Oftentimes artists, writers and musicians fall prey to the popular overly-romanticized notion that creative work can only be the result of locking oneself away and solitarily mining for the gem of creative genius within. While it is true that to develop virtuosic technique countless hours must be spent in the studio or practice room—more often than not, alone—in reality artistic and musical work is informed by much of what has come before, and by and large as a result of collaboration and interaction with other artists.

 Geniocity blogger Peter Friedman supports this “nothing comes from nothing” idea, and his writing also tries to dispel the idea that solitary inspiration is the sole source of creativity.  While Peter’s writing tends to deal more with the idea of intellectual property ownership and how it relates to the process of how artists create, I found it interesting to think about how an artist actually functions, business-wise, when not working on the task of creating their work.

Many times when an artist leaves the structure of their own studio or practice room to work on business issues, they can lose focus and make poor use of time. Working as a freelancer means that the artist is likely to be their own manager, bookkeeper and marketing professional, among wearing other hats as well. Without applying the same type of structure and self-discipline that say, a musician would use to practice a new technique or work of music, many creative types find managing the business sides of their careers daunting and frustrating.  They know they have to do these tasks, but just don’t know where to start.  Structure is a key point. In order to maximize the time spent on business matters, artists must outline schedules and structure so that they can effectively deal with their business issues and not infringe upon the amount of time they would like be working creatively. Here are just a few tips on effective time management, aimed at creative professionals who often find themselves working alone, outside of a structured work or office environment.