A Day in the Life of an Unemployed Artist

I've been unemployed for a little over five months now – it hasn't been all bad though. Thankfully I have been able to focus my time on writing for Vocal and creating YouTube videos; two things I'm very passionate about and bring me joy! But, it can be hard to be productive when you're stuck at home and just kind of figuring things out.

Allow me to share a day in my life and the tips and tricks I use to stay productive:

But First, Exercise

I'll usually wake up sometime between 6:00 - 7:00 A.M. (I ditched alarm clocks to help with my insomnia) and start my day with exercise! I know, I know – I'm one of those people. Without exercise though, I know I would be much less lively and the day as a whole would be a lot less successful. Also, there's plenty of evidence that shows that morning exercise can increase your energy, help you focus better, and improve your mood – which I can attest to.

Personally, I like to run (which only further proves how crazy I am). I've been running six days a week for the past eight years! Now resistance band training has become a regular part of my morning workout routine, five days a week, to spice things up and keep me feeling strong. I follow a YouTube channel called ACHV PEAK for my at home resistance training – they have workouts for dumbbell or resistance band users and for people of all fitness levels.

There's one day a week that I use as an active recovery day from running and resistance training – I'll usually go for a walk and do some light yoga instead.

Once I finish my workout I'm instantly in a better mood and more motivated to tackle the rest of the day!

Tip: It's important to move your body; it's even more important that the exercise you do is something you enjoy. Whether it's walking, dancing, or lifting weights – just stick to what feels good to you.

Check My Lists

Next thing I do after eating a delicious breakfast (typically of oatmeal) and showering is check my to-do lists. This is something I started doing recently because I was having a hard time keeping track of everything I needed to get done in a day. Also, I struggle with feeling unaccomplished at the end of a day – because writing and video editing aren't always tasks that can get done in a single day – so it's helpful for me to breakdown big tasks into smaller objectives and check them off throughout the day. It's a simple way to stay on task and celebrate little victories.

Typically, I use a notepad to write down my objectives for the next day (I enjoy the physical act of checking off an item), however, there are dozens of apps you can use to organize your to-do lists (Todoist, Remember The Milk, Google Tasks and many more).

Tip: Plan out your to-do list the night before but be very general about the things you're going to accomplish the following day so that you avoid going to bed stressed.

Get To Work!

Once I've got my to-do list in mind, I'm ready to get down to business! Each day can be pretty different depending on the week and the projects I have going on at the moment but, in general, I follow the same format everyday.

I will usually spend the first couple of hours focusing on getting easy to-dos out of the way. Let's say a story of mine gets published in the morning – I'd spend this time sharing that story across all my social media platforms. I might also use this time to work on a thumbnail for a YouTube video or add some final touches, if a video isn't already complete.

Next, I spend the following few hours working on more demanding tasks. If I need to finish editing a post for Vocal or start something new, I'll usually do that around this time. I might also work on editing that week's YouTube video.

Then, as we approach late afternoon/early-evening, I go back to engaging with less demanding tasks. Perhaps my story wasn't published until the afternoon – I'd use this time to share it on social media. Writing can bleed into this time, however I mostly spend it working on my Instagram stories/posts. This is one of my favorite things to do because I get to play around with colors and designs in order to make a beautiful post (because who isn't all about Instagram aesthetic?).

I try to follow an ideal schedule according to my chronotype (a classification system used to help understand a person's sleep and productivity schedules). Evidently, a few online quizzes determined I am a "Dolphin" and this article on Casper.com describes the ideal schedule for my chronotype as well as the three others. Following this general guideline has surprisingly improved my productivity (as well as my sleep).

Tip: Take this quiz to determine your chronotype and follow your ideal schedule. Notice how this affects your productivity.

Tip: Take breaks when you've hit a block. Dance it out, go for a walk, or just take a few minutes to stand up and stretch.

Rest Well, Work Well

Finally, my favorite and most important part of the day – time to rest! Well, rest and prep... But mostly rest.

Once I've finished with my work for the day or I just can't stand to write another word, I'll take some much needed time for me. Usually this means I will watch Netflix or YouTube for a couple hours or I'll take a nice warm bath. I know – baths. They're a little disgusting to think about but I seriously love them! They're perfect for de-stressing and often they help me sleep better, too.

After I've finished vegging out for the night, I'll also do some quick and easy food prep such as slicing up or marinating tofu so that I can spend less time cooking lunch the next day.

An hour to an hour-and-half before I go to sleep is when I turn off all phone, computer, or TV screens. The only exception is that I leave my TV on with a black screen while I play some calming mediation music. I leave on a dim lamp and begin my bedtime routine:

First, I write down on my chalkboard calendar at least three things I was grateful for that day. Next, I'll spend at least ten minutes journaling about my day so that if there's anything bothering me, I can get it out of my head. I also do some light planning/to-do list writing for the following day. Then I try to read for at least 30 minutes – reading before bed has improved my sleep and decreased the number of headaches I experience everyday so it's a must do.

Finally, before I lay my head to rest, I spend at least ten minutes meditating. Meditation has been one of the most significant factors in maintaining a productive life – it has taught me to slow down and stay focused on the present moment.

Then I'm off to dream land and wake up the next day ready to tackle whatever comes my way!

Tip: Develop a solid night-time routine that helps you wind down and keeps you away from screens. A good routine leads to great sleep and quality sleep sets us up for productive workdays!

How Can I Improve?

In the words of Hannah Montana, "everybody makes mistakes" – and that includes me. I certainly don't follow this schedule exactly as I should everyday and I have my own bad habits I need to improve upon. Here's a couple small changes I will make moving forward in order to be at least a tiny bit more productive:

Schedule Time Wisely

I get distracted easily – it's just a fact. Because of that fact I find it difficult to finish tasks in a timely manner working from home. Either I'm "taking a break" to watch one YouTube video or Netflix episode (which turns into several) or I'm reaching for my phone for no good reason.

My solution to this is to schedule my time more wisely. Currently, my YouTube videos are the only projects with a regular upload schedule, but I'd like to start scheduling specific days and times for writing, editing, and posting. Additionally, I plan on using a parental control app to lock certain apps and limit screen time while I'm writing.

Meal Prep

Cooking is something I find great joy in doing, however, it can be very time consuming. The time spent preparing breakfast, lunch, and dinner could be used to finish my various projects quicker.

An easy and obvious solution to this is to meal prep at the beginning of each week. However I think I'll stray from the norm and actually meal prep in the middle of the week as well as the beginning. Who wants to eat five day old food? The hardest part will be deciding what tasty food I should make!

Progress Over Perfection

Allow me to reiterate – I am not perfect. I will definitely continue to mess up, get distracted, and have my lazy days; these things are allowed and make us human. The important thing is to strive for progress and improvement, not perfection, and the results will follow.

And even though it would be nice to have a steady income (or any income), the time spent working for myself has shown me just how powerful I truly am.

If you'd like to watch a day in my life, check out this video:

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed, please leave a like or a tip, share, or read some of my other writing by clicking on my profile icon. Thank you for supporting me, I really appreciate you and your time!

Let me know your thoughts on Instagram (deverswriting) or Twitter (doitlikederk).