This notebook page is dated 30 March 2019.
25 months later I would welcome my baby girl into the world and I still use a version of this to fit it family time, work time, and creative development time.
I was reading Ben Franklins Autobiography, in it it showed a version of his time blocks and how he would spend his days. Around the same time I would read a book about the routines of 50 creative people who were prolific. And the only commonality between all of them was, that they had a routine, their days did not happen by accident, neither did they structure a new routine daily.
The thing a routine like this gives you is a sense of awareness of the finiteness of a day, a week, a month, a year, etc.
Because it’s finite you want to fill the blocks with the best you possibly can. So, many activities will be removed from life, but it also means that important activities can be added.
The yellow blocks from 5am - 7am became the times I used to do my daily drawings. If I had not carved out this time, the habit would probably never have been formed.
ps: My yellow block of creative time now spans from 2.30am - 7am. Occasionally with a nap in between.
_______
Try it:
Make a habit of making. Start with whatever small increment of time you can afford regularly and when possible expand it.
Mark it in your calendar. Try it for a month. Ps: 15-30 minutes in a sketchbook daily is a good place to start.
Recommended reading: 168 Hours
After a decade as an entrepreneur, I started transitioning into a full-time illustrator, people often ask how it’s done, I was 37 when I started transitioning. ‘For the record’ is a series of posts where I reflect on the past 36 months of this journey, even as I continue to take steps forward. If you find it useful or entertaining I would be grateful if you consider sharing it with someone.