I usually do not pay attention to ads in Instagram. But when I saw an ad for a Creative Live class taught by Lisa Congdon on productivity, I was interested. The Creative Live format is so good and I have taken several of their classes online over the years. Lisa Congdon is an artist whose work I have always loved as well as her very business-like approach to art and organizing yourself. I read her book Art, Inc a few years ago. She has written honestly about overwhelm and the need for boundaries in any creative business in a blog post entitled, On Self-Employment, Workaholism, and Getting My Life Back.
The course in Creative Live is Workflow, Time Management and Productivity for Creatives .
In the introduction of the class, Lisa starts with a vision of ease and control. You wake up knowing what to do every day and have the time and energy to do it.
What a vision. I am hooked. I want that.
Color inspiration from hiking this weekend on Poppy’s Rock In Wisconsin which is a hill of exposed glaciated smooth fine -grain pink granite.
I'm just starting this class today. In the past, I have tried different approaches to time and space organization for years and have written about it many times in these Studio Notes. I have improved dramatically in my productivity. However, I feel I need a reboot. My weekly schedule has changed with a part time job so my creative time is cut in half. I want to be more productive in the time I have available instead of feeling always behind. As anyone who creates knows, feeling that you are behind schedule, or rushed, shuts off the creativity pipeline in your thinking. This Lisa Congdon course is my antidote to this feeling of “never enough time.”
The topics she covers ranges from, How to create an effective workflow, Working with a rolling to-do list, and Time blocking.
I am particularly interested in the Time blocking. I used this strategy when I first started my daily squares back in 2015. Then I got a little too sloppy with just fitting in the studio time whenever. I have blocked out the studio time on my calendar but it has not been consistent. Other things seem to crowd out the studio time. I am hoping to learn some new strategies to right the productivity ship. I will update my progress in future Studio Notes.
As I wrote last week, I am opening up my studio schedule this Fall for the Holiday gift giving season. If you want to give the gift of a commissioned EcoMemory to a loved one this Holiday, let me know.
Here is what one of my client’s said about their EcoMemory artwork.
I loved reliving my memory when I described it to you. I loved how your questions prompted me to think about the feel of the sand on my toes, the Dominican heat and the smells and sounds around me. I also really enjoyed seeing your sketch and the fabric choices. It made me so very excited about what was to come and about my brother seeing the final piece.
I would tell my friend that Kathleen's work is wonderfully colorful and joyful. That it's a perfect gift for someone you love and know well but it's also a beautiful memento for yourself. That it has a way of transporting you to your favorite place while allowing for room to dream and modify your memory as you wish. When I see mine I think of different moments in time, each fabric square tells a different story about the place and the elements in it. I simply can't stop looking at it! :)
-Natalie from Connecticut
Space is limited so contact me by November 1, 2018 to schedule a time. Click HERE for the Contact Me form.
If you want to learn more about the process, click HERE. I’d be happy to answer any questions you have about the process. Just let me know.