Ten Minute Rule

One thing I've struggled with since being a mom (and really, this was a struggle before as well) is making time to create a priority.  Typically I'd always put my home responsibilities -- the dishes, the laundry, the dog hair -- on top, and if I happened to have extra time, I'd draw. This rarely ever happened, of course

I was talking with another new-mom-friend about this.  She had the opposite problem -- she'd prioritize her personal projects and housework would never get done.  We then had the idea that if we set a timer for ten minutes and focused on whatever task it was we were putting off (whether drawing or doing the dishes), we could get so much done.  You don't have to worry about completing the task, just focus on it exclusively for ten minutes.

I've been doing that with my drawing the last few weeks. Ransom is taking just one nap now, and so I have a precious 1.5-2.5 hours of quiet time to get things done.  I used to just dive into cleaning the kitchen after putting him down, but now most days I try to ignore the dishes and the clutter, sit down at my kitchen table (I do have to at least wipe that down), set the timer on my phone and draw for ten minutes.

I've been amazed at how much more I have drawn by doing this! Such as ..

Today with my 10 minutes I've started sketching out my next bug: a beetle. More on that later.

And guys, last week I said I wanted to post on this blog once a week, and here I am the very next week, doing what I said.  Bam!