#4 of ~ “ The 10 things I learned making a short film that took 10 years to make that I finished 10 years ago.”
go to part 3 here
off we go to 2009 ~~~~~
4) 5 minutes a day
I hit upon this idea when I was really down about getting the film done. I don’t know, around year five, it occurred to me, and brightened my spirits, that no matter what I do, as long as it is about the film, I am working on the film and getting it that much closer to being done. So I called it 5 minutes a day and I decided I would devote at least 5 minutes everyday to the film. For even if I got one drawing done it was one less drawing I had to do. Even if I ended up throwing that drawing out at some point, for some reason, I would’ve had to make that drawing anyway to get to the right one. So I began to look at whatever I could accomplish as a teeny tiny victory. I no longer beat myself up over what I couldn’t accomplish and instead was satisfied, content, in what I could accomplish.
The other thing about time is you begin to realize how much of it we waste. So the other thing to do is to use every bit of it that you can toward achieving your goal. So if you are waiting in line somewhere think about that scene that is giving you a problem. Put the music or dialogue you are using for the film on a CD and play it in the car, on your ipod. It may inspire some ideas. During lunch at work, jot down some notes, do some sketches, design a character, thumbnail out some animation, do the bills so you’ll have time to animate later. You can find the time if you just start looking for it.
10 Year Later :
Probably of anything I wrote 10 years ago this lesson of “5 minutes a day” got the most response. It was reposted by other blogs and got around. I actually still reflect on it today, it’s one of those slogans you can throw up on a poster and hang above your desk. It just makes things feel accomplishable and not overwhelming. So, 10 years later I still try to remember this little idea that there is always something I can be doing to accomplish the thing I need or want to get done. To not beat myself up over doing too little. As long as I am doing someting. However, now I am going to mess with you, sometimes, believe it or not, it could be to not do anything and to take a break, recharge and get away from the immediate challenge that is the thing to do. Sometimes you need distance from the project to rejuvenate your creative juices so that you can get back at it with renewed energy. Often by taking a break, an idea or solution, will free itself up and present itself to you in an unexpected way. So a nap, a walk, a jog, reading a book, goofing off, that can be progress too! Just don’t get used to it!
tomorrow:
Now, if I had settled on finishing the film by spending just five minutes everyday on it, I would still be making it 100 years from now.
