It may well be true to say most people will have a particular talent they nurtured at one point in their lives before things got too complicated. As an adult, certain restrictions in relation to how you’re expected to act are put into place, and the pressure of seeking financial stability becomes a higher priority.
Through it all, however, one thing remains constant — the desire to devote more time and energy toward pursuing our interests. Some might find they like the idea of starting a blog, while others will seek to create that brand new personal website they’ve been delaying. Whatever it is, all you need to do is make a start.
In order to achieve and maintain a comfortable work/life balance, there are a few things you’ll need to do. Below you’ll find a few tips and tricks to help you find and make time for your passion project.
1. Understand Your Optimal Productivity Times
If the thought of staring down six months to a year of hard commitment proves to be too daunting and ends up overwhelming you, a trick to deal with this is to set small daily targets you can achieve, even if you started right now.
After a time you should find your project becomes more of a habit and that it will be much easier to make progress on. Don’t feel you need to take on entire tasks, either, and take the opportunity to break things down into sections or place time restrictions on the work you do.
2. Inject Creativity Wherever You Can
Remember these are your projects, and they should align with your interests. If it feels like work, you should probably stop until it feels more like a decompression exercise. By doing this, you’ll be able to create a lot more efficiently and you’ll be much happier to work this in around your already overburdened schedule.
3. Embrace the Chaos
Procrastination is an aspect you will more than likely run into, and as professionals working in creative industries will tell you, when that happens sometimes the best thing to do is not to try and force yourself through it. There’s nothing wrong with writing the whole day off if you feel you’ll be more productive tomorrow.
In some cases it might not even be that you just don’t feel up to the task and could be that you simply had a few more household chores to finish or a friend called you up out of the blue and threw your schedule out the window.
4. When Given a Choice, Opt for Your Project
The life of a creative individual is essentially one of compromise and a series of both small and large decisions. Begin by asking yourself what you’re really hoping to achieve and by when, and proceed to develop a timetable if you need a visual way to keep track.
Most people have a difficult time saying no, but it can be your best friend. If you’ve told somebody you have to work on something else rather than going out for a drink after work, it is more likely you’ll follow though. It’s a simple trick but it can be very effective when managing and blocking off your time.
5. Keep That Silver Lining in Sight
Many of those who set off down the road of pursuing their passion at the expense of their jobs can often find themselves in tough situations financially. If stability is something you need in your life, use that to your advantage and make every effort to keep it.
Watch the clock and start the countdown until you can get home or wherever else you need to be in order to do what you’d really rather be doing. Recognize how much you’ve already achieved and find ways to become excited about what you still have left to do.
And there it is. If you make use of these tips, you’ll likely find you have more time on your hands than you’ll know what to do with.