Artists are great at dreaming — but a lot of us aren’t so great at creating systems to actually put those dreams into a plan.
If you want to know how to be the best version of yourself as an artist, then you need to first know the importance of ritualizing different parts of your life to make things easier on yourself.
When you create a solid system, you can spend less time worrying if things are going to happen, and more time actually creating while embracing how to be the best possible version of yourself.
What is an Artist System?: How to Be the Best Version of Yourself
An artist system is about systematizing and creating rituals in your life to nurture your inner creative child, showing you how to be the best version of yourself.
You might consider general self-care as focusing on one-off physical things like meditating or doing a face mask, creative self-care are the ongoing set-ups you’ve created so you’re never forgetting to take these actions.
Creative self-care is unique as it focuses on how to be the best version of yourself mentally, providing systems and organization that free up your life for creation. You’re caring for your inner artist.
Why Artist Systems Matter
Now you might be thinking, “Do I really need a system? Can’t I just wing it?” Sure, you could.
But winging it when it comes to planning your artist dreams usually puts a lot more pressure on your art, making it feel more and more like a stressful chore and not like a beautiful career.
Think about it — if you’re so focused on making money playing your instrument that all you can think of is “where can I get my next show so I can pay my rent?” Suddenly, your music becomes a point of stress.
We want to set up systems in our lives that not only allow income and work to flow seamlessly, but also guide you on how to be the best version of yourself without constantly worrying about finances.
Examples of Artist Systems in the Wild: How to Start Being the Best Version of Yourself
I know, I know — this sounds really abstract. I’m saying *systems* a lot because I want you to be able to know how to be the best version of yourself mentally and thus creatively. But what does that look like in-action?
Here are a few systems I’ve implemented as a singer-songwriter and performer —
Designing a Home Studio
I’ve talked about the idea of a home studio a lot on my blog (and my YouTube channel).
A home studio is a personalized creative space within your home where your tools and inspiration are easily accessible, styled to your taste, and arranged to maximize your creative output. There are 3 Cs of a home studio:
- Cozy — it needs to be comfortable enough for you to feel welcome and open enough to create (not tense and tight).
- Curated – it needs to have thoughtfully selected items that spark joy for you and work in a self-made interior design style that makes you ripe with joy.
- Conducive – your space needs to be organized enough to support and enhance your creative process with the drop of a hat. This means as minimal set-up as possible!
The environment you create for yourself is so i mportant in determining how to be the best version of yourself mentally and creatively and how much you produce. If you’re around people who make you feel closed off, tense, and self-conscious, you’re not going to be able to access your truest self.
Same goes with being creative – I bet you that sitting in the middle of Home Depot would not make you feel the most inspired and open to create. So… what would? For me, it’s being around:
- The color purple
- Vintage art and old frames
- Cozy blankets
- Candles, incense, and accent lighting
- Moody tones that make me feel like I’m in a little creative cove
- Whimsical shapes and patterns like butterflies, fairies, sparkles, flowers, moons, etc.
If you could do anything to make your home your creative studio — a space that inspires you on how to be the best version of yourself — what would you do? (You can start with a dream board.)
Setting Boundaries and Restraints for Your Time
The 4-Hour Workweek blew my mind.
In concept: people ruffle papers from 9-5, saying they’re being productive. But if you have an appointment or something to do at 2pm, you magically get all your work done beforehand.
It’s not because there’s not enough time in the day. It’s what you’re doing with the time.
And naturally, when humans are given more time to do things, they use up all of that time. Alternatively, when they’re given less time to do something (sometimes through procrastination), they somehow always get it done.
Let’s consider living this double-life — your current income is through digital marketing. It’s a flexible remote job that says as long as you get your work done, you’ll get paid. You want enough time to pursue your art, but you feel like there’s not enough time in the day.
If you gave yourself 8 hours a day to finish this work, you’ll probably find a way to use all of those 8 hours up, even though you’ll probably only really be working for 2-3.
But what if you told yourself that you only have 3 hours to complete everything?
This is an exercise from the 4-Hour Workweek, and it changed my life. I suddenly stopped dedicating so much darn time to things that didn’t need all of it, and suddenly, I became worlds more efficient. I went from working 12-hour days to working 4 (or sometimes fewer) hour days.
All because I told myself that I only have 3 hours to work on my *money work* so I could spend more time on *songwriting & content planning*.
This is just one example out of many from this concept of creating boundaries and restraints on your time. And it’s why I always suggest pursuing a remote digital marketing career as an artist.
Not only is digital marketing a natural skill for creatives, but being able to work remotely means that you can dictate the hours you’re working.
On another note, you can also do this for your creativity. Imagine you challenged yourself to work on a painting for 2 hours. Wherever it is after the 2 hours are done, it’s completed for that day.
How much more would you be leaning into how to be the best version of yourself? How much more would you be focused on the things you want to be focused on and not overrun by the noise?
Using a Project Management Tool
There are many project management tools out there, but not too many that are aesthetically pleasing.
And boy, if this isn’t one of the biggest things I look for in a tool! I need a tool that I’m not going to dread opening.
My top pick for creative planning is Asana, because you can customize colors, project cover images, and layouts to be visually pleasing and super organized.
I used to be a Notion girlie, but it has soooo many features that it can almost get overwhelming. I like Asana because it has all the features I need to organize my work while not being too overwhelming. Here’s what I use it for (and how you can organize it too):
- A “My Tasks” section for quick note-taking. If you’re a newbie to Asana, you can just start by using this and just assign yourself tasks you need to do on a weekly or monthly view.
- A board view to plan your projects. I have a specific project for She Sees Faeries to organize all of my songs based on their status. I can look at them based on their status — which ones are still being written, which ones have a solid demo, and which ones are in Queue to get mixed and mastered to release.
- A list view to track my business’s content writing work. I have A LOT of projects to manage, so the list view lets me see everything clearly, click on Google Doc links (by using them as custom fields), and assign anything I need to my VA for additional support.
Project management systems are great for celebrating 🎉 small wins 🎉 and tracking your progress on how to be the best version of yourself — which, let’s face it, we all need. I use “subtasks” within a task to break things down further.
For example, if I need to update my website, I can make that a task, but then add a bunch of little small tasks underneath it, like purchasing a theme, implementing the theme, adding images, updating SEO, etc.
Rituals I Have for Following Artist Systems
On top of these artist systems are overall lifestyle rituals and practices that I’ve put in place. These are practices I follow on a daily basis that follow my personal beliefs and philosophies.
Plant-Based Lifestyle
Having a plant-based diet has helped my body work for me. STATiC and I are very intentional about the brands we eat from and avoid processed foods, seed oils, GMOs, and foods not third-party tested.
I have personally been a vegetarian since 2015 and have been dairy-free since 2017 and find that it alleviates lots of inflammation, brain fog, and blockages that would make my creativity stagnate.
I’m no doctor, but just a lover of holistic alternatives and tools for wellness and greatly suggest this one way how to be the best version of yourself spiritually.
The Law of Attraction: Visualizations and Affirmations
I truly believe that what you visualize will arrive and what you resist persists. Affirmations, visualizations and the concept of The Law of Attraction can not only bring you closer to your creative goals but show you how to be the best version of yourself spiritually.
I’ve been doing this for over 5 years, be it creating vision boards, affirming my own creative dreams, or literally falling asleep visualizing myself performing on-stage, celebrating a win, being with the right people.
Knowing How & When to Recharge My Battery
There’s a concept in the neurodivergent community called the Spoon Theory. In simple terms, it’s the idea that you only have a certain number of “spoons” available per day (kind of like energy).
This means it’s important to know when you’re “out of spoons,” and need some time to recover. Recovery might look different on everyone. For me, its:
- Alone time getting lost in a show
- Massage/acupuncture
- Walking on a trail and listening to a podcast
- Spending time in nature
- Going to a farmer’s market
- Grocery shopping at Trader Joes and Whole Foods (lol yes I know it sounds weird, the concept of food makes me happy)
- Thrifting
- Driving
Maybe recharging your battery also might mean deep-diving into some YouTube videos — if so, I’d love for you to join our cute lil’ YouTube community of artists and creatives. 🥰 See ya there!
