In the deep parent mode…
I was about 6 years into freelancing as a graphic designer / illustrator by the time I found out I was expecting my first child. The months leading up to the big day were spent in both excitement and terror: the upcoming changes to my creative career (that I’ve been working so tirelessly on setting up all these years) were imminent.
My top concerns were:
how to find the time to maintain enough creative activity and remain a working freelancer while being a new mom
what do I do to not be overwhelmed by the realities of new motherhood and keep my drive to be creative
how do I do it all while remaining “a good mother” (a concept of “good” is differs per person, of course)
Needless to say that you can never prepare enough for what’ll be in the trenches until you’re actually in the thick of it. You don’t know what kind of kid you’ll get, what their personality will be like, the sleeping habits (and the amount of the sleep deprivation you’ll have to endure), the health issues - all of it would directly influence every plan going forward. Childcare and outside help opportunities are different to each family too.
It’s a giant subject to tackle. With my second kid slowly entering the 3 year mark, and my sanity slowly coming back, I am able go through and start analyzing what helped me the most during this turbulent half of the decade. For the full picture - we also moved 2 times during this period: from DC area to Germany, where we lived for 2 years (and where my daughter was born), and then moved back to US (where we lived for the first few months in Virginia, and then moved to Huntsville).
Somehow I’ve managed to keep the creative side of things going. What helped (and still helps) me the most is:
focusing on things I can control
being flexible (but disciplined!) with my workflow distribution
allowing myself to f-ing rest whenever I feel I need it
Here are some additional pointers:
if you have an opportunity to hire any type of help - take it! Even if it’s just a babysitter entertaining your kid for two hours while you’re in another room making that art.
timers are your friends, especially if you’re like me. My discipline has always been “limping”, so dividing my work hours into 45/15 chunks helps the productivity tremendously. Illustrator Yana Frank talk about this system in her book (alas, available only in Russian). The basic principle is that the most effective work lasts about 45 minutes at a time, so you end up being more productive in an hour if you focus completely on one task for 45 minutes, and then completely change the activity for next 15 minutes (stepping away from the screen, going outside). And repeat. I would add that if you have less time due to the chaos of parenting, the timer is still useful. Keeping track on how long it takes you to complete a task is a highly useful knowledge - a topic that deserves a separate blog post.
The white noise machine during day naps + babywearing (the wrap for the tiny babies , and the carrier for the older ones) if the kid really likes to fight the sleep. Besides being able to work on my digital stuff (iPadPro being wireless is easier than Wacom for this), I could sketch and paint (watercolors and ink washes have worked out better than any other materials), while having my kid snuggled up right under my nose.
Here is also a list of inspiring books that were useful to me during the trying times:
The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Stephen Pressfield
Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity by David Lynch
The Art Spirit by Robert Henri
Creative Authenticity: 16 Principles to Clarify and Deepen Your Artistic Vision by Ian Roberts
The 99U books: Make Your Mark: The Creative's Guide to Building a Business with Impact Manage Your Day-to-Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, and Sharpen Your Creative Mind and Maximize Your Potential: Grow Your Expertise, Take Bold Risks & Build an Incredible Career
Muse, Where Are Your Wings? and The Muse and The Beast by Yana Frank (in Russian)
It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be by Paul Arden
Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (And Rewards) of Artmaking by David Bayles
Podcasts:
Your Dreams My Nightmares by Sam Weber of SVA
Bang Bang Education (in Russian)
There is so much more to be covered on this mountain of a subject. Later I will write more on communication with your clients during the transition, tracking your work and staying organized, editing down your workflow and making it more efficient, as well as other specifics that I’m sure will come up.
For now, it’s just good to remind yourself that you’re doing your best in each department, and sometimes the best (and beneficial) is to allow some things to go idle for a while and focus fully on things that can’t be put on pause. And for those times when nothing seems to work - this too shall pass.