You stare into your studio. Your mind brims with ideas, yet your inbox is screeeeeaming for attention.
Every creative knows this daily tension between artistry and ~admin~ (aka, the business-y tasks you need to do.
A huge part of how I’ve been able to double my Cozy Girl Job work output so I could spend more time on my songwriting, performing, blog, and YouTube is through the art of time blocking for creatives.
Time-blocking is not about working harder or longer but about intentionally and thoughtfully assigning certain weeks, days, and hours towards specific tasks.
This creative discipline has helped me have more time to write music, plan performances, and build my brand, as I’ve been super strategic about where, how, and when I allocate my time to which tasks.
The Benefits of Time-Blocking for Creatives
Friend, managing time as a creative can feel impossible sometimes.
One minute you’re in the flow of inspiration, never wanting to get up from your workstation, and the next you’re panicking about those work or adult-ing tasks you’ve been procrastinating on.
Here’s why time-blocking for creatives is so darn amazing (and helps with overcoming creative procrastination).
Helps You Visualize Your Tasks
As creatives, most of us think in pictures rather than boring old lists, which is exactly why this method works so well for our brains.
When you map out your day visually, you start to notice patterns you might have missed before.
Maybe you’re spending waaaaaay too much time answering emails or you’re pushing all your creative work to a time where you’re energetically at your lowest (For me, it’s at night! I’m ready for bed at 9pm and have no creative energy left).
My favorite part is that while it might seem like you’re overscheduling your day (at first), you’re actually giving your creativity structure.
You’ll find yourself feeling less stressed about your work, because you know exactly what you’re focusing on and when. That means being able to actually relax during your downtime without that nagging feeling of “ugh, I’ve been putting X off forever, so I don’t really deserve this rest.”
Emphasizes Focused Work Over Generalized Work
Multitasking is impossible.
I know I know — it might feel like you can do a few different things. And I’m not saying that you can’t wash dishes while watching New Girl! BUTTTT, you won’t ever be able to put 100% of your energy into 2 things at once. Sometimes, that’s okay. Other times, it’s not.
Developing an efficient workflow for creatives through time-blocking a “bubble” around your time. For example, when I write blog articles for clients, I’ve realized my output time cuts in half when I dedicate, say, 2 straight hours to just writing. (Not formatting, not doing research, not publishing — just writing.)
I don’t do anything else while I’m doing it so I don’t have to switch context. And let me tell you, those 2 hours that I’ll dedicate will be so focused, I can practically do the entire month’s worth of work within just a few, super focused hours.
Gives You Time to Reset and Regroup
This goes back to feeling fully in on your rest. Because rest isn’t really rest when you know you should be doing things during it — it just doesn’t feel right!
Time-blocking gives you the space to get your focused work done during your work time, and gives you full permission to rest when you’re not.
How I Time Block
The beauty of time-blocking for creatives is that it’s completely customizable to your unique creative process!
I mainly use three main techniques that have been absolute game-changers for me: the Pomodoro Timer, what I call “Day-Plan, Predict, Execute,” and body-doubling/coworking!
Pomodoro Timer
The Pomodoro technique for artists can be adapted to match your natural creative rhythms. 🧘♀️
This is basically working in focused 25-minute chunks with 5-minute breaks in between. After 4 “pomodoros,” you take a longer 15-30 minute break.
Here’s why I love it:
- It’s long enough to get into a flow state but short enough to not feel overwhelming
- Those regular breaks keep your creative energy fresh
- They’re perfect for those tasks you’ve been procrastinating on — I’ll usually find those “big” tasks and/or chores I’ve been pushing off take less than a Pomodoro to get done!
Day-Plan, Predict, Execute
Prioritizing creative tasks becomes intuitive once you understand your peak creative hours and planning your day to fit when you’ll be most productive.
Each morning (or the night before), I spend 10-15 minutes creating a day-plan, based on what I’m going to do, when I’m going to do it, and how long it’s going to take.
I break my day a few main categories:
- Cozy Girl Job work
- Filming/writing/editing
- Self-Care Days
- Meetings/Calls (I don’t usually have many of these, so sometimes it will be paired with a Cozy Girl Job day)
Body-Doubling/Coworking
Sometimes the best motivation is simply having someone else working alongside you for accountability. 👯♀️
There are some great body-doubling apps out there (our favorite is Flow Club), or if you don’t want to or can’t spend the money on a paid subscription, you can co-work with your friends locally (at a coffee shop) or via Facetime. The important parts are:
- The check-in (beginning) — This is at the beginning of the coworking session where you both say what you’re going to work on
- The plan – You plan for how long you’re going to work and if there are going to be any breaks or check-ins
- The check-in (end) — This is at the end of your session, where you both check in again to see what work you’ve completed and how you feel. From this point, you can either end your coworking session or have another round!
My Favorite Creative Time Management Tools + Systems
Asana
I love Asana’s week-view for My Tasks as a little way to plan out my week. All the tasks I want to complete are laid out right where I can see them. And if I need to shuffle things around, I can.
I use Asana in more complex ways to manage my client work with Zapier automations left and right, but I also use it in this super simple way! It truly is great for super complex projects and beginners — highly recommend it if you want to start housing a place so all your great ideas don’t get lost. ✨
Blitzit
This is a paid app that lets me write down all my tasks (it’s going to integrate with Asana soon — woohoo!), estimate how long they’ll take, and then have a little timer that hangs out on the corner of my computer screen as I work to help me see how I’m doing.
It’s super helpful to be able to glance over at that little clock, made specifically for the project I’m working on, so I can see how I’m doing. Plus, it’s a great way for me to audit my estimations. Sometimes, I predict that a task is going to take suuuuper long, when it’s a 10-minute quickie! Other times, I’m praying something will take 2 hours when really it’s 4. 🫣
Bonus: you can set it to track your time in Pomodoro style!
Toggl
This is a totally free and super simple time-tracking app you can download as a Chrome extension to see how long you’re taking on specific tasks. I love how you can create projects, organize each time-tracking “session” into a project, then see week-to-week and month-to-month how long you’re taking on each project.
For example, you can create a project for “Agency Work” “Miscellaneous Work and Chores” and “Etsy Shop.” You might notice you’re spending a lot more time on Agency Work than you thought!
Flow Club
This is the body-doubling app I told you about earlier! One of my favorite parts of it is that you can write down all the tasks you want to complete on your screen for everyone to see. Then, when you’ve completed it and checked it off, there will be confetti on the screen for everyone to see. 🥳
Isn’t that just the cutest thing ever?!
Tip: Schedule Flow Club sessions during your designated time blocks, only working on those specific tasks. Now you not only know what you want to get done, but have that extra accountability while you’re doing it.
(Good Ol’) Facetime
I regularly jump on Facetime with my creative friends for coworking sessions because it’s simply so simple! No fancy paid apps needed, just you, your friend, and your shared dream for making progress on those goals.
Even More Productivity Techniques for Artists
Subtasks on Subtasks
Something that changed everything for me is breaking down your creative projects into tiny, manageable pieces. Instead of writing down “Create painting” (hello, overwhelm!), try breaking it into smaller bits like:
- Sketch initial concept (20 mins)
- Mix color palette (15 mins)
- Block in basic shapes (45 mins)
I don’t know about you, but to me, that looks and feels totally doable (and I don’t even paint!). Plus, there’s something sooooo satisfying about checking off these smaller tasks. 📝
Make It Cute
As creatives, we’re visual beings, so why not make our schedules as beautiful as our art? Color-code, add emojis, images — customize your tools to feel curated and intentional. Because when you work with purpose and joy, your output will be more purposeful and joyful — aka, everybody wins.
Romanticize It
Whenever I know I have to get work done that I really, really don’t want to do, I ask myself a simple question: what can I do to make this more fun? 🎉
While I mentioned before that multitasking is impossible, sometimes you don’t need your full attention to do something. If I’m doing multiple repetitive tasks that don’t require much thought, I’ll put on a podcast. If I do need to have my full attention, I’ll put on some focus music, make the room smell nice by lighting a candle, and grab a snack or some tea.
I know these little touches of delight seem small, but they make such a big difference in how to stay focused during your time-blocking sessions.
Fall Back in Love With Your Creative Journey & Join My YouTube Channel!
Friend, we’ve covered so much ground together; I hope you’re feeling excited about bringing more intention and flow to your creative practice.
We don’t want to become some productivity robot, but create space for our creativity to truly shine. And I can fully say that time-blocking for creatives has 100%+ helped me make space for what’s really important in my life.
Finding that “perfect” system took me almost a year — so if it takes you shorter than that, you’re already way ahead of me! If you love cozy listening about building a beautiful creative journey, subscribe to my YouTube channel, where even more creative and artist-centric content awaits you. ♡
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Time-Blocking for Creatives: Sculpting Your Schedule For Productivity
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