We are disciplined time managers, planning production studio time carefully, and determining how much stock of our work to have on hand at any given time. And we ramp up on stock starting in early fall, knowing the volume of business will spike near Christmas. In spite of proactive planning i am sad to say the day before a show, or the week leading up to it we find ourselves sleep deprived, working day and night to just get ready, have enough on hand, and be able to well represent our work. And there goes the balanced life.... simple things like the laundry or tidying the house are put on hold for the urgent.... And all the hard work to keep the stock of our work high pays off with brisk sales, increased demand from the galleries we are in, and overall favorable outcome.
But it feels like we are not working smarter, just harder. I would value the thoughts of veteran artists on how you find balance on the your life, while maintaining a solid production schedule to fulfill demand. I am growing concerned that the pace leading to Christmas is challenging, and the toll of sleep deprivation will come if i don't start getting some better sleep hours.
