My recent entry in my visual dream journal. I’m Staring wide-eyed into the darkness, face-to-face with something as intense as a lion… or maybe it’s Minty, my cat, pressing down on my chest, a furry symbol of my overwhelm and a creative weight. I still manage to sleep well enough despite my monstrous to-do list, but the reality of it all still waits for me in the morning. It’s as if the lion prowls around my dreams, reminding me of all the creative dreams and projects that I’m not finishing. It’s both amusing and exhausting, and sometimes I wonder if Minty’s intense stare is just her way of saying, “Good luck getting it all done!”
Do you need time?
So, how do I balance this need for time with the need for sleep – that other key to staying remotely functional and creative? Here are some strategies I’m attempting. Will they work? Maybe…
1. Steal Time in the Edges
For a while, I was getting sucked into the “sleep less, create more” trap. After all, there’s always a new idea or a lingering project that feels like it could use just “one more hour.” But sacrificing sleep only turns me into a zombie. So, I’ve started treating sleep like a non-negotiable, and instead, I’m trying to find time in the little “edges” of my day. Going to the toilet? Why not recreate my dream using ai on my phone. Kids down for a nap? That’s 15 glorious minutes of uploading my art to print on demand sites. It’s a constant scavenger hunt for those fleeting moments, and while they may not feel like much on their own, they add up.
2. Embrace the Visual Dream Journal
I’m finding a new way to make sleep work for me. The lion image from my dream journal is a reminder that my subconscious is on overdrive, churning out visuals and concepts even while I sleep. So, I crazily type them into the ai machine when I wake up. It’s like I’m outsourcing part of my creative process to the “sleep brain.” If I can’t get all the time I want for art, I might as well let the dream world combined with ai do some of the heavy lifting, right?
3. One Small Step at a Time
Trying to finish a whole project, like my kids’ book, in one go is laughable at this point. Instead, I’m setting micro-goals – finishing just one page, or even just the outline of one animal. Small, digestible steps. And when I actually complete one? I celebrate. Sometimes it’s just a happy dance in the kitchen, other times I reward myself by taking a nap in the middle of the days chaos. Because I’m actually still working, my mind is almost better at creating in my sleep than when I’m awake.
In the end, I think it’s about accepting that there may never be enough time, and that my dreams (both literal and metaphorical) are as vital to my process as any hours I can steal during the day. The lion in the artwork is a reminder that the artist’s battle for time – and sleep – is a never-ending one. But maybe that’s okay.
So here’s to every artist out there trying to tame their own lions. May you find time and sleep in equal measure, or at least make peace with the lack of both.
Kids Book Illustrator Andy C Marshall 