Most of us will have days or weeks when we can’t make as much stuff as we’d like. Things get busy, we have jobs, families and lives which means occasionally you’ll be out of time to sit down and make art. There are some simple tips you can try to maximize the thinking, mulling, and considering time that can help fuel your creative work. I think time allotted for musing and pondering is highly underrated, and the tips below go some of the way in allowing for more time these moments.

1. Read before you fall asleep

This is a classic subconscious-employing trick, used a lot for when you really need to study and remember material. If you want to think more about your artwork (or anything), read about it just before you fall asleep. Studies show that your brain remembers more and thinks subconsciously about the information you process just before going into REM sleep. You might even dream about what you read, were thinking about or were doing just before sleep. If you’re reading a book on creativity you really want to digest, this is a great strategy to help recall and your own creative process.

2. Take notes whenever ideas come

Take notes. Lots of notes. No matter what time of day (or night). Give keeping a notepad and pen beside your bed, and always carry one in your handbag or pocket. Don’t be afraid to take notes in public, in elevators, or anywhere the inspiration strikes. Some strategies you could try are making lists of future or potential artwork or doing lose free-form sketches of half-baked ideas for new works. Taking notes can be valuable in their offhanded, indiscriminate format — sometimes they’re not important or playful, and sometimes they can be tiny seeds of gold.

3. Make conversations about your artwork a priority

Ditch the guilt around talking about yourself too much, and think about how much time you spend talking out loud about your artwork. It can really help to regularly make the effort to speak about what you’ve been working on. There’s a learning curve that comes out of forcing yourself to name things. Set up catch-ups or phone calls with others artists to check in with each other regarding your work. Hopefully these conversations can happen with family and friends or co-workers, and can be used as an artistic compass to check you are on course, on the whole, with making work.

If you can name the thing you’re doing, and explain why and describe it well to others, it’s a good sign you’re focused and really engaged with what you’re doing.

4. Use commute time

Use the time you’re driving, on the train, or commuting to and from work to your advantage. Read, listen, think, make lists, or mentally check off your progress. I know artists who use commute time to meditate and reflect on themselves, which is another interesting strategy to try. Using commute time means that when you do sit down to create work, you’ve often done the heavy thinking and are ready to dive into the practical, hands-on work. It is an obvious one, but it’s been tried and tested.

5. Don’t underestimate thinking time

When you’re not making artwork, make time to simply think. It seems like many artworks are made after months (or even years) of living inside your own head. Whether you’re at work, walking pets, or doing the dishes, using this time to think hard about your artwork can pay off greatly. You can often surprise yourself with how much you can progress you can make if you clock the thinking hours. Realizing that this was a “thing” was one of the most helpful and insightful lessons I learned as an artist. Thinking time is time well spent.

Try some of these ideas out and see what works (or doesn’t work) for you.

總有那么些日子我們無法完成預期的任務。事情越來越多，工作越來越累，里里外外忙忙碌碌，藝術創作也越發變得艱難。我來給你支幾招，教你如何優化時間管理，進行思索、斟酌與考慮，從而強化創新思維。我們用于揣摩與深思的時間嚴重匱乏，希望下列小貼士對你進行時間規劃有所幫助。

1. 睡前閱讀

這一調動潛意識的傳統方法多用于資料的學習與記憶。若要深入思考藝術創作（或者任何事情），那么就在睡前進行閱讀吧。研究表明，人類大腦在進入快速眼球運動睡眠(Rapid Eye Movement)之前，對所要處理的信息消化吸收得最快。你在睡前所讀、所想、所做的事情甚至可能出現在夢境中。假如你希望通透理解書本內容，那么睡前閱讀便是溫故知新的好方法。

2、記錄閃現的靈光

一旦靈光閃現，無論白天黑夜，趕緊記錄下來。床邊常備紙與筆，拎包與口袋里也務必備有本子。別羞于在大庭廣眾下做記錄，無論是在電梯里還是任何靈感出現的地方。可供嘗試的方法包括將計劃或可能進行的創作以及新作品的大概輪廓或大致思路列成清單。即便是當下隨意記錄的內容，其價值也不容忽視——有時看來用處不大的內容，在另一些時刻則大有燎原之勢。

3、三句話不離本行

不要愧于過多談論自己，想想你該花多少時間來“高談闊論”吧。如此一來有助于重復提起創作進展。當我們迫使自己說出某些事情時，便產生一條學習曲線。就工作進度與同行藝術家保持聯系或通話。與家人，朋友及同事之間的對話有望成為藝術指南，從整體上為你的創作進行導航。

假如你說得出手頭上的工作，并能夠將其清楚地解釋給別人聽，那么恭喜你，你已經足夠專注于你的創作了。

4.爭分奪秒勤思考

充分利用開車，乘車與通勤時間。閱讀，聆聽，思考，記錄與自省。就我所知，一些藝術家往往利用通勤時間進行反思與自省，你不妨也試試看。這樣做就意味著當正式工作開始的時候，經過深思熟慮的你能夠立馬進入狀態，投入實際工作。這種方法顯而易見，但還是經過了反復多次試驗。

5、思考創造價值

不創作的時候就思考吧。藝術作品往往要歷經數月乃至數年的潛心鉆研。利用工作，遛狗，洗碗的時間認真思考藝術創作，你將大有收獲。記錄下思考時間，再細數取得的進步，恐怕連自己都會震驚。要知道思考對于藝術家而言是受益無窮的必修課。把時間用于思考絕對虧不了。

以上小貼士是否對你有效，試試就知道。

Most of us will have days or weeks when we can’t make as much stuff as we’d like. Things get busy, we have jobs, families and lives which means occasionally you’ll be out of time to sit down and make art. There are some simple tips you can try to maximize the thinking, mulling, and considering time that can help fuel your creative work. I think time allotted for musing and pondering is highly underrated, and the tips below go some of the way in allowing for more time these moments.

1. Read before you fall asleep

This is a classic subconscious-employing trick, used a lot for when you really need to study and remember material. If you want to think more about your artwork (or anything), read about it just before you fall asleep. Studies show that your brain remembers more and thinks subconsciously about the information you process just before going into REM sleep. You might even dream about what you read, were thinking about or were doing just before sleep. If you’re reading a book on creativity you really want to digest, this is a great strategy to help recall and your own creative process.

2. Take notes whenever ideas come

Take notes. Lots of notes. No matter what time of day (or night). Give keeping a notepad and pen beside your bed, and always carry one in your handbag or pocket. Don’t be afraid to take notes in public, in elevators, or anywhere the inspiration strikes. Some strategies you could try are making lists of future or potential artwork or doing lose free-form sketches of half-baked ideas for new works. Taking notes can be valuable in their offhanded, indiscriminate format — sometimes they’re not important or playful, and sometimes they can be tiny seeds of gold.

3. Make conversations about your artwork a priority

Ditch the guilt around talking about yourself too much, and think about how much time you spend talking out loud about your artwork. It can really help to regularly make the effort to speak about what you’ve been working on. There’s a learning curve that comes out of forcing yourself to name things. Set up catch-ups or phone calls with others artists to check in with each other regarding your work. Hopefully these conversations can happen with family and friends or co-workers, and can be used as an artistic compass to check you are on course, on the whole, with making work.

If you can name the thing you’re doing, and explain why and describe it well to others, it’s a good sign you’re focused and really engaged with what you’re doing.

4. Use commute time

Use the time you’re driving, on the train, or commuting to and from work to your advantage. Read, listen, think, make lists, or mentally check off your progress. I know artists who use commute time to meditate and reflect on themselves, which is another interesting strategy to try. Using commute time means that when you do sit down to create work, you’ve often done the heavy thinking and are ready to dive into the practical, hands-on work. It is an obvious one, but it’s been tried and tested.

5. Don’t underestimate thinking time

When you’re not making artwork, make time to simply think. It seems like many artworks are made after months (or even years) of living inside your own head. Whether you’re at work, walking pets, or doing the dishes, using this time to think hard about your artwork can pay off greatly. You can often surprise yourself with how much you can progress you can make if you clock the thinking hours. Realizing that this was a “thing” was one of the most helpful and insightful lessons I learned as an artist. Thinking time is time well spent.

Try some of these ideas out and see what works (or doesn’t work) for you.

總有那么些日子我們無法完成預期的任務。事情越來越多，工作越來越累，里里外外忙忙碌碌，藝術創作也越發變得艱難。我來給你支幾招，教你如何優化時間管理，進行思索、斟酌與考慮，從而強化創新思維。我們用于揣摩與深思的時間嚴重匱乏，希望下列小貼士對你進行時間規劃有所幫助。

1. 睡前閱讀

這一調動潛意識的傳統方法多用于資料的學習與記憶。若要深入思考藝術創作（或者任何事情），那么就在睡前進行閱讀吧。研究表明，人類大腦在進入快速眼球運動睡眠(Rapid Eye Movement)之前，對所要處理的信息消化吸收得最快。你在睡前所讀、所想、所做的事情甚至可能出現在夢境中。假如你希望通透理解書本內容，那么睡前閱讀便是溫故知新的好方法。

2、記錄閃現的靈光

一旦靈光閃現，無論白天黑夜，趕緊記錄下來。床邊常備紙與筆，拎包與口袋里也務必備有本子。別羞于在大庭廣眾下做記錄，無論是在電梯里還是任何靈感出現的地方。可供嘗試的方法包括將計劃或可能進行的創作以及新作品的大概輪廓或大致思路列成清單。即便是當下隨意記錄的內容，其價值也不容忽視——有時看來用處不大的內容，在另一些時刻則大有燎原之勢。

3、三句話不離本行

不要愧于過多談論自己，想想你該花多少時間來“高談闊論”吧。如此一來有助于重復提起創作進展。當我們迫使自己說出某些事情時，便產生一條學習曲線。就工作進度與同行藝術家保持聯系或通話。與家人，朋友及同事之間的對話有望成為藝術指南，從整體上為你的創作進行導航。

假如你說得出手頭上的工作，并能夠將其清楚地解釋給別人聽，那么恭喜你，你已經足夠專注于你的創作了。

4.爭分奪秒勤思考

充分利用開車，乘車與通勤時間。閱讀，聆聽，思考，記錄與自省。就我所知，一些藝術家往往利用通勤時間進行反思與自省，你不妨也試試看。這樣做就意味著當正式工作開始的時候，經過深思熟慮的你能夠立馬進入狀態，投入實際工作。這種方法顯而易見，但還是經過了反復多次試驗。

5、思考創造價值

不創作的時候就思考吧。藝術作品往往要歷經數月乃至數年的潛心鉆研。利用工作，遛狗，洗碗的時間認真思考藝術創作，你將大有收獲。記錄下思考時間，再細數取得的進步，恐怕連自己都會震驚。要知道思考對于藝術家而言是受益無窮的必修課。把時間用于思考絕對虧不了。

以上小貼士是否對你有效，試試就知道。