On May 1st, I posted a blog about my plan to accomplish more by doing certain things every day for the entire month. The logic? If a month seems like a short amount of time, then I should do something everyday for a month and get better in a very short amount of time. It turned out the be an interesting experiment.
These were the are things I wanted to do better:
- Work on comics every day.
- Learn to use Game Maker.
- Spend more time with Noko Noko (my turtle).
Here are the results:
1.) Work on Comics every day (completed 25/31 days)
Surprisingly, working on comics every day did not make me better or faster at drawing them. For one thing, I tend to spend more time overall if I work every few days instead of every day. For example, I might work for 30 minutes on Monday and Tuesday, but if I only worked on Tuesday, I might spend an hour and thirty minutes. Also, even if I spend the same amount of time, a certain amount of that time is spent getting my head into the story. So thirty minutes a day adds up to less productive time than an hour every other day.
After completing this experiment, I’ve decided to stick with my old system of binging and breaking. At least now I have proof that my way works better.
2.) Learn Game Maker (completed 15/31 days)
This one is actually a little inconclusive. I had to abandon my work with Game Maker when my schedule became unexpectedly crowded. On May 19, I got an email from Anthrocon (Pittsburgh’s big furry convention) informing me that a table had opened up and I was on the top of their wait list. The good news is that I get to appear at a big convention. The bad news is that I now had a little more than a month to prepare for the con instead of six months. I needed to squeeze some extra time from my schedule and (as much as it pained me) learning to use Game Maker was my one project that wasn’t on a strict deadline.
However, for those first nineteen days, I really made a lot of progress. Everyday I picked up at least one new skill. When I ran out of things I could teach myself I bought the udemy course and picked up skills even faster. Actually, I’d recommend that same method to anyone who wants to learn a new program: spend as much time as you can stand tooling around with it on your own. Then, once you’re a bit more familiar with the program, pick up a good course, which will also teach you the most efficient methods of making stuff (not just the ones that work) and you’ll learn the correct terminology while your at it. (Did you know that a frame of animation within a sprite is called an “sub image”? I had been calling them frames.)
Even though I didn’t get to finish my game training, this experiment was useful because it made me get started. And now that I know that building games is possible, maybe you’ll see some Draconis mini games by the end of the year (but I’m still at the beginning, so don’t hold your breath.)
3.) Spend more time with Noko (completed 25/31 days)
Paying more attention to the turtle turned out to be the most successful project. Although reptiles don’t require too much attention and are well known for betting low-maintenance, Noko thrived under a little more care. For example, Noko has always had a few dry spots on his skin, which seemed normal for a creature who sheds in flakes. But with a few extra baths, more frequent use of skin conditioners, and improved humidity levels, Noko’s skin has become darker, softer, and all dry patches have disappeared. This might be due to the change in seasons, but he’s also been more active and eating better.
Noko is going to get some extra attention everyday from now on. I’m working on a new chart that will help me keep tract of his feeding schedule, water changes, and other treatments.
Overview
The most interesting thing about this experiment is that it made me pay more attention to my own habits. I’ve learned that I work better when I write things down, and my to do lists are more effective when I write them on scrap paper, not just on my computer or phone. I’m definitely using what I’ve learned about myself to tackle my big list of summer projects.
