I had a few ideas for some characters while I was plotting my comic today. Why do the best ideas always come to me when I'm at work? That's what breaks are for, I suppose. Anyway, the characters are wacky and I'm going to have a blast drawing concept art for them. I'll be working on some inks for my comic tonight. Basically, this whole idea came about while I was listening to my favorite podcast about comics. So I emailed them with they idea and they thought it was awesome. That's something that's important when trying to get motivated. Tell people you want to do something. It may set you up for defeat if you don't follow through, but you can use the knowledge that someone expects you to do something as a goal.
Goals are imperative for success in stomping the procrastination, but be sure to set goal, attainable goals. If I say "I want to make a comic", then the task of doing this will become too daunting because it's too large. Also, try to keep your goals from being too ambiguous, such as "I want to be more organized". This really isn't a goal, because you haven't given yourself a starting action or end point. Use these big ambiguous ideas to break into smaller doable tasks. "I want to make a comic" becomes "I want to layout a page for my comic", or "I want to outline a beginning, middle and end for one single issue". If you find yourself still stuck, then try to break it down further. You need to know what your end point in each task is before you can effectively start and manage your tasks. Starting is always the highest hurdle, so if you can aid the process by setting small goals, then you will feel more accomplished when you start getting them done.
Speaking of getting started, tonight I will:
Write a blog postBuy a new washer- Ink page four of my comic (See? Specific goals!)
- Wind down and get in bed by 9:30
I have found that sleep habits are a major factor in controlling my ADD. I have worked every kind of shift imaginable, but now I work a day shift Monday-Friday. This is a pretty big deal. You need to have a routine in order to get a handle on that restless brain. This article outlines a few reasons for disturbed sleep and how it increases the problems associated with ADD, but not necessarily how to manage them. I have found that if I stay up till I want to go to bed, I won't fall asleep for about an hour or more, and when I do, I wake up, move around, and even get out of bed and check to see if the door is locked, if the lights are off, etc. This is the kind of compulsive behavior that is common in us. Luckily, my wife is a very heavy sleeper. Otherwise, we would have separate beds in separate rooms.
I've talked about magnesium and inositol which both help regulate and ensure proper rest, but winding down properly is essential to get that rest. Try doing something that isn't too engaging when you get to bed. Don't watch t.v. Don't play on your iPhone. Don't listen to any music. Do read a book. Do a sudoku or crossword puzzle. Sit up in bed and do some breathing exercises or say some prayers. Do things that aren't going to get in your head and bounce around for another hour. The point is that you are committing to winding down and not seeking stimuli.
Try to get your eight hours of sleep, but give yourself time to clear your head before you need to be asleep. If your alarm is set for 8am, get ready for bed at 10:30 or 11pm. Avoid that snooze button, too. Don't set your alarm 45 earlier than you need to just so you can roll over and go back to sleep 4 times. A full sleep cycle is the first thing you should think about normalizing before you try to tackle anything else.
I've talked about magnesium and inositol which both help regulate and ensure proper rest, but winding down properly is essential to get that rest. Try doing something that isn't too engaging when you get to bed. Don't watch t.v. Don't play on your iPhone. Don't listen to any music. Do read a book. Do a sudoku or crossword puzzle. Sit up in bed and do some breathing exercises or say some prayers. Do things that aren't going to get in your head and bounce around for another hour. The point is that you are committing to winding down and not seeking stimuli.
Try to get your eight hours of sleep, but give yourself time to clear your head before you need to be asleep. If your alarm is set for 8am, get ready for bed at 10:30 or 11pm. Avoid that snooze button, too. Don't set your alarm 45 earlier than you need to just so you can roll over and go back to sleep 4 times. A full sleep cycle is the first thing you should think about normalizing before you try to tackle anything else.
If you like green tea, try some decaf. The theanine in green tea promotes alpha waves during the sleep cycle. You can also just take theanine supplements, and I'll talk about that next time. Now get to bed!
If you missed my introduction explaining the purpose of this blog, please read it here.
No comments:
Post a Comment