specific hour requirements, so this is going to be a big one for me!) . if you have this flexibility what influences it? For me, it’s personal enjoyment of particular times of day (I LOVE morning coffee & meditation time); my body clock and productivity energy levels in a day (high in the mornings [after coffee] and a resurgence of it in the evenings [typically I have to force myself to go to bed at a reasonable hour ie before 1am!]); and stay flexible to schedule meetings, host events and meet project deadlines.
2. establish weekly and monthly minimum requirements . hand in hand with my plan goals (and mental health requirements) as well as the safety and operating guidelines our studio has to follow during the pandemic, there is the learning curve connected to that in terms of technology and creative adaptation of our services, so it means that the time for these areas have created demands on time that were not previously accounted for but have to be accommodated. Entrepreneurs have to maintain flexibility to meet new and ongoing challenges! How many has our pandemic given to you?!
3. commit a number of hours in a day to meet the requirements that will benefit the studio, and ultimately my peer group and clients (I think the only one I’ll have difficulty enforcing is painting time . a hard stop time is not always possible when you’re in the flow of creating new art).
4. centralize my to-do lists . I am one of those people that have multiple lists, notes and arrows within those to signify change, additions etc. some tasks become perpetual so if I use one list maybe procrastination won’t happen (as much), I’ll have a sense of accomplishment, and goals will be attainable! Recently I met an artist that absolutely commits to one work of art at a time, while I can’t do that, it did make me realize that accomplishing a task is ideal to move forward so maybe I need them in smaller bites. idea! apply my event management skills to my overall to-do’s — that should work I’ve never had issues with time management when project managing! Is there some process that you undertake in a particular part of your business, that you can adapt to time manage your overall schedule?
environment (interior designer hat now on)
5. functional space . declutter my work areas ? not my style - I realize many must work in an organized fashion but I believe I work best (and it’s inevitable) in a state of organized chaos. I know where things are possibly due to being a visual artist - I can picture where things are whether it’s a list within a pile or a particular paint under a pile of paint tubes. If this is you - embrace it and don’t let the person with a one-file desk (or none as is apt to happen in our virtual worlds) dictate how your area looks and functions. However if you know you operate more efficiently and effectively with a clear area do it! On the other hand I do recognize that organizing ‘stuff’ is a skill and I draw on the talents of another to do that for areas I need better control in - storage, inventory, supplies... which assists me in being productive but doesn’t lay claim to my day-to-day work style.
6. your visual surround . this one is critical to me and I believe often neglected in many work areas. We are supposed to take eye breaks from the screen regularly so what does your line of vision include? I’m lucky I have windows where I’m working and a group show of art on the walls so my breaks are great! What can you do to make yours work to best advantage? If a window, great! if not, maybe bring an image to the area that gives you a visual distraction and rest spot for your eyes. If you’re surrounded by corporate imagery that doesn’t allow for your personal flare maybe you need to tuck a photo in a desk drawer or create a photo file/screen saver you can tap in to occasionally.
fun!
7. I love what I’m doing and I try to look at each task as leading to the ultimate goal of being happy, productive, making a living and aiding in the support/growth and livings of other artists as well!
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