Getting Things Done (or Not!)

This article is by Keith Bond, Regular contributing writer for FineArtViews.  You should submit an article and share your views as a guest author by clicking here.

Sitting on my nightstand is a book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen.  Ironically, I haven’t read it yet, though it has been sitting there for a couple years.  Somehow I can’t find the time to read a book about time management! 

I heard an NPR interview when he was promoting the book a couple years ago.  I liked what he had to say.  His premise is that our productivity is proportionally and directly related to our ability to relax.  Thus enabling us to clear our minds and organize our thoughts; leading to maximizing our creative potential. (I am not necessarily endorsing the book, because I haven’t read it yet.  But I liked what he said in the interview.)

So, with that in mind, I sit here typing this article which is already late.  I have a couple paintings I need to finish today and I also am going to a show in Denver this afternoon (an hour and a half drive from my home).  My children keep coming to me in need of this or that.  This is a typical day for me.  WAY too much to do in a short amount of time.  I am sure that this sounds familiar to many of you.

On top of that, the stuff that I need to access isn’t always readily available.  Sometimes too much time is spent looking for what I need.  Aghhh.  I really need to get more organized.  Later, though.  After I catch up on my “to do” list. :) 

The stereotypical artist’s organization strategy resembles the aftermath of a tornado.  I know a few artists who live up to the stereotype.  Other artists are very organized and tidy.  I know a few of these artists, too.  I fall somewhere in the middle.  And I know quite a few like me.  Artists aren’t the only ones, though, with organization challenges.  I even know an attorney whose desk resembles the tornado aftermath.  But he knows precisely the size color and shape of that little scrap of paper he’s looking for.  He even knows which pile on his desk to search through.  In his own way he is organized.

So how do you stay on top of everything you need to do?  How do you organize your time?  How do you organize you “stuff” so that you can be productive and find the things you need?

I am the first to admit that I am NOT one to give advice on organization and time management.  I need quite a lot of improvement.  In fact, recently I just sent an invoice to a client about 3 months after the fact.  I always intended to send it.  It would have only taken 2 minutes to create it and email it.  But, when looking at my list of stuff to do, I would always say something like, “I’ll do it tomorrow.  But today I’ve GOT to get this other thing done.”

Rather than answering your questions or giving you advice on how to make yourself more organized and productive, I am simply raising the issue for you to address.  Look at what you are doing.  Do you feel overwhelmed?  Do you feel that you can’t get anything done?  Do you spend an hour or more moving your piles of clutter around so you can clear enough space to work on your art?  Is the clutter or shear number of things on your “to do” list discouraging you and preventing you from even getting started?  Are you missing deadlines or passing up opportunities because you can’t get ready for them? 

If so, find ways to get organized.  I admit I have a long way to go.  But I am making progress, which is a good thing.  I won’t tell you HOW to get organized.  I don’t feel that I am an authority in that department.  But ask around.  Look online.  There are columns written on the subject.  There are workshops you can take.  Coaches you can hire.  Check out books from the library.  Maybe even buy a book or two.  Just don’t put it on your nightstand! 

Best Wishes,

Keith Bond

PS  Those of you who are good at organization, please share what works for you.  It may work for me or someone else reading.  We will be forever grateful, if we ever get around to reading your words of advice.  :)  (By the way, I really hate those little sideways smiley faces!  So why am I beginning to use them?)