Anyone else on here a parent who is trying to get better at their art?
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I have a 17 year old, and a 2 year old.
Both boys (I know, that's quite an age gap)
It has been a struggle,
spending time with family.
-but still taking the time to sharpen my skills.
I try to set time aside early in the morning
I drink my coffee, and draw daily.
(And sometimes late at night )
It can be tough, especially with young ones.
I just try to work around their sleep schedule. -
This is a really good topic. Thankfully my son is now 17 years old. It was always a challenge to get art time in when he was younger.
One thing that helped me was (and still does) that I carried a sketchbook, usually a small one, around with me at all times. If things slowed down and the son was playing independently then I could do some sketches. Plus I could always draw my son which was great for learning how to draw children. I would often involve him with my drawing time and we had a lot of fun.
Nap times were great for getting more involved work done. It was so hard when we finally couldn't do naps anymore! However, after naps were over, we could settle into a more normal work schedule. I would usually get work done at night and sometimes in the early morning. Once school started things were even better because I could start working more like a 9 to 5, though still often working in the evenings.
Being sleep deprived is the hard part and I would suggest that you take your art at a consistent but slow pace. Plan and have goals but make sure that they are attainable. A goal is no good if it gets you nowhere. Don't try to do it everyday and take a lot of breaks. Having young ones is such a wonderful experience and so I also suggest to really engage with your children and seek different sites and experiences with them. Your family will enjoy it. You will enjoy it. And you will be feeding your mind with things that will get your creative juices flowing.
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Got a great tip from Lee White's business class on time management. I too work in the evenings when everyone is asleep, but find that sometimes it's hard to focus on which task to do first, or next. The Pomodoro technique is one Lee recommends, I have been using it and find that I am more productive within my limited time to work. I use my cellphone as a timer and take short breaks in between work sessions. Good luck to all of us, wouldn't trade my kids for anything but want this dream as well.
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2 teenagers,one dog,one cat and a hubby...
love them all dearly,but I've asked everyone,excluding pets! That I'm not to be disturbed when I'm drawing.I let everyone know that Im about to go into an art vortex,I ask for any last requests,apart from drinks and snacks,they can get those.Then it had better be a limb hanging off,fire or death that distracts me,or there may be some ! -
Pomodoro?
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Wishing well to all our family members with art ambitions,good to know we're not alone....
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I'm 39 with 4 kids. Eldest is 19 and recently moved out to go to uni then there's the 16 year old, the 9 year old and the 4 year old. Recently became a single mum during the week as well so that's thrown an extra spanner in the works.
This thread is such a help. I often feel like I am struggling with this stuff on my own - other people make it look so easy. I started Lee's class but since the summer holidays have had zero time to do anything. I'm going to get back on it and try to get a routine in place too.
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This has been so helpful. Thank you everyone for giving all of us different ideas. Since starting this thread, I have tried implimenting many of the suggestions here, and it has really helped out a lot. I hope the best for all of you who are in the struggle with me
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@bluesky71 - Yep, you can just go to pomodorotechique.com, it's basically using a timer and setting specific tasks for those timed periods. So simple but I find it very effective, I've gotten better at planning out what I'm working on each evening instead of staring at a blank screen (or page).
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@Eric-Castleman Thanks for starting the conversation. We all feel like we're on little islands sometimes, thank goodness for the SVS Forum - all of our bottles with messages get picked up by someone.
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Thanks Rebecca,makes sense to break sessions down,seeing what you have done after 25 mins is a good way to feel like your achieving,or not !then addressing any issues
was up till 2.
