Tracking design time tip

[C-her]

Not sure if anybody else does this but I use my tablet, watch and or phone to track my time when working. I use the stop watch function. Start it up when I start then pause it when I need to step away from designing. When I am able to get back to it I start it up again. I can continue the stopwatch the next day or so but I log it at the end of my day and log it on my spreadsheets. I know it seems to take all the fun out of being creative but if one is curious about their time spent it’s a way to do it.

 

[Hermes2020]

As an amateur, I don't see the need for tracking time, but it should help professional artists who sell to arrive at realistic prices for their works. Remember that the time you spend producing art is just one factor in the equation when putting a price tag on a painting or sculpture.

In a previous life I managed a contract chemical analysis lab and had to give quotations to clients for various chemical tests. In that environment, the actual time an analyst spent doing a job multiplied by the total cost of employing the analyst per hour (not just the end of month salary) was just one part of a bigger calculation of the price to charge. One also had to take into account things like the write off period of very expensive equipment, the cost per square meter of using the laboratory, utilities like electricity and water usage during the experiment, cost of materials used, etc. I think many artists here would, if they did a similar costing, discover that the prices they put on their products are far too low.

 

[Artyczar]

I fully agree with Hermes, but not just for professionals. Time is just one element of figuring out pricing because after you establish a baseline price for your work, time does become irrelevant. It's good for beginners though. I would not use a stopwatch because many artists can't work like this, or prefer not to. An estimate of time does fine in most cases.

 

[C-her]

I fully agree with Hermes, but not just for professionals. Time is just one element of figuring out pricing because after you establish a baseline price for your work, time does become irrelevant. It's good for beginners though. I would not use a stopwatch because many artists can't work like this, or prefer not to. An estimate of time does fine in most cases.

When I worked management in retail, floristry and in spreadsheet world, time management was a necessity and turned into a passion for me and I use it as a tool in my artistic world.

Knowing time can teach discipline and focus and awareness.

Decision making, mulling it over and planning starts long before the art work begins. I do not time these things.

If time is not relevant for you and your work that is fine. This was just a tip.

 

[Artyczar]

If course time is relevant, I was just saying that for professionals, time can be estimated, and it is only one part of the equation once a baseline (in pricing) is established, then keeping actual track of it no longer is a factor.