One of the questions I hear most often is, “How do you find time to make art?”
The honest answer is that I don’t.
I don’t suddenly find an uninterrupted hour waiting for me at the end of the day. Like most people, my days are filled with responsibilities, work, family, and a hundred little things competing for my attention.
So instead of trying to find more time, I started looking at the time I already had.
That’s when everything changed.
I keep a mini sketchbook in my pocket almost everywhere I go. Along with it are a couple of pencils and an eraser. If I’m waiting for someone, sitting in the car for a few minutes, or have a little downtime between tasks, that’s what I reach for.
I also carry a larger sketchbook in my bag inside my Sketch Wallet. If I have a little longer to sit somewhere, that’s usually the one I’ll pull out.
Most of the drawings that eventually become paintings don’t happen all at once.
They happen in pieces.
Maybe I spend three minutes sketching while I’m waiting for an appointment.
Later that afternoon I add another five minutes while my computer is loading.
The next day I might refine the drawing a little more.
Eventually, when I have dedicated painting time, I already have a collection of finished sketches waiting for me.
That’s become one of my favorite parts of the process.
Instead of wondering what I should paint, I’ve already done that work. I simply open a finished sketchbook or flip through my Artist Trading Cards and choose one that’s ready for color.
I don’t try to find thirty free minutes.
I collect three, five, and ten-minute moments throughout the day until they become thirty minutes.
Those small moments add up faster than you’d think.
Working this way has also changed how I learn.
Smaller drawings naturally keep me focused on the things that matter most—shape, value, composition, and color—instead of getting caught up in tiny details before I’ve mastered the fundamentals. Finishing more studies means learning more lessons, and each one builds on the last.
I once heard a story about a man who wanted to build the habit of going to the gym. For the first couple of weeks, he drove there, walked inside, and then immediately left. Later he stayed for five minutes. To everyone else it probably looked strange, but he wasn’t trying to become fit overnight. He was becoming someone who always showed up.
That story has stayed with me because I think creativity works the same way.
Consistency isn’t built during your biggest creative days.
It’s built during the smallest ones.
One practice that’s helped me more than almost anything else is choosing a reference photo before the day begins. I keep what I call my “Drawing of the Day” in an album on my phone. That way, if I reach for my phone, it’s usually to open my reference—not to scroll.
That one small habit has probably saved me countless hours of distraction.
More importantly, it’s helped me create far more art.
Looking ahead, I’m excited to begin a personal challenge of creating one hundred portrait studies. Not because I expect every portrait to be great, but because I know what happens when you show up consistently. One small study leads to another, and over time those small moments become meaningful growth.
Sometimes creating isn’t about finding more time.
It’s about seeing the time you already have differently.
And I’ve found that if I reach for my sketchbook instead of my phone, I’m happier at the end of the day.
Not only because I spent less time scrolling.
But because I have something I created that wasn’t there when the day began.
— Zak