How do you manage a (non-art) full-time job and progressing in art?

>>3008520
Change your routine so the job is the last thing you do before dinner and going to sleep, which is to say start your rutine at 2AM go to sleep at 5-6Pm

relatively easy comrade, sleep between 2-4 hours a day like moi

if you ever need a kick get caffeine pills and shy away from sugars

>>3008520
what's your job?
i have a desk one and usually have some time to doodle and practice ideas.
then again, i'm beginner.

Stop jerking off
Stop hanging out with friends
Stop watching TV
Stop visiting with family
Stop playing video games
Your free time is a precious resource, hoard it jealously

>>3008544

full retard mode.

>sacrificing your mental faculties for a job that's 90% knowledge based

>>3008526

This is good advice.

if you're too tired to draw after work, that means you should draw before work (IMO the morning is the best time to draw anyway). Nothing stops you from going to bed early and waking up early, if we say it's 8 hours of your day and an hour transit each way, you've still got 6-8 hours not spent at work.

>>3008520
as a full time programmer its kind of hard to keep up with art, but i find ways to manage it.
if i can get a seat on the train, i draw (45 minutes each way).
while im on break, i draw random stuff on my desk while i eat.
when im at home i set aside at least 30 minutes to just have fun with what im doing. all up thats a little over 2 and a half hours a day im drawing. it adds up, just set aside a bit of time here or there and you will see results.

>>3008560
This should go with saying.

>>3008566
Why do you need a seat on the train to be able to draw?

Just don't have a job.

>>3008566
So don't become a full time programmer, got it.

>>3008575
have you tried drawing in a soft back workbook while standing up on a shaky train while being pushed around by people getting on and off a train?
worst case scenario i cant draw, my hand ruins the other pages due to sweat and i maybe accidentally stab someone with a pen (has happened in the past but nothing came of it thankfully)
best case scenario nothing of value is made, no experience is gleaned, and my pages are all fucked because sweaty hands. sitting down is important if only because i can use my legs as a table, rather than my palms.

>>3008580
yeah that works too i guess :^)

>>3008544
That's one way to get burnt out incredibly quickly.

I know because I worked my ass off for around 6 months like this last year, non-stop, I didn't do anything else but draw 18-20 hours a day and sleep, barely ate. By the end of that period of months I was in such a shit mood constantly, was angry all the time, suicidal and incredibly paranoid (I already have underlying mental health conditions that contributed to this, but this exacerbated that episode and it took on a much greater magnitude.) I took my art seriously to the point where I would get completely enraged when I was disturbed. If someone walked in while I was working it would throw me off for hours.

Really strained my relations with my family. Was told I lost a lot of weight but I was miserable. I couldn't take any feedback on board from an objective standpoint, I only saw the bad in what people were saying. Praise for my art was the only thing that made me feel better but that "high" only lasted so long.

Getting enough sleep, doing something other than art for a few hours a day is important. Our brains aren't infallible machines unfortunately, they need rest. Rest lets you take in what you've learned. Rest lets you find inspiration. I've improved more in the time I've let myself have more balanced days (last 2 months) than I did in that 6 month period last year.

Take care of yourself and your efforts will be repaid.

>>3008600
I draw in my hardcover A5 sketchbook all the time standing in trams, busses, trains, metros. I think the shakyness and randomness that the bumps of the ride add to my drawings are something that is nice. I've never stabbed someone with a pen, maybe because my pencils I use are getting a big shorter. I don't sweaty hands either.

>>3008576
/thread

>>3008520
Depends on how you define progress. If you have a full time job, your primary art motivations are having an enjoyable hobby, and rapid progress is less important.

I keep a polyphasic sleep schedule. Which helps compartmentalize my work and life
0700 wake up
0800-1000 sleep on bus
1000-1700 dick around at work
1700-1900 sleep on bus
1900-2300 eat, hygiene, movies
2300-2700 draw (or other hobby)
2800 go to bed

I've had the same schedule since 2010. I picked up drawing as a hobby in 2013 in my 2300-2700 time slot.

>>3008526
This. I just got a new job and I can confirm that you HAVE to schedule your personal work before your job, else you'll not be able to concentrate properly. Try to have one or two houra of spare time after work before you go to sleep and get two to four hours of productive stuff going before work. You'll be high functional at your practice and start the day with a confidence boost, that carries through work. When you're finally free you will really enjoy the well earned hour of slacking and easily fall asleep. Good luck!

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>>3008526
YEAH this is the answer actually - I go to work from 2pm to 10pm, go to sleep as soon as i get home between 10 & 11.

i wake up around 7am-8am, putt around my house eating breakfast/showering, then i draw and chill before work. working 2nd shift has completely changed my productivity, so I'm not on an endless cycle of work and sleep.

if you live in a first world country then you dont need a full time job to live in significant comfort

>>3008526
This anon is on the right track. Try organizing your schedule according to how you feel (energy wise) throughout the day. Most people seem to be at their most creative a little bit after waking up and having breakfast and slowly drain from there.

get a job where u can draw, i'm much more productive drawing at work than i am at home cause i have almost no interruptions

>>3008526
>>3008565
>>3008872
>>3008918
>>3009069

OP here, that sounds actually like a pretty good idea.

But do you guys have any experiences with working from home / home office and doing art?

Because at my job I might have the possibility in the future to do that.

Take your time. You have your entire life for progressing, the only important thing is not to stop progressing. If you keep your spirit going you will be better than most people wo "made it" and then burnt out. Keep the fire lit and let geology move your mountain.

You don't. That's why 90% of working artists started drawing at 15 or went to a solid school where they could continue drawing.

>>3008520
You become a madman and Work for the mere sake of being able to eat and therefore draw

>>3008526
Winner.

>>3008520
Only if you half ass both.
If you want to have the best possible possition at your workplace, you won't have free time.
If you want to improve your art in less than a decade, you won't have time to invest into bettering your professional performance.
So you'll half ass both while most likely ignoring your health and social life.

>>3008520
I'm half way there I think. I've been drawing non stop for 4.5 years and around 2 months ago I started getting commissions good enough to pay for my equipment.

Fwiw I'm on my 30s and work in a technical assistance position