Self Care and Life Balance

[Klaustasya]

I'm just recently learning how to balance my life, something that i should've learned way earlier because i'm bipolar and emotional instability is my best friend XD
Somethings that i do to balance more or less my life are:

• watching tv shows
• drawing for no more than one hour
• studying stuff for college
• afternoon nap
• social media but not too much (otherwise i feel intoxicated)
• fantasizing about my stories

This list in a daily loop is the core of my mental health balance i suppose, i also try to stay as much as i can with people and talk to thek when i get the chance to, cause i've always been kinda sociopath but i've come to know through experience that talking and spending time with your family or friends or schoolmates is a good therapy for healing the overthinking process ^^

Basically i'm trying to living by "everything is fine but don't overdo it, switch regularly"
For the drawing part though, i realized i can't do it everyday because i've got into a heavy burn out since 4 months =__= rip my art career at this rate XD

[unknown_user]

When I get really into comics, it's ALL that I want to do, which is both a blessing and a curse right?

If you are doing it at spare time, when you shouldn't work/study right now (or if it is your work itself), what's bad in it?

[Kat]

I like the idea of keeping a consistent sleep schedule. I'm working on that. I definitely do the "up until 3am working on weekends" thing. Gotta try to improve on that!

[punkarsenic]

ive honestly found that just forcing yourself awake in the morning (and then forcing yourself to go to bed before midnight) really does help.

i use alarmy, which is a pretty ruthless alarm app. i set it so that i cant turn the alarm off until i scan a barcode that forces me to get out of bed - and i can only snooze three times. its brutal, but it works

the morning workouts also help in waking myself up - a walk or run could also work, anything to get yourself into 'day mode'

[Rhonder]

Hmm well, as someone who works full time, the majority of my schedule is pretty rigidly driven by my work hours. Most weekdays I'm out of the house from 10-8. So the rest of my schedule blocks in around that. The morning is just sleep and getting ready for work, and in the evening there's gotta be time for dinner, of course. I try to get like 30 mins to an hour of drawing in most days, as that's the only way I can keep up with my comic xD sometimes I can squeeze out a bit more if I'm not feeling too drained after work, sometimes less if I just feel like playing a game or meeting up with friends for dinner or something.

The weekends are a mixed bag: Some Saturdays I legit just sit home and draw all day, and some I barely get to do any drawing if I end up hanging out with peeps instead. Usually at least 1 weekend day gets consumed like that (either friday evening, Saturday, or Sunday morning). Sunday is usually pretty productive as it's my upload day, so I get up, draw/have coffee while I wait for my episode to release at noon, do all of my promo stuff, then work on getting as far as I can through that week's batch.

So yeah, I guess I don't really use a strict schedule (I loosely use: M-W sketching, Th-Fri Inking, Weekend Coloring, in terms of comic pages) but just kinda feel it out as I go. Drawing is a hobby for me so I treat it that way @u@ I try not to let myself get too lazy/lenient with it, but I also don't stress out about missing a day here or there. I already don't get out much, so when my friends want to see me I try to make time for them~

[GesuGesu]

Ugh I feel @Rhonder's schedule so much. I work 8-5 or 8-7pm on weekdays, then I work sundays from 9-7pm. I basically put all my social time on Saturdays, and I generally spend my after work hours during the weekday either drawing, catching up with my weekly anime, or playing games. It's a pretty full schedule and I spend my free time to the utmost possible.

When I draw, 90% of the time it is not comic-related work, but commissions or other personal projects.

[MK_Wizard]

The schedule, list and a significant amount of self disciple. You have to put your foot down on yourself and commit. You know you aren't happy being disorganised and being sloppy so you need to love yourself. Get up when your alarm rings, start doing something. Don't drag your feet.

[Wumbl]

I find making small goals and sticking to them helps with self care...
I like to make a list of things I should do each day, and one for what I should do each week. I put it somewhere I can easily see it (I stick them to my wardrobe door with tape at the moment) and then whenever I happen to look at it I check that I've been doing the things on the list. I put really simple stuff on there like remembering to have my meals at the right time each day, an amount of work I think I can get done each day, remembering to drink enough water, going outside every day etc.

If you need to stick to a schedule you can set alarms on your phone for different things. You can also start using a planner notebook if that helps. I find it difficult to keep a planner but list making works for me so I stick to that.

You have to feel totally motivated to improve as well. Make sure you look for inspiration.

[TheFireDragon]

Honestly, I think the best way to balance it all is to look at it in the grand scheme of things. Be practical and get to know yourself better. Make achievements for yourself. It's not the end of the world if you don't achieve it, but it would be very nice if you did. Following someone else's methods may not always be the best option, since your you and they're them.
In short, introspection and understanding is key.

Go...
Fight...
WIN!

[Nachi]

I am trying to lern to get up earlier. I work an art job from home, so I want to be able to finish my hours before it is time for training. I do karate and after a few months I'm returning to crossfit. Those combined keep me fit despite sitting on my butt most of the time and it makes me feel good.
In the evening, if I did all the work stuff and I am not sociaizing, I would work on my comic for however many hours I have left till approx. 11 pm and go to sleep. And I am happy with this routine for now. The only side effects are that I just can't relax as I prefer to do work on my comic or get there through finishing stuff off my list. So I am basically in a permanent hurry, which I am fine with, the only side effect is that I am getting frustrated by "slow" people XD

[Greetings]

(For context, I'm a writer, not an artist. ) I keep a list of goals (weekly and monthly), usually these are word count goals, but they can differ if I need to market/edit/launch a novel. If I don't meet some weekly goals, I'll adjust them accordingly to make sure the chances of meeting my monthly (important) ones are higher. I also sort them by priority; ones that need to be completed, ones aren't necessary but would give me a head start on next month's work, and ones that I should take care of only if I really have nothing else to do.

Good luck with your comic!

[Kat]

I need to chill out on social media too. (I said, having just signed up for the tapas forums.)
Oh no, burnout from art is the worst!! Take care of yourself!

[Kat]

Haha, the problem is that I only have so much spare time but I need to do a lot of things in that spare time! Sometimes I skip workouts or social outings because I get so into my work, but then I regret it later! I just have the habit of getting obsessive about things but balance keeps me healthy. Just looking for ideas to help keep things in context and in a healthy balance.

[Kat]

Oh my goodness, yes, this is kind of what I'm feeling. I actually work from home so I set my own schedule, but I still have lots of work to do and then I want to try to squeeze in comics as well. It's very helpful to see what your schedule is like.

@MK_Wizard Yeah, I gotta work on that discipline. It's not that I'm dragging my feet, it's the opposite that I work hard and end up going overboard by working too much and not taking care of things like sleep. I need the discipline to go to bed on time rather than the discipline to wake up. XD

@wumblebumarts I like the simple practice approach. Honestly I just need to make reminders and get on track again about going to bed at a decent time and remembering to eat real food.

@TheFireDragon You just nailed it. It's a simple idea but for me, more difficult to put into practice. It helps to put things into perspective, thanks!

@Nachi: I relate to this so deeply! I work from home and I get that "permanent hurry" thing!

@The_BVanD Great ideas, it makes everything sound so achievable! Thank you- and good luck with your writing!

[Greetings]

Thanks to you too, have an awesome day!

[Klaustasya]

Haha yeah, being addicted to social is the worst...you need to keep a balance for that too.
Also i'm starting to think that this is not a burn out but simply me losing my passion to draw XD said to say but i don't feel anything anymore while drawing (4 years of drawing everyday tossed into the trash =_=)

[Kat]

I get that. I'm just getting back into art (within the last few months) after hardly touching it for like three years. It's okay to take a break and do other things and focus on enjoying life, and see if art comes back to you. (Hopefully it won't take you years!)

[Klaustasya]

My therapist said very recently that i'm 100% a creative mind, and drawing comes back every tot months/years in a cicle in my case, so she was almost very sure that "don't be scared, if you really hate the idea of drawing you would avoid it like crazy or try to making it very lazy and go around it" that kinda reassured me. She didn't talk about a burn out but more as a change that's occuring and my need of creating for a new bigger and meaningful purpose (as a comic for example) or a project i'm really interested in, so there's no way i'll be back to draw like i used to or at least "automatically" just cause i have to.

[Kat]

Makes sense. It's part of just growing and changing and finding the things that really give you fire, and you're allowed that. Take it easy. <3

[LT1986]

As I've gotten older, I've been trying to plan out my days. The planning includes self care and life balance. I've noticed that this keeps me focused, balanced, and feeling like I'm accomplishing things as I document small steps that lead to achievements of big goals.