Today I learned that it is 100% possible to read a sentence to remind me of my WHY in this creative art venture of mine!
I was reading The $100 Startup (Guillebeau) this week as my newest business methods book. It was recommended by my current art mentor, Bonnie Christine, for her Surface Design Immersion Course. I am taking her online classes during March and April, hoping to expand the business side of my art. One phrase in particular from Guillebeau’s book mentioned that he had built enough freedom in his day to sit in coffee shops reading. As a bibliophile myself, that is the dream. But it did remind me why I have chosen the path I’m currently following.
Since I am setting my own hours, I have the time freedom to be an early bird or to write at midnight. But over the last couple months, nearly ten months after creating as Hannah Marie. full-time, I’ve found that narrowing down the amount of tasks I try to accomplish in a day makes me more productive. Instead of jumping from social, to blogging, to writing, then illustration, after that some art market setup as I’m inclined to do, I block my time into days. I’m intentionally spending more hours throughout the week to write, and only focusing on one book (my historical fiction for April). Then on the weekends I can be as flighty as I want, flitting from illustrations, reading, writing, and exploring.
Since I was finishing up my Texas art collection this weekend (still in progress!), I focused on a single painting project, a canvas work of a mockingbird, not just on promoting my newest designs. Social media is very important for me to get the word out, but I find that abandoning art that I really love isn’t the answer (more on that later). It’s fun to get messy and not worry about time for a couple hours a day, and the result of taking my time on a layered, textured piece of art really makes it worth it.
Once again, I am bringing back my intention to stick to a flexible schedule during “work hours”. I have become a hermit and I want to go out and explore parks, try new coffee shops, and find unexplored art areas in my town. Additionally, I’ve taken on substitute jobs in my community to help pad earnings. I can easily bring my laptop or phone and a sketchbook to a coffee shop or nearby park. Then I document for later inspection while building up creative experiences. This takes an adjusted mindset for me, as it is so much easier during work hours just to stay home and continue working than to stop the flow to create somewhere else. I also have a running thought that if I don’t work, I don’t make money. In the long run, though, I hope the daily rabbit trails influence my writing experiences and art expression for the better.
I already have several pre-set posts for social media, but I will start tweaking my posts to be more in-progress and day-in-the-life, leaving my updated design page and art newsletter to tell my art story. As I share in a different way, I’m being intentional by telling other people about why I am enjoying my entrepreneur life. It’s something that I want to keep doing, even if in five years it looks a little different.
Keep going!
Hannah Marie.