For example, a good book can take years upon years to finally see the light of day. All for maybe only a few day's worth of reading. Video games are a great example of this, requiring teams of hundreds of people working constantly for two to four years (or more!) before releasing it, only to have the average consumer spend anywhere from 30-60 hours on it before moving on to the next big thing.
This is common knowledge, right? Everybody knows that good things take a long time to do right. That's why they take so long to get done. But when you bring it down to the individual level, on a more personal level, this common perception falls apart and loses all meaning. As with many people, I have this little problem called "lack of focus". It means that I don't like to sit down and spend a lot of time doing the same thing, or working on the same thing (unless it is a particularly engrossing task, like a video game or a good book or something).
Obviously, this is a huge problem as an artist and creator, because I fall into what seems to be a very common trap: Things take a long time, and I am not good enough yet to do them in a very short amount of time, and therefore I shouldn't even bother in the first place.
But of course, in order to get to where you want to be, you've got to take those first painful steps. One will never be 'good enough' if one is not terrible at it first. And that's what separates the wheat from the chaff - those who can manage to actually sit there and be terrible at something long enough to do it right wind up actually making something worthy of praise.
Which brings me to the bulk of today's post: How do we take the time to do the things we must?
My grandmother once told me (when I was learning piano and of course complaining about not wanting to do something) that the best way to deal with something you don't like doing is to just sit down and get it done and over with. When faced with a list of tasks, deal with the ones you hate the most first, and then you can focus on the ones you like.
It's the same thing when you're crafting up a game scenario or working on an art project: get rid of the stuff you don't like so you can get to the things you want to do. I have a particularly difficult time struggling with this these days, because there are so many tempting things that wish to take me away from doing those things I need to. Instead of teaching myself new modeling techniques and brushing up on the ones I have, I spend that time playing video games. Or talking on the internet. Or sitting staring at a blank screen going to myself "Maaaan, I don't want to do this, it's so booooring."
But that's the crux of it - it's boring, but necessary, and you have to find a way to work past it. Just like with writing these blog posts, I've already hit the first of my many flaws - lethargy. But forcing oneself to sit down and just get it done and over with instead of doing fun things (like watching a movie with my roommates) is just one of those little things we have to do.
The other part of today's post focuses on the actual doing things - if you're going to do something you hate, don't half ass it. You'll just hate yourself for it later. If it's drawing feet or hands (because who doesn't hate that?), if you half ass that stuff you're just going to cringe when you look back at it. It will drag you down as an artist, and a person. Focus on those things you hate, and then have some fun after you get that stuff dealt with.
If you're going to do a task, you may as well take the time to do it right.
So how do we deal with these things? A few tips if you're like me, and have trouble forcing yourself to stop playing those online games and need to desperately focus on a given task:
1. Try to set up a schedule, and stick with it as much as possible. Deviation from the schedule will cause things to fall apart rather quickly. Get into a 'swing' as much as possible, and keep the momentum going. Once you fall into a pattern and it becomes natural, that's one less thing you have to worry about.
2. If you have problems with that (or your schedule doesn't allow for that sort of idyllic pattern), try getting an egg-timer. I prefer one of the old style twisty ones, not those newfangled digital pieces of crap. The 'tick tick tick' of the timer can be soothing, and remind you that you're on a schedule - don't look at the timer, just focus on whatever it is you're doing, and lose yourself in it. If you set the timer for, say, 20 minutes, it might feel like forever. But so long as you're able to make your goal to complete whatever task it is within 20 minutes, and you can hear the time ticking away, it can be a welcome reminder that if you accomplish your goal, it will all be over sooner than you think.
3. Get away from the distractions. Move to a different room. Make a cup of tea or hot chocolate to drink - avoid sugary drinks or caffeinated beverages - the goal is to make yourself relaxed, not hyped up. If you can calm all the buzzing thoughts in your mind down, you'll be better able to focus on the task at hand.
4. Set deadlines for yourself. Say "I must get this done by tonight", and then see how far you can go with it. If you can actually meet that deadline, reward yourself somehow.
5. Turn off the Internet, if at all possible. The Internet, for all of its wonders, is the single most largest source of distraction - and all at your fingertips. Get away from it, unless you must use it.
6. Simplify your life. Get rid of the things you don't need in it anymore, and just kick back and relax. Years ago when I entered college, I found my life relatively simple - go to class, do my work, come home, talk to my girlfriend and play silly internet games. Even when I was working, the routine was more or less the same. Simplify your life if at all possible, and see where that leads you.
Of course, some of these things may or may not be the greatest advice. Most of it is pretty duh stuff. But that's just part of the whole "trying to do something right the first time".
Maybe later this week I'll see if I can't comment on some 3D artwork or something. Not having a schedule is really making this blog suffer, so for now it will just go through some growing pains until I can manage to get into the hang of it all.
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