RSS
Home
Use downtime to be productive
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
My neighbor, Mary is going to kill me for writing about her. Oh well, it's good things about her, and maybe you can help me by not telling her (shhh!) Mary is not an artist. So, why am I talking about Mary?
Everyone has a lesson to be learned from Mary, especially in these "tough economic times." (Boy, am I tired of hearing the word "economy!") But you see, Mary was laid off from her job recently. She doesn't have a spouse to help support her. It's all up to her to pay the mortgage.
This is sad, but not shocking. I'll get to the point soon, I promise -
Mary told me it took about a week for what had happened to sink in. She said she was "in shock basically, and just sat around all day at the computer." Then she'd had enough of that.
I noticed a flurry of activity around her home. She cleaned out her garage, took loads of stuff to the recycling center, cleaned out her closets and donated old clothing to charity. She repaired some things in the house. She mowed her yard, trimmed the shrubs, etc.
What's great about Mary is her attitude. She allowed herself one week to grieve. She is working hard on getting a new job, but in the meantime, she's being productive. You can really see what someone's made of when they are hit by rough times.
If I had a job opening, I'd hire Mary in a minute. You can teach almost anything to someone who has a good attitude about learning and work. I hope she won't be out of work very long. I told her I would happily write her a letter of recommendation.
What artists can learn from this is to use your "downtime" to be productive too.
Here are some ideas:
- If you aren't feeling creative, you can get your art supplies organized.
- You can weed out extra art supplies you may have and maybe an art teacher at a school would love to have them.
- You can organize your contacts list.
- You can write thank you notes to past clients.
- You can send out promotional postcards.
- You can get a book or DVD from the library and learn a new art skill.
- You can work on organizing an art club in your area.
- Add your own idea here
But, whatever you do, don't just sit around and mope. Keep yourself busy and productive, and other people will notice it too.
Just like I noticed Mary's productivity. She even inspired me to tackle my garage clutter yesterday. It feels so good - there's enough space now to draw, paint, do crafts with my kids!
We might even squeeze in a game of ping-pong.
Also read:
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
