Time Management

There are a lot of new students starting at AnimationMentor in January that have asked about time management, especially where they have jobs and families, so I wanted to go into what has worked for me, and what I plan to do to balance the demands of fulltime work, fulltime school, family, social, and personal life.

Many students have quit their jobs to devote 100% of their time to AM studies, but that's just not a feasible scenario for most people. There are bills to pay, mouths to feed. So how does one balance all that and still get the fulltime AM experience?

Funny you should ask.

When I first started back in March of this year, I thought it would be no biggie. Put in a couple of hours here, a couple of hours there, and voila! - become great at animation.

Wishful thinking at best.

This is an art that takes a lot of dedication and practice to master. You know, actually taking theory and putting it to practice.

The first term wasn't so bad, because we weren't just unceremoniously tossed into the deep water. They waited for the second term to do that. Seriously though, the first class was a cake walk compared to what we were expected to turn out in Class 2. Not to scare anyone off, because it was an amazing experience and I learned a ton, but that's when it finally hit home to me that time management (or the lack of it) is really what makes the difference between sinking and swimming.

Some important things to think about:

There will be hard weeks. There will be easy weeks. Some concepts will really sink in and some you'll really struggle with. Some weeks you'll have crazy deadlines at work like I had two weeks ago that require you to stay up all night finishing a project. Some weeks you'll have family commitments that take you away from animating. That's okay. Do the best you can with the time you have. That's all anyone can ask of you, and that's all you should ask of yourself.

Animation is everywhere, so if you're feeling like you're wasting your time because you're not in front of a computer, stop wasting your time and open your eyes to what's going on right in front of you in EVERY SITUATION. You're at the gym exercising? Observe the forces that happen when people lift weights, or the different walks you see on the treadmills. Notice what is happening in your own body when you're doing your own workouts. You're at a dinner party? Observe the reactions of people to what's being said. Are they bored? What are their bodies doing to show their boredom? Wandering eyes? Focusing intently on a plate of food and nodding without listening? This kind of stuff is better than a lot of reference because it's REAL LIFE. So take advantage of every opportunity. Just make sure you're not doing it to get away from actually animating, and you'll be fine.

If you don't have your health, you're no good to anybody. Sure you can brag about how late you stay up every night animating, but when your eyes are bloodshot and you're too sick to even get out of bed and you have carpal tunnel and a chronically stiff back, I can pretty much guarantee you will not be producing your best work. It's all about balance, so don't forget to take care of yourself! Eat right. Drink lots of water. Get plenty of rest. Exercise.

Enjoy life! Who cares if you can compose a beautiful sentence if you have nothing to say? Animation is just the same. You can polish a shot beautifully, but performances that don't somehow come from inside of you are going to fall flat on their face. Just remember, there's more to life (and animation) than spline shapes and weighted tangents.

Apply what you learn at AM to your current job. I don't care if you are a garbage collector. You will learn things at AM that you can apply to your current situation, whatever it is. Be it better planning, clear communication of ideas, brainstorming and constructive feedback; these are all crucial to successful animation as well as any job you could be doing. Personally, since I do 3D artwork in Maya on video game title covers and other promotional pieces, I have seen a huge leap forward in my skills and productivity. Thinking in terms of silhouette and strong line of action, believable posing and sense of weight of a character, all have made me a more valuable employee at my current job. I get jobs done faster and better; I get "buy off" approval from clients on the first round a lot of times whereas before it would take me several passes to get something with enough personality, character, energy, appeal... Those are second nature now.

Up to this point, I've been a part-time student. I'm embarrassed to admit that I have let a lot get in the way of me actually applying these principles of life management and becoming a true fulltime student, whether I can spend 40 hours a week at it or not. That's not the point. Look at the word "full". What images does that conjure up for you? Brimming over, satisfied, expansive, complete, 100%...

You can't give anything 100% of your time, even fulltime work. Life just doesn't work that way. But the time you DO give, make it full. Make it full when you're with your family, full when you're on the job, full when you're animating, full when you're listening to a friend.

That's why I take back what I said in my last post about waiting til January to really pursue this FULL time. It's gotta start now. You wait for tomorrow, for January, for when your schedule "frees up" (it never will, by the way), for that faster computer, for whatever...and it'll never happen.

Like my favorite little green person once said, "Do or do not... there is no try."

So welcome all you newcomers. Part-time or fulltime, make the MOST of it.

It'll be over before you know it.