One day, you wake up after eight hours of sleep. Relax and take in the view outside your window while you stretch and exercise, then eat a hearty breakfast before heading out to work in your art studio, where you have all the time and resources available to focus on your art. You are living your life to the fullest, as you have envisioned.

And then your alarm sounds out, you realize it was just a dream, and you have an important meeting to attend, and you’re already late. You wake up groggy and weary, start getting ready for work, and realize that it’s been days since you’ve created anything new or practiced your art. You wonder whether there’s any way I can keep creating art while working.

Though it seems impossible, but the answer is yes! We can strike a balance between our day jobs and our creative pursuits.

By altering our daily routines, we can achieve this elusive state of equilibrium in our lives. And keeping that in mind, we are sharing 5 Tips on How to Balance Your Day Job with Your Art Practices. Because as we grow up and get into the real world, we realize that just relying on a single set of skills won’t be enough to pay our bills, buy our groceries and manage our taxes. So we have to do the job along with our creative pursuits.

Because every artist cannot afford to give up their day job to focus only on their artistic endeavors, we must work to fulfill these obligations. As a result, we must strike a healthy balance between our day jobs and our passion projects.

So read on to discover how to make a balance between your day job and creative pursuits.

1- The Power of Being Organized

As artists, particularly women artists, we must juggle many responsibilities. We have responsibilities around the house, in the kitchen, and at work, and if we have children, we also have to make time for them, so they don’t feel neglected. Then there’s the “working mom guilt” problem, which may make our lives even more terrible. Sometimes, it’s easy to feel guilty about not doing enough for our children because we’re preoccupied with work or our studio when our toddlers are hurt or fall.

If you’ve ever felt like that, you’re not alone. We’ve all been there, and we know how it feels. So, to make your life a little easier, we suggest you get organized.

So, this is the way to go if you want to make money and have time to do the things you enjoy and time for your other responsibilities. The first step is to get your life in order. Organize your week, so you have enough time to complete all of the tasks on your to-do list while still fitting in time to take care of your responsibilities at home, studio, and work. Trust me. You’ll burn out quickly if you keep going without a plan. You won’t be able to concentrate on anything, either your job, home or art.

So, Make a weekly schedule and stick to it until an emergency force you to change your plans. You can get away with it for a day, but after that, adhere to your schedule and get the job done accordingly. This technique will help you manage all your responsibilities and give you enough room to focus on your art and creative pursuits.

2- Know That Time is Your Currency

“Time is Money” is not just a proverb that we are taught at school. Trust me; if you don’t value your time, you will never be able to succeed. Once you have made your weekly plan, the next step is managing your time to manage your job and art practices effectively. You should make a timetable that I will be finished with my work from this hour to this hour. Then from this particular time to this, I will do my art. I know this reminds you of our childhood when we would make timetables of the time we would study, play, watch TV, etc.

So make a realistic timetable. I suggested a realistic timetable because no matter how hard we try, we can’t be a perfectionist at all times. So make a timetable that will be easy and comfortable for you to follow and achieve. This technique will help you effectively manage your work and will provide you with an opportunity to practice your art and creative pursuits as well.

3- Learn To Detach 

Detachment is crucial for juggling your day job and your creative pursuits. Make it a habit to focus just on your work while you’re at work and only on your art when you’re making it. To do this, set up a dedicated place for your work or art, and dedicate yourself solely to that task when you enter it.

Besides this, learning to say “no” is another way to balance your job and your art practices. When you say no, it doesn’t mean you’re disrespecting the individual; it just means setting limits. You prioritize spending time with yourself and focusing on the things that bring you joy. So, learn to cultivate a sense of detachment and maintain a healthy work-life balance.

4-      Rethink a New Strategy

You must think of a strategy to help you balance your art and your job. Try waking up before your family and have some time to focus just on your creative pursuits. Keep a bag of your art essentials in your car. And on your way back home, stop your car where it’s quiet and create something. Whether a small leaf or a doodle, drawing something will help keep your passion alive and motivate you to keep practicing your art no matter how busy you are. So come up with a strategy that works for you and is according to your day-to-day life. This way, you can balance your job and creative pursuits.

5- Be Consistent With Your Practice

Finally, our final advice is to be consistent and go with the flow. We will never be perfect because we are all only human. We all make errors, stumble, and fall short of our goals from time to time, but the key is to keep trying until we succeed. After making a strategy and sticking to it for even one week, you may have gone back to zero. That’s OK. Never let the thought that you won’t be able to strike an appropriate equilibrium between your artistic pursuits and your day job discourage you. Because if you were able to accomplish it for even a single day, then you can do so for the rest of your life. You just need to concentrate on how you’re going to get there. In addition, you must recognize that maintaining a sense of balance is more of a way of life than a chore, and it is impossible to alter one’s way of life in a single day. So allow yourself some time, be patient, and work on it little by little until you find a way to balance your work and artistic pursuits.

Written By: Rabia Khan.
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