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How to Make Time for Your Art: Track Your Time · The Daily Writer

• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome everybody to the Born to Create podcast.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Kent Sanders, and I'm your host.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: I'm an author, musician, and teacher, but most importantly, I'm a husband and a dad.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: Here on the show, we talk about practices, habits, and strategies that help us live out our creative calling.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: This is episode eleven, and today we're going to be talking about how to make more time for your art by tracking your time.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: You can find the post that accompanies this episode, as well as all the links, at KentSanders.net slash track your time, and that's track dash your dash time.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: I often talk to artists and writers about the biggest frustrations in their creative lives.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: One of the themes that almost always emerges is a lack of time.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: Despite having access to devices and technology that are supposed to save us time, most people feel busier than ever.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: Do you feel this way?
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: I definitely do sometimes.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: There are lots of ways to make better use of your time and be more productive.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: A great place to start is the Productivityist site, as well as my friend Jim Woods' book, Ready Aim Fire, a practical guide to setting and achieving goals.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: There's links to both of those in the blog post.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: But if you want to make more time for your art, you must first see where your time's going.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: The best way to get an accurate picture of your time is by keeping a time log.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: In this episode, I'm going to explain why that's important, a simple way to do it, and I'll even give you a handy time log that you can use.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: First of all, let's look at why you should keep a time log in the first place.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: We tend to go about our days unaware of how we really spend our time.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: How often have you taken just a few minutes to check email only to look at the clock and discover that two hours has gone by, and you still haven't finished with your email?
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: A temptation that I seem to battle all the time is getting on social media for just a few minutes, quote unquote, and then I'll look and see that an hour or more has gone by.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: When you keep a time log, you can immediately see where your time's going.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: A time log gives you the big picture of your time use.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's a picture that you can't get in the day-to-day business of life.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: If you're like me, you will probably be surprised that you're spending a lot of time on tasks that are not very productive.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: We all assume we're being productive, but when you put it down in black and white on paper, it's there, and there's no denying how you actually have spent your time.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: So how do you keep a time log?
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you can keep a time log with a pen and paper, or you can use an app on your computer or your phone.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Personally, I prefer pen and paper because it's more tactile.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: But if you'd rather use an app, you can check out toggle, T-O-G-G-L, and I'm sure there are other apps as well.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: I recommend keeping track of your time in 15-minute increments for two weeks.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: I know that sounds like a hassle, but trust me, it's really worth the effort because you'll clearly see where your time is going.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: Why two weeks instead of one?
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: Because any given week can be kind of like an anomaly in our lives.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: When you track your time for two weeks, you're more likely to get a better overall picture of an average week.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: So you might have a week where you have a lot of meetings or a lot of crazy things going on or something unique happened, but if you do it for two weeks, you're going to get a more average picture of what's actually going on on a typical week.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: So where do you actually get a time log to use?
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm glad you asked because I have one for you.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: You can download a time tracking spreadsheet on the link I mentioned earlier, KentSanders.net slash track your time.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: Track dash your dash time.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: There's a download within that blog post.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: After you've tracked your time for one week, go through the sheet and divide up your time into categories that are helpful for you.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: Every time I've done this exercise, I've used four categories.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: Work, which is my day job, business, which is my side business, church, and personal.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Once you decide on what categories you want to use, list how much time you've spent in each category and repeat this exercise for the second week.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: After you've reflected on the amount of time you've spent in each of those categories, respond to the items in the notes section.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: And again, when you download this handout, you'll see exactly how this is set up on the sheet.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: So there are three things in the notes section for each week.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: Number one is observations about my week.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: In other words, what was surprising, disappointing, enlightening.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: Number two is questions I need to ask.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: Some examples might be why do I spend so much time playing games?
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: Why do I constantly overcommit to responsibilities?
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: Why do I feel so busy, but I'm not accomplishing as much as I'd like to?
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: So those are some questions that I have asked myself.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: Your questions are going to be different.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: Feel free to borrow these or create your own.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: And then number three in the notes section is action steps I need to take.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: Based on your observations, what do you need to change about your commitments or your use of time?
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: So after tracking your time for two weeks, you're probably going to be surprised at where your time's going.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: For example, the last time I did this exercise, I made several shocking discoveries.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: One was that I discovered I was spending over ten hours a week on a side job that was actually bringing in very little money.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: Number two, I discovered that I was only sleeping about 6.75 hours a night, and that's less than the recommended amount for adults.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: Number three, I wasn't spending very focused time in my writing, and that explained my lack of results or why I hadn't written a book in like a year.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: So as a direct result of tracking my time, I resigned from the side job I talked about within a few weeks, and this freed up a huge chunk of time that I can now devote to writing or other more productive pursuits.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: I also adjusted my sleep habits and started to go to bed a little bit earlier.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: Time is a limited resource and we have to use it wisely.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: But to do that, you must first see where it's going.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: Keeping a time log will help you get an accurate picture of your time use and will spur you to make some helpful changes.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: The end result?
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: You'll be better equipped to make more time for your art.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: Have you ever used a time log?
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: If so, what are some things you learned about yourself?
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: I'd love to hear your thoughts.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: You can join the conversation and find the post and the links that accompany this episode at Kent Sanders.net slash track your time, track dash your dash time.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: When you visit my site, you'll find all kinds of great resources to inspire your creativity.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: I'd also love to share a gift with you when you subscribe to my newsletter.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: You can check it out and learn more about my books, writing, and services at Kent Sanders.net.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: I'd love to connect and you can send me a tweet at Kent Sanders, or you can find me on Facebook and Instagram as Kent Sanders.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: I hope that you'll also check out our Born to Create Facebook group by visiting KentSanders.net slash Facebook group.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, remember that you were born to create and designed to make a difference.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: What will you do with the time you have left?