There's a romantic idea that artists are chaotic and disorganised. I'm organised as hell. I have to be. Systems are what give me the headspace to be creative.

1. Colour-block your week

I’d dabbled in Time Blocking for a few years, but I got serious in actually implementing it this year. I revisited Selina Barker's Project You and I’d highly recommend looking at her Time Blocking technique.

Essentially, give every category a colour (Clients, Creative work, Admin, Body, Mind, Social, Family) and spend half an hour on Sunday "painting" your week. It won't go 100% to plan but I like the ease of dragging stuff around until your day makes sense. It keeps you on track and helps highlight where you’ve got a Time leak or you’re slipping into default mode at home - more on this in a later post I think!

2. Treat your energy like a tamagotchi

Something I wrote on my list for this year. Your energy needs feeding and looking after, or it dies quietly while you're busy with other things like tidying, emptying the dishwasher or putting away clothes. I’ve found mapping my energy and where my creative peaks are, totally revolutionary.

Now I might tidy up at 2.45pm vs 9am when my brain is buzzing with ideas and creative energy.

What can you eat, drink and DO with your body to cultivate more energy for yourself in a day?

3. Functional vs nice-to-have

Working from home, it's tempting to do "just a quick tidy" first. Now I ask: is it functional (actually needed in order to focus) or nice to have? If it's a ‘nice to have’, I walk past and shut the door, leaving my clothes on the floor. My best energy of the day goes to my business.

4. Build fair systems beyond work

A lot of the drain on founders isn't the business. It's home/life admin and decision fatigue. A quick agreement with your partner or team can take whole categories of decisions off your plate. Where could you implement a few systems (or conversations about systems) that could free up some brain space and mental load?

5. Let go of higher-than-necessary expectations

Perfectionism is a business cost. Ask what "good enough to put out" looks like, then do the thing with a bit of "Fuck it, let's have a go" energy.

I work with a few clients who want the ‘perfect’ system for marketing before they can post (I was guilty of this in the past too btw). So they’ll spend 4 hours crafting a beautiful document, spreadsheet or Notion board then not have the energy or ideas to actually put a piece of content together and whack online.

6. Schedule cup-filling activities like client work

When I'm topped up, I'm noticeably more creative and more willing to show up in my marketing. But most importantly, I’m more present for my coaching clients which results in more insights and results for them.

What’s on my list? A mix of do-at-home stuff and trips -
charity-shop rummaging, antiques markets, 20 minutes of yoga, a walk with a podcast, Strength training in my garden office. Make your own list and put it in the calendar.

Which of these would make the biggest difference to your week?

If you want to help your creative business thrive, without sacrificing yet more hours, get in touch and we can start crafting your dream work life balance.

Book a Free Clarity call today.