Finding time to draw/write while working full time

[BlunderingAlbatross]

It's a hard one to balance, definitely. I did writing as my Thing to Unwind for a while just so I'd get it done but sometimes I'd find it a bit too much like work to get started Perhaps the best advice is to just to a bit here and there and not push yourself too much to get stuff done. You're not a robot after all.

[Freemints30]

hmm. I worked from 7-3:30 at my last job before I entered university and I occasionally did overtime on Saturday from 7-12. I lived with my parents at the time so housework did not take up much of my free time, really I just drew and write during that off time to relive stress until 11:00 in the night. It may be different once I find a job after graduation, but who knows really

[nathanKmcwilliams]

I've been in that place of being so overworked that I couldn't follow my dream of comic making. But...I got out of it, and made sure that I'd never be in that situation again.
I used to work 70 hours a week, two jobs, one part time, one full time, at the same hospital. 16 hour days were pretty common for me. I was depressed 24\7, at some point I just said 'screw it, can't live like this', and went to another job, that paid less, but I was able to start pursuing my dream. Luck has nothing to do with my situation, I took charge of it and steered in a different way.

The reason I tout the 'Try harder' line is because there's no other way it could work for me. Not everyone is the same as me, I understand that. But what if someone who is like me read that and that was the push they needed?

Am I successful by any mainstream standard? Heck no. I'm a nobody, but it won't stop me from giving advice that helped me, because maybe it will help someone else.

[Snickerdoodles]

There's that unpacking right there. Sweet.

[teacup_creations]

Oof working in retails sucks hard.
I'm glad you managed to get out of that and find something better!

I think the thing with that is that I love my job and it's something that I worked hard to get, it just sucks that I also love drawing but one brings in money and the other one doesn't lol.

[nathanKmcwilliams]

I just saw the word 'Lucky'. Nope. I'm not lucky in the slightest xD everything I've accomplished so far was hard won, I scratched, bit, screamed to the sky and fought my way out of that place.

My wife is really awesome in her support of my art, so I've got her in my corner, so that helped kindle that drive. But in the end, I'm still responsible for keeping that fire going.

[Snickerdoodles]

Nevertheless you could not bite if you had no teeth. We are all born with advantages and disadvantages and we never quite deserve the advantages until we make something of them.

[nathanKmcwilliams]

Sure.
Life is brutal and unfair. That's the reality of things. I know some people are in places that they can't even use those advantages. Some people even have everything taken away from them.

That's why I see it as vital to use my strengths while I have them.

Got no guarantees that I'll have them forever either, one cruel twist from life will be all it takes to lose them. I have to do something with them.

Further statements I have are religion based. I won't answer back anything about it in here. I'm not intending to preach, but this is integral to who I am

Not trying to start a religious debate or proselytize, but I 100% believe that I have my strengths because of God. For me, wasting them would be a slap in his face.

[magnavarra]

I started to make comic in october i guess and published it on new years eve - I am making one update per month mostly.and earlier months had some buffer.

I work fulltime from 10 to 19, 5 days a week, I get up at 9:30 ( I mooved closer to the office) . On business days days I start drawing around 20 up to 23 and than I go to play multiplayer games with my friends until 3 am, or if my friend don't come - I draw until 3 am.( I sleep about 6 hours a day).

I can't cook anything except pasta with cheese which takes about 15 mins to finish dinner. so on business days a eat at work and on weekends I order food delivery mostly. On weekends I draw for about 10-12 hours or spend all time playing games. I start with lineart and leave coloring for the last part each day cause my hand gets tired.

I don't have kids or pest so noone is distracting me.

[artamazon]

A lot of it is time management and the willingness to do it. I do art every day all day long. I'm an artist professionally, then I come home and do more art, which can seriously burn me out. There are definitely days where I'm too tired, or not into it, and that's ok. Sometimes I'd rather play a game or just watch tv or something, so I do it. What's the point if you're not having fun with it? My art is on my time, lol.

TLDR; Work all day, work on personal art late at night. Chores on weekends

Before Quarantine -
* 9am-7pm - Work full time during the day
* I get fed breakfast and lunch at work, so I don't need to prep food
* draw on the train on to and from work
* 8pm - come home and feed humans and animals, watch a a show or play a game while I eat
* 9pm-2am - do art work until very late at night
* most of the chores were done during the weekend, since I would get home too late to start machines, since I live in an apartment. I also have a husband that also does chores.

Present day under quarantine -
* 10am-6pm - Work during the day
* sometimes I'll do chores while waiting on something at work
* lunch break - order food and play a game for a bit
* dishes usually need to be done before I can do dinner, now that we use all dishes in a day it seems
* 6pm - make dinner, feed everyone
* eat dinner - play a game or watch something
* 8pm - 12am - do art until very late at night
* chores are still usually saved for weekends, but if they can't wait or it's something like dishes or laundry, you can just get that stuff going and forget about it.

[ninjashira]

I personally couldn't keep up with a regularly-updating comic while I was working a full-time corporate job. I had to be on the train for an hour and a half to and from work, at work for 8-9 hours a day, then come home and take care of the dog and cook dinner and do dishes and go to the laundromat... Honestly, I couldn't do it. I was just too tired all the time, and mentally and creatively drained. I even tried using the time spent on the train to draw comics, but I just didn't have the mental energy to be creative and artistic after all that.

I don't think there's any shame in not being able to draw for a while. After a certain point, though, I think priorities need to be evaluated. Is it more important to make more money and be financially stable? Or is it more important for you to have the free time to creatively express yourself? For me, my time was worth more than the money I was earning, so I wound up moving into a much smaller and cheaper apartment and transferring to a different job that was closer and worked fewer hours, so I spent less time on the train and at work. I made a lot less money, and there were a few times where I had to borrow money to get my car fixed or take my dog to the emergency vet, but my mental and creative health was significantly improved.

[Fuzzyman818]

Wow. I'm deeply jealousy right now.

[Ardelvion]

My job puts me at risk for having repetitive strain injuries and migraines. I'd feel pain in my dominant wrist and in the muscle in my back (the muscle that's connected to my dominant arm).

When I was working full-time, I could either draw 1-2 hours after work or not draw at all because of health problems stated above. Now that I work part-time, I have more time to draw and more time to recover from health problems. Except working part-time means being paid lower than when I was working full-time. But I was depressed when I was working full-time, so I guess working part-time suits me best.

[thedude3445]

I do a lot of extra work like marketing and organizing and sometimes even writing while on break from my full-time career job (I'm an assistant teacher), but honestly the only way I manage it is by forsaking other hobbies. Whenever I get super into a TV series or a video game it usually comes at the cost of writing time and so I have to budget very wisely... but highly in favor of writing, which at this point is a second full-time job.

[demthorshie]

When I worked a full-time job outside, I was lucky if I had time to update a comic or make any kind of art even once a week. Right now, I work from home and split the chores with my husband who also works from home so this frees up a bit of time throughout the week to work on many of my side projects.

[k5rakitan]

I'm courting additional partners for Option C.
I'm polyamorous, and I'm not in physical contact with my lovers right now due to the pandemic, but I'm keeping in touch with them via e-mail and phone. I'm getting into some deep conversations about cooking with one of them. I'm now trying to set him up to play video games with Husband through the internet so they can get to know each other better, and maybe eventually get my lover to move in with us.

[Snickerdoodles]

Monogamists don't understand the struggle.

[CeeMTaylor]

It's hard, ngl.

During high season, I can work up to 12hrs a day without much time during the day to sit down for water and food, let alone writing (novelist, here). I find that I can draft when I'm dead-dog tired, but editing is impossible, so I optimize and schedule my time to draft on workdays and edit / schedule posts / do general housekeeping on days off.

When I'm working a 8-10 hr day, I can usually expect to draft between 1k and 2k after work (so -- 50-100% of a new chapter). When that day becomes 12+ hrs long, I'll be lucky to zombie out 500 words before my brain collapses in on itself. Still, 500 words / day is 2.5k by the end of my work week, which is usually a complete chapter -- and I can push harder when I know I'm off the next day. It's not as prolific as I'd like to be, but minimal progress is still progress.

Over the weekend, I'll edit multiple chapters and write around 5k.

Everyone has different speeds, different abilities, and different obstacles. I'm not saying 'I can do this, so you can/should, too' -- I'm just giving the novelists out there one possible option out of many. I'm healthy, I work a physical labor job (I swear sitting at the computer working all day makes writing harder for me than being physically tired!) and work doesn't follow me home. I have no children, my partner is ultra-supportive of my writing ... so I'm in a pretty good place.

I do honestly believe that the only way to make it happen is to turn it into a routine activity. I'm not sure how much of a comic can be done piecemeal, but I force myself to write every day, even if I'm only tacking on a few paragraphs to a draft in progress.

Every little bit counts, and keeps your brain focused on your creative work. And to be fair, I think my life is healthier and more balanced for having a consistent creative output ... even if it means more work for me!