Why It's Useful to Schedule Painting Time

Teddi Parker (Ep.77) is busy. She's parenting and homeschooling two young daughters under the age 8. She's taking care of a home. She has a lot of interests.

And yet, most days, she paints.

How?

In order to keep a painting schedule, it's just that. Part of her schedule.

It started with naptime and as naps began to fade, it became quiet time. The family takes 90 minutes shortly after lunch to work on quiet things. For the girls, it might be reading. For Parker, it's often her painting.

This works for several reasons:

First it's flexible. She doesn't ALWAYS paint at that time. But she mostly tries to hold it for painting.

Second, because it's held for her, she makes sure she's ready for it. She gets the household chores done in the morning. She makes sure she's got a drawing ready to go. It acts as a sort of pacing to be ready for.

Third, by having a space held, it lets her be present in other places in her life because she knows it's there. Which in turn, helps her be present in her artwork when it’s art time.

Put it to Practice:

Having daily painting on the calendar can be a really powerful way to make sure you paint. A little like a date with the gym trainer or a doctor's appointment. When it's a regularly scheduled and consistent part of your week, it helps formalize it.

By formalizing it, it makes it a priority during THAT time. Which means life adjusts to it. Instead of trying to figure out where painting fits after everything else is done, you work to fit everything else AROUND painting.

When someone calls to chat, you don’t answer because it’s painting time. If a dentist needs to make an appointment, you don't place it there because it’s painting time.

That at first might feel like a really subtle shift in thinking... but it's a shift that can make a BIG difference. And you might be surprised that the rest of life can still actually run quite smoothly around it.