Struggles of an Artist: Time

Life is full of struggles. It's not pessimistic or nihilistic, but it is realistic. Jesus Himself told us that we would face difficulties in life. In the same breath, He also told us to take heart, for He had overcome the world and its trials (John 16:33). That promise fills me with great hope and peace.

When I make these inspirational series, I want to always balance the two aspects of them: the struggle and the hope. Because yes, we do have to face hardships, trials, and storms in our life, but we can go through them with Jesus. I aim to do the same thing in this new post series.

I decided to, as the title suggests, discuss the struggles that we as artists deal with on what might even be a daily basis at times. I'm going to come out and say it right now: I don't have all the answers. But I will take care to always highlight and emphasize the dawn rather than the dark. I also will try to make it relatable to not only us creative folk, but also to the everyman.

With all that said, let's talk about the first struggle: time.

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Time is . . . a peculiar subject. We claim we understand it, and yet I don't think we fully grasp all of its ramifications. One could live his days in ignorance of the fact that our time here is finite. He could waste so many weeks, months, even years, and not ever do anything meaningful with his life. And when on his deathbed, he might regret all that he did--or rather, didn't do. But it would be too late.

I firmly believe that art is meaningful, whether it be writing, drawing, singing, or any of the other creative arts. All art tells a story to its audience, one that might speak to different people in different ways. So if anyone ever tells you that what you're doing as an artist is meaningless, do not listen to them. Someone like that is uncultured, in my personal opinion.

So if creating art is not wasting time, how does that element factor in? We say it's that we don't have enough time. I might come home from working 8-4 and decide that I want to write. However, I may have chores to do around the house, or I'll get distracted by Twitter as I'm waiting for my computer to boot up. So I'll say that I'll write after supper, but when the meal is finished and the dishes are washed, I may change my mind and not feel up to it. Or my phone could pull me away again and I end up watching an hour of YouTube. Then I'll decide that I don't have enough time and do whatever I feel like for the rest of the evening.

You may--or may not--be surprised to hear that not having "enough time" isn't the real culprit here. We are all given 24 hours in a day and we can choose how we use those hours. Nay, the actual problem is the mismanagement of our time.

Now we must change our perspective on the issue. Instead of asking, "How can I get more time?" you must ask yourself, "How can I use my time better?" I also strongly believe that a good number of our problems comes from us leaving time ill-managed. That's not to say that there aren't things outside of our control; all I'm saying is that we often mismanage things like our time, emotions, relationships, etc., and that can lead to difficulties in life.

If you've been a bad manager of your time thus far, don't feel stressed. At the risk of sounding like one of those cheesy self-help advocates, you can change your habits now, even if you've been stuck in them for years. It'll probably take much effort, but it's not impossible. "What's the solution?" you might be asking.

I learned in college that it's not so much about the specific solution for that specific problem as it is the principle that applies to a variety of problems. The principle in question is one I read in the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. In there, the author, Sean Covey, talks about fitting in your big rocks. To sum up what he said, imagine that you have different tasks or things that you need to and/or want to do. Those that are most important are big rocks, and the ones that are of lesser importance are small rocks. If you take a bucket and attempt to fit the small rocks in before the big rocks, you'll never be able to get all the big ones in. If you do the opposite, you will often find the bucket filled with nothing left over.

I developed my own personal plan for fitting in one of my biggest rocks--writing--into my day. During and after NaNo, I found that if I choose to set aside an hour or two of my time at home aside for writing--making it a priority and keeping my phone away for the time being--I am much more effective at actually writing. That way, I'll always get some writing done while still having time for other things in the evening, including some self-care. In fact, I think that'll be the next topic for this series.

This is where I'll end off. I hope this will be a beneficial series for me. Give me your opinion of it thus far! How do you fit writing into your day? What works best for you in managing your time? Share all your secrets and tips!