Archive Category - Blog from Markilus

Best of my productivity-themed Inktober

In 2019 I did my Inktober on Instagram about the topic of productivity. A lot of the tips I gave with those posts are helpful for artists and designers as well. Therefore I decided to post a best-of here too. I hope they can help you!

Don't wait till you can do it Illustration — Don’t put something off because you can’t do it. The “can-do” comes after you work on it for some time! Just start what you want to do and the ability to do it successfully comes with it.

Prevent the cycle of fear Illustration — The cycle of fear is “not doing enough => lack of results => fear” repeating. If you are not doing enough there is no result or progress. With no progress comes fear. Fear prevents you from doing work, therefore you lack results again. It is a loop you will have trouble breaking out again. Remember this and work against this cycle if it starts to happen.

write about it Illustration — It helps if you start writing about the problems you have. Keep a little journal or write directly into your sketchbook. If you begin to struggle start writing about what you think right now and how you feel. Do it for like 10 minutes. After that, it will be much easier for you, or you even found the solution to your problem while writing.

Have lazy days illustration — You are not a machine, you need to recharge sometimes, so plan lazy days when you do nothing. The key is not to make those days the norm. Plan them carefully. The best times are after you finish a project or start a new one. Or just in between when you are stuck.

Don't be perfect Illustration — Over the years I realized that I have more fun doing imperfect drawings. If I would try to do this Inktober flawless I probably wouldn’t finish it. Or I would be stressed as crazy about the whole challenge. So be imperfect and enjoy the ride. You will do more and have more fun!

Breaks are important Illustration — Take your breaks! You can work much more if you do them. Don’t see them as a waste of time because that’s not true. It is a part of your working day as long as you don’t take 15 min breaks every 10 minutes.