Feeling Overwhelmed Artists? 5 Steps to declutter your creative mind.

Conversation by Ting Yuen. Acrylic on Canvas. 20"x20"

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​Hi there, When starting something new, like building an art business, you are dealing with fears of the unknown and information overload. It is not surprising that you stay up at night, worrying about how you can get your business off the ground. The stress is unbearable, and I completely understand where you are coming from because I have been there many times.

I suffer from Insomnia too. These nights are spent reading books, watching T.V., eating, and meditating, but despite my best efforts, nothing seemed to help. My mind continued to whirl actively on my to-do list, and that kept me completely alert.

In my last insomnia episode, I promised myself to stop the nonsense and get proactive at solving the problem. Because when you suffer from sleep deprivation, you lose motivation. The truth is if you don’t keep your overwhelm under control, it may overpower you with self-doubt and fear paralysis, which would devastate your personal and business life.  So after some research, I came up with a 5 step plan.

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Here is the five-step solution that will help you to move past the stage of being overwhelmed and into a productive phase.
#1 Brain Dump
The first thing you want to do is a brain dump. Grab a piece of paper and write down everything that is bothering you. Underline the ones that are important and rank them by the number of importance.

#2 Simplify
Second, scratch out anything unnecessary on your list. Things that are not moving the needle for your business get taken off the list. For eg. Obsessive Website tweaking. 

#3 Strategize and Schedule
Thirdly, simplify every underlined task and develop solutions or strategies for each one. It may read something like this: Batch Social Media posts, complete 1 painting weekly, or take an art business course. Next, schedule them on your calendar by order of urgency. 

#4 Mindset
Fourth, trust your process and have faith. Having the right mindset is easier said than done. To achieve your goal, you have to be determined and proactive in seeing things through. Whenever you see yourself slipping into self-doubt, remind yourself of all the things that you were once unfamiliar with that you are now good at doing. It is a great idea to write down your accomplishments regardless of magnitude and paste them on your wall. Whenever you run into self-doubt, revise the list to ground yourself.

#5 Self Care
Fifth, develop good habits that support your workload. Having discipline is vital to accomplish your goals. That means you have to have at least 6 hours of sleep every night, a good diet, and daily exercise.  And at least one day off a week to rest and play. Having a  self-care system in place will energize you and help you face any challenges that come your way with a clear mind.

If you like what you are reading, join my new Facebook group, where I share many mindset strategies with like-minded artists that want to get ahead and develop an art business that is sustainable and profitable. See you there!

With Creative Joy,
Ting