Time Management for Artists: Rethinking Creative Energy

Much ink has been spilled on the value of time. No need to waste it now trying to add my poetic spin. Time is everything. But how do we need to approach time as artists? How do we harness our creative energy?

Utilizing time effectively starts with a mindset.

Time is a form of energy.

I don’t have the mathematical prowess to prove it, but time makes things happen. It is an energy. It is a combination of physical things and movement (E=mc2, anyone?). As artists in business, we need to understand that to manage our time, we should see it as energy. 

Time is not just the physical things we have to do but also the mental and emotional effort we have to exert to accomplish our desired life. When we approach our creative work, we need to consider the physical aspects and the effort utilized within. It is easy to think we can do more in a day than we actually can. 

Be more fulfilled by doing less. Get more done by doing less. Get more done better by doing less.

Time is a social concept.

If we navigate the universe on our own, time becomes pretty meaningless. There would be no external person pushing us to accomplish anything. Deadlines would cease to exist. This might sound euphoric, but the external pressure is valuable to push us to get things done. 

Furthermore, if we want to accomplish something bigger than ourselves, we need other people. If we intend to do life with folks beyond ourselves, we need to operate within and respect the realm of time. 

“Tuesday” means something that connects us with others. Knowing this helps us accomplish things on Tuesday.

Busy is destructive.

Busyness is not a badge of honor. I feel anxious when I find myself describing my life as busy. I use that word when I am pulled in too many directions, with fleeting resources to accomplish what I desire. 

A too-full schedule slows down creative energy. Busy reduces depth for thinking, feeling, and exploring the unknown. I often end up in a busy place when I haven’t done the work of determining what I actually want. Knowing what we want allows us to say no to things that we don’t want, which frees resources/time to use for generative, fulfilling things. 

Fulfillment is the goal, not busy.

Harness time, channel creative energy

If time is truly energy and a shared social contract, then managing it isn’t just about checking boxes—it’s about channeling it toward what truly matters. Start by doing less. Not because less is easier, but because less is often better. It’s about focus, presence, and energy flow. 

If you think of time as a force to be harnessed, rather than chaos needing order, you might discover a new rhythm for your creative energy—one that feels less like a race against the clock and more like a dance with it.