Realistic Time Management

One obstacle on the path I've chosen to take is Time Management. As I've already mentioned, I have a "regular" full-time job, and a daughter, as well as some other commitments. It's enough to keep one quite busy!

So the question is, with all this going on, when and how do I find time to work towards my goal?

The answer is small steps.

In this endeavor, it is of utmost importance to move forward. It can be a huge leap, or a small step, the key here is the forward momentum. Not taking that first step is the path to failure.

You may be saying, "Great words, Jim...but talk is cheap!", and you would be right. Knowing and doing are, and always will be, two separate things. With that in mind, I'm going to share with you an example of how I handled this task last night.

There is an indoor swimming pool in the development I live. My daughter loves going to this pool; she's like a fish in the water! Last weekend was "my" weekend, and I promised her I would take her to the pool. Other things had come up, and we never made it until yesterday. I was determined to keep this promise to my daughter; I feel keeping promises to your children is one of the most important things in life, and I didn't want to let her down. So, as I mentioned, last night, I finally took her to the pool. She had a friend join her so she wouldn't be bored, since Dad here can't seem to find his swim trunks! To pass the time, I brought the previously mentioned Scott McCloud book and my sketch pad. I read and did some sketching, getting in some of that forward momentum I mentioned. There was a swimming instructor in the pool, plus I was never more than a few feet away from my daughter, giving me some peace of mind in that respect.

I also spent my lunch yesterday working on the script/story for a personal project I've had going on for a few years now. It forces me to eat slower, which is supposed to make you feel more full and eventually eat less, another benefit of this option.

The point here is that there are opportunities throughout the day; you just have to notice them. Even if you only do something for 10 minutes, it's a step forward towards your goal. Feel proud of that, not discouraged, because you are MOVING! That, my friends, is the key.

On a final note, there will be times when you can't fit anything in; that is the reality of life. I was sick for a few days last week and did little else but sleep. As creators, we tend to get depressed during this time, as we aren't working. I've found that this type of depression can quickly lead to giving up if you let it, so I want to add that you MUST learn to FORGIVE yourself for those types of days. Life will throw things at you that knock you off the path from time to time; falling off isn't important, getting back on is.

Try to think of at least one thing you can do today at any given time that moves you towards your goal, and feel proud of it. If you are having one of those days, promise yourself you'll get back on track. Don't quit, don't get angry at yourself - find solutions, not problems. This, I feel, leads to more realistic time management, which in turn brings you closer to your goal.

Recommended Reading for Comic Artists and Animators

I've been reading the book "Making Comics" by Scott McCloud, and I have to say, it's pretty darn good! It caught my eye in Barnes and Nobel the other night, calling to me, and I couldn't resist picking it up. I have absolutely no regrets either! In it, Scott goes through the entire process of storytelling in a visual medium, which I felt was applicable to both comics and animation, as you should have a storyboard for any animations you create. I've never seen a book like this before; it's not a "How to Draw This" book, it's truly a book on storytelling in a visual medium, and, only half way through it, I can't recommend it enough! If you follow the link to Amazon, you'll get it for less than I paid at the bookstore as well. There's another lesson in freelancing - search for deals, money may be scarce!

Some Tools for Success

I wanted to do a post listing some "tools for success", or things that I've been using to help me along my chosen path. One tool is right here - Blogger. I have this blog, but I also have another, where I took Smashing Magazine's Daily Design Challenge. You can view my progress against that goal HERE, but I have to warn you, some recent situations have stalled me in that challenge!

Another huge piece of this is Motivation. You have to keep up your motivation in order to move forward, so I spend a good bit of time reading and researching motivation. Here are some resources I suggest:

• Motivation 123 - Jason Gracia's Site & Blog, which offers a lot of free information, even though he is selling stuff!
• Steve Pavlina - Similar to Motivation 123, but a bit more "racy".
• Seth Godin - A genius in the business world! His advice and attitudes can work in a lot of different environments; he's fast become my new favorite!
• CartoonSmart - Flash Animator/Artist Justin Dyke's training site, forum, and blog, always inspirations and down-to-earth!

In the end, I've found that inspirational writing, quotes, and other artwork really help me to keep moving. I hope they help you as well!

The journey thus far...

I've decided to start writing a blog to talk about my path to freelancing/self-employment in the Digital Design world. I have a regular job now that isn't too bad, but it's not my dream job either. Self-employment as a digital designer is my goal, and this blog is going to be my medium for discussing my journey there.

For starters, I'll give you a little bit of background on me. I've always been interested in both art and computers, with the two topics constantly struggling for dominance in my brain. The natural solution would have been to get into computer arts long ago, but I hesitated. I think part of it is that 20 years ago, computer art looked...well, computer generated! We've come a long way since then...but I'm getting ahead of myself!

In High School, I studied both computer and art. I'm a graduate of the class of 1990, so computer-wise, I was trained on larger systems with now antiquated languages. The PC was just coming of it's own when I graduated and left for the Air Force.

You would think I'd gain computer knowledge there, but lets just say my job didn't involve computers at all! I'm not sure how much more I should/could say, but it's not like I was a spy or anything cool like that. Anyway, I spent a good 4 years of my life in the military trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my life. The answer came to me while on temporary duty in Germany back in 1994.

I was at someones housewarming party (or something like that) where some of the kids were showing off some trading cards. They happened to be Marvel Comics cards, showing the various characters and such. It reminded me of my own youthful love of comics and one-time dream of becoming a comic book artist. Then it all hit me. I had this skill set that I wasn't even using! What the heck was wrong with me? The start of my path became clear.

I left the military later that year (with an Honorable Discharge, I didn't get thrown out!) and moved back home to Northeastern Pennsylvania. I took a horrible factory job. I had to finish paying for my car! It didn't take me long to realize that I hated the factory job, and regardless of where I worked, I'd be miserable. I needed something more. So, once the car was paid off, I enrolled in the art program at a local community college. It turns out this was one of the best decisions of my life!

I thought I was a pretty decent artist before I went to school, which I was, but there were many that were better. It was sometimes discouraging, but many more time, inspiring. I met a lot of great people there, learned the difference between a great art teacher and an artist who teaches, and drastically improved my skills. I didn't really want to leave, but it was only a 2-year school, so I couldn't drag it out forever. Fate stepped in and pretty much forced me out anyway...

I graduated in 1998. My graduation present (ok, not really, it's a joke!) from my girlfriend at the time was the news that she was pregnant. Starving Artist is not a good profession for a prospective father, so I had to put my hopes and dreams on the back-burner for a while to do what was best for my family to be. Later that year, on Christmas Day to be exact, our daughter was born, and she was and still is beautiful in every sense of the word!

I moved through a few jobs, eventually finding one that paid pretty decent and satisfied at least part of my interests, that being computers. Still, it lacked creativity, and that side of me was crying for attention. To satisfy it, I again returned to school, this time, and online college. Further, I finally merged my two interests and enrolled as a digital multimedia design major. It had it's ups and downs, but I learned a lot about the software tools and how I can use them to bring my ideas to life. Like many of us, I'm still learning! I graduated from the school late last year, so here I am, armed with a Bachelor's degree, but still at the same job.

Long post, eh? Sorry...I had some things to get out! Anyway, this is my starting point. I've done some little things here and there which I'll cover in future posts, but overall, from this day forth, I'll be blogging about my journey. Here you'll share in my successes and failures, and I hope you'll comment along the way!