Getting through a pile of research in a pre-defined amount of time feels much like planning and completing a thesis project, but with more grown-up end results. After all, a sabbatical is designed to allow a faculty member to refresh their knowledge, develop new ideas and create in ways that cannot be done around the full-time job of teaching and participating in the management and smooth running of a university.
Except today is the 20th of June, and I find myself a month out from finishing one of the strangest semesters ever, because we are in the middle of a global pandemic and have been confined to our homes since March. This odd situation has brought about the strange effect of being stuck in a no-man’s land, where time has no meaning and days can tick by in a strange expectation of “when will we be normal again?”.
Since I can’t answer that question, and I can’t allow myself to waste this gift of time that I have gotten, I am going to instill a rough, daily schedule for myself, based on the off-habits that have been created in the past two months.
Sep 1st Update: Who are we kidding?? This schedule lasted about a week and then everything went to hell. My new schedule has evolved, much as my learning process has. I think this makes sense, because it’s one thing to plan a schedule when you know what you’re doing. As an animator, I know how I work and can plan accordingly, but it has been at least 10 years since I was in class, or learning like a total noob (pardon the netspeak). So I’ll post a new update on my schedule in the am. Right now, it’s midnight and I’m making myself sleep early nowadays!
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 9 am | early morning sketches |
| 10 am | tending to house and back yard |
| 11 am – 1pm | Reading and writing (plus any meetings) |
| 1 pm – 4pm | 3D building/ digital creation |
| 4 pm – 9pm | Hours flexed between creation or research. |
| (insert) 7 or 8 pm | Evening walk/ biking etc |
| 11:30 pm | Updating the blog |
| In bed | Reading a book (not electronically) |
Now, I’m not planning to make this a stressful experience for myself. I know life will force this schedule to change, and there will even be some days when I do nothing. However, I’m not at crunch-time right now, and I think if I play this right, I should never get into crunch mode. (Or at least I can avoid super-crunch, right?)
The way I see it, maintaining a general guide for myself will keep me from whittering entire days on doodles, or full days on tutorials and force me to stay mindful of my progress.