Routine? That sounds boring!

Do you sometimes wonder how some people get so much done?  It seems like they always have a full plate, but still manage to get it all done.  

I have been lucky the past few years to have a more relaxed schedule that allowed me to be more unorganized.  I started homeschooling my son 4 years ago and although that added another task to me day, I wasn't tied to a school schedule.  If we were up late one night we could sleep in.  If we wanted to spend the day at the aquarium we could.  I'm not going to say I wasn't hectic (because I was), but it was self-induced.  I always tried to fit in another house project or a quick errand.

When I decided to turn my art into a business that might make money, my schedule suddenly seemed tighter.  I had been squeezing creativity into my day, but now it wasn't negotiable.  I couldn't ignore my studio for two weeks while other things were going on.  I had to put in the time, not to mention get a business license and pay taxes.

At first I tried just fitting everything in when I had a free moment.  I quickly realized that wouldn't work.  My brain was always having to "change hats" and I wasn't accomplishing much.  That's when I realized I needed some sort of time management system (all of you creatives, did you just gag?).

Off to Amazon I went and here are some of the books I found useful....

• "Achieve Anything In Just One Year: Be Inspired Daily to Live Your Dreams and Accomplish Your Goals"  by Jason Harvey

• "Manage Your Day-to-Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, and Sharpen Your Creative Mind" by 99U

• "The Time Chunking Method: A 10-Step Action Plan For Increasing Your Productivity"  by Damon Zahariades

I pulled tips from each book, but my biggest learning was to use a time blocking system.  I found my biggest problem was switching gears as I switched from home to work to homeschool.  By having chunks of time assigned to different tasks, I am able to get more accomplished. Now those chunks of time don't magically appear.  I have had to schedule them in to my week.  These seems like the last thing a creative person should do, but it has worked for me.  

How I do it....

I sit down with my planner every Sunday night.  I have a paper planner because I need to see it all the time.  I have been a planner junkie since college (hello, Franklin Planners), but never like this.  First I fill in all the things I have to do (appointments, homeschool time, etc.).  Next I try to fill in my week's errands around times I will already be out of the house.  Although the tasks may not be related, this is another way I can create a chunk of time.  Now I can see where I have time to create chunks for work, cleaning, etc.   I have made a list of things I need to do for my business every week and I assign them a time.  I even schedule creative time now to make sure it happens.  You would be amazed at how little creative time this artist has after scheduling social media posts, writing blog posts, submitting to magazines and filing the dreaded quarterly taxes.

So, that is what has worked for me.  Do you have a system you use?