I’ve always loved making art but for a really long time I struggled to actually sit and draw regularly because I didn’t know what my style was, I didn’t know how to find my creative voice, and I just didn’t make time for my art.

I wanted to be a creative person with creative hobbies, but when I sat down at my sketchbook I felt like I didn’t know what to actually do because I felt pressure from myself to always make art that was good.

So I eventually decided to throw my little creative identity crisis out the window and just spend a bit of time doodling something simple everyday even if it was bad art, and from those humble beginnings I’ve made an art career for myself.

Sometimes life gets really busy and it’s hard to make time for things like art that feel unimportant, but for a lot of us having that creative outlet is a form of therapy and a moment of calm in our day to have a bit of self expression, so don’t feel guilty if you want to make room for art in your life.

If you can just find 20 minutes in your day to pull out your sketchbook or iPad that’s really all it takes to fuel your creativity, improve your skills and build a lovely little art habit for yourself.

If you have more than 20 minutes some days then great, you can of course spend more time if you have it, but if you start with the expectation of 20 minutes then I find that it’s a short enough amount of time to convince yourself to sit down for… but still long enough to be able to enjoy actually creating something.

Drawing For 20 Minutes A Day

Now if you only have 20 minutes for your art then every moment counts and you want to make sure that your art supplies are easy to set up, easy to use and easy to pack away. Use whatever art supplies feel the most fun and comfortable for you - something that doesn’t have any hurdles.

For me that was coloured pencils in a sketchbook, for you it might be crayons or drawing in Procreate, whatever it is just make sure that it’s quick to find when you have a bit of free time to pick it up and get creative straight away.

I always struggled to come up with drawing ideas in the beginning so I personally found it hard to sit at a sketchbook and just draw something. You might be overflowing with ideas for things that you want to draw, but if you have no idea where to begin then it might be a good idea to brainstorm a list of drawing ideas first so that you have some ideas ready to go.

You can make your own list, or find a drawing challenge online, I have some drawing ideas on my Patreon, or you can make a Pinterest board with photo inspiration.

There are lots of things that you can draw in 20 minutes:

Objects that you see in front of you.
You can literally just draw things that you see around your living space, even if they don’t seem art worthy, and you can even use these little drawings as a sort of daily art diary of your life.

Abstract scribbles.
If you don’t have any drawing ideas then let loose and just scribble some shapes in colours that you like, and sometimes that sparks an idea or sometimes it looks good just as an abstract scribble.
Something you’ve drawn before.
You don’t have to have a new idea every time, you can just redraw something that you’ve already drawn either in a new way or with a slight variation. I draw flowers all the time and I haven’t gotten in trouble for it yet, so give it a go.
Simple characters.
When I first started I would draw really simple little characters that didn’t have complex faces or hands or any of the hard things to draw, but were fun because having a character helps tell a story, so you could try making your own character or choose a really simple animal like a snail or a ladybug or something similar.

You don’t have to love everything that you draw, because if you draw a little something everyday then over the course of the week or month, you’ll have a few gems, a lot of average sketches and a few things that you’re maybe a little embarrassed about, but from that you can learn so much about what works and doesn’t work.

The hard part of building a creative habit for a lot of people will be staying consistent, because we might be motivated for a few days but it’s hard to keep up that motivation when life gets busy and we’re being pulled in lots of different directions by all of our responsibilities.

Something that helps with that is making sure that it’s easy and fun, because we don’t need to convince ourselves to do things like watch Netflix, it’s easy to turn on, and fun to watch, so make sure that your daily art habit stays enjoyable and if it becomes a chore then switch things up.

And if it feels difficult because you have so many responsibilities to other people in your family or your household, try and establish a boundary with them that you just need 20 minutes of time for yourself, or include them in your art session if they won’t leave you alone.

I’m not going to pretend to know what your living situation is like, it might be impossible for you to find 20 minutes of peace in your house, but if you can try and establish a routine or expectation in your household that your 20 minutes of art time is just something you do like having a coffee in the morning or brushing your teeth, it’ll be easier to maintain it.

But is it even worth it if you only have 20 minutes a day?

The aim of building a creative habit like this isn’t to make something amazing every time, it’s just to enjoy having a creative outlet and to flex that creative muscle, so remove any expectations that you’re going to draw something that’s portfolio-worthy and assume that you’re only going to have time for a silly little doodle or some kind of scribble.

But that’s ok, that’s actually perfect, because a) doodles are fun to draw and b) from doodles and scribbles come bigger ideas that you can use when you have time to draw a larger or more finished piece of art.

And there’s still so much you can learn from small sketches, so even just a little bit of time each day can help you genuinely improve your art skills over time.

20 minutes a day is 2 hours and 20 minutes a week… or 121 hours a year.

121 hours is three weeks at a full time job, so imagine how much you’d learn if you committed three full weeks of the year to your art. You’d learn loads, so let’s not trick ourselves into thinking that 20 minutes a day is not a worthwhile amount of time.

At the end of the day, if you’ve taken a little bit of time to doodle something then that’s an investment in yourself and something that you wanted to do, which is worth so much even if you didn’t like what you drew.

It doesn’t matter if you miss a few days, because it’s a habit, it’s not about perfection.

But every day that you find 20 minutes for yourself to be creative is telling yourself that you’re a priority to yourself, the things that you want to do are important, and that yes you’re allowed to be an artist.

It’s like a little vote in your favour everyday, and that’s a powerful thing.

It’s not always about the big gestures or the masterpieces that you’re so proud to show off, I think it’s more life-changing to give yourself a little bit of time each day (which is the most valuable asset that we have) to spend on something that makes you feel good and that you want to improve on.

So, if you can, spend 20 minutes less each day on what everyone else needs from you and give yourself back that time to draw some silly things in your sketchbook, because at the very least it’ll bring some joy and creativity into your day, but it also might set you up with a habit for life that brings you creative opportunities and maybe even an art career.