I'm really sorry to hear about your situation :c
I really wish I could help more. If you'd like, we can talk on discord. You know where I am

i'd say try to have a schedule or calendar of everything you want to do and are doing, and pretty much write down the hours that you can work on different things, that way you can make a small routine and slowly stress less about your job

I have made a calendar with time tables to follow which did relieve stress a little bit on the art job its moreso the other job is retail so I come home with my muscles in agony every day. This is a helpful suggestion though!!

Do you have a ko-fi I can send you something on to help out? :)

really ;; thank you so much I appreciate it. You really don't have to but also anything helps so I can't thank you enough

https://ko-fi.com/1286YST0S4DH2

I learned to embrace the suck and be that nutty guy who's always smiling/joking through the worst shit. Oh and alcohol. x)
Everyone learns how to deal with the suck their own way, best of luck on your adventure stranger. :))))

I am trying my best to be silly despite the horrors as well. I dont really drink much I just...eat sweets to cope.
For sure though best of luck to you too!!! Thank you for your words of encouragement!

No worries yo :3 see I actually don't like sweets, never likes the flavor x) much prefer bitter. Keep up the good fight tho, you're doing a great job!

I can 100% relate, as I've had to juggle (and still somewhat am juggling) my full time job with art commissions, and the wait times being so long made it incredibly stressful.

The best advice I can give is to just accept that your turnaround time is not going to realistically be near what it used to be /and that is ok!/. Just keep communication clear and open, and your clients will all likely understand and have no issue with waiting.

Outside of your scheduled job days, set aside at least one day for you to rest and do no work, two if possible (ideally the first day you have off from your job) and then let the other days be days you focus on art progress. This will hopefully help you avoid any guilty feelings about not doing art during every spare second you have from work, because you have set days to work on art and set days you get to rest or work on personal art. This hopefully will help you avoid burnout. Also know that it is ok to take a week or two off art every now and then if you need the extra days to also run errands/clean and still keep your lazy/relaxation days between work shifts.

As someone who has struggled A LOT with juggling art motivation, commissions and a full time job (and now with a puppy to train for service work in my spare time), I have had clients that have waited a year or two for their commission to be completed, and each one of them was just happy to have check ins and any amount of progress updates when it was available, and they really valued the communication. Don't let the extended turnaround time stress you out a ton, it'll probably be more detrimental to your art motivation and cause burnout much faster. Communication is usually more important to a client than a quick turnaround.

I see ok ;; that makes sense. I have definitely been super stressed out with it but I hope it turns out alright. I appreciate the help and good luck to you too man ;;

Wishing you the best, taking hot showers/bathes help with stress, and good music. Remember to get your sleep!

thank you!

Most welcome.

Your physical and mental health are of most importance. I'm in the same position myself. On one hand, I'm trying to reserve time for art and for personal work, but my day job takes so much out of me that I have to spend a literal day to recover before I can get myself motivated to do -anything-. Regardless, these past two years have been a literal nightmare and I don't feel comfortable going into great detail about it.

I've learned to manage my time and prioritize things based on importance. I also block off my schedule so that I can get an ample of work done while prioritizing my well-being, relationships, and chores. It took a while and I've struggled many times, but I eventually found a schedule that works for me and the results pay off. Communication is also key. As long as you explain your situation to your commissioners, then that's what matters. Overall, I hope to finish some commissions myself, open new ones, and to just make a living from animation/art adjacent things. I really want to stop working a day job that makes me far too exhausted to even make breakfast.

You're not alone. Things will work out in the end.

For sure dude you dont have to go into it but I appreciate your advice! Its really rough out there and I wish you the best of luck as well.

YES!! things will work out!!! They have to