Mar 21, 2016
by Tavi Scandiff-Pirvu
That's right, a countdown of 342 Days til GDC'17 has started.
And I, now back to the grind at work am trying a new approach to life. Currently I find myself, like most of us who just got back from GDC'16, full of energy, motivation, and boundless passion towards wanting to create fun. Whether it be Art, Sound, Design, Coding, or Producing we have come back from GDC ready to start on the right foot to make this year count. As a friend just said to me "it's weird that GDC feels like the actual start of the year in a way" and it does. Right you are Justin, today is the start of the year for many of us. So with an overwhelming sensation to make this year count I found myself not being able to sleep last night, wondering over and over "how will I make this year count? how will I ensure I am ready for next year?" There were so many options roaming around in my mind. I could: Draw everyday, Code everyday, Read everyday, Run everyday, Prototype everyday, Eat healthier everyday, etc; which is all very intense to then ask yourself "well, which of these do I do first?" From my past I know first hand that trying to set too many goals all at once is a recipe for failure. Then it hit me, the common denominator in my "Do X Everyday" and it wasn't goal but the duration. What should I be doing "everyday" to ensure this year counts? The answer? To begin timeboxing new goals into 20 min increments. At that is exactly what I did this morning. I got up and early and only snoozed for only 20 mins extra. I then decided to get my butt in gear and go down to the small basement gym in my high rise and then did a short workout for 20 mins which included quick bodyweight exercises, running, and stretching. After showering, I limited myself on social media for only ... yup that's right, only 20 mins while I relaxed and sipped my coffee to the morning sun next to my cats. Now, on my lunch break I am attempting to write this quick blog in under 15 mins so I can then edit it with the remaining 5 to thus complete another 20 min goal. With each Monday going forward I will challenge myself to start a micro habit and always try to stay inside this 20 minute window. So with little time remaining the only thing I haven't talked about is why I came to this specific increment of time. My only logic is that setting myself to 20 minutes means that in an hour I can accomplish about 3 habits each day. Most shows on Netflix are at about 22 minutes and I know I can binge on those easy (especially when Netflix starts the next episode after the intro and asks you to watch another one just as the credits start), so why not timebox myself to that amount for the things I want to accomplish?
NOTE! This 20 minute technique is super simliar to The Pomodoro Technique where you work super focused for 25 minutes then take a 5 minute break, and trust me I do it at work and it does wonders for my productivity. Try out http://tomato-timer.com/ today and test it for yourself at work. I guarantee you will be looking at the countdown clock trying to do as much as you can before you take your 5 minute break. I can hear you asking me this now "but Tavi, Pomodoro time is 25 minutes long and yours is 20, why not just do Pomodoro time all day?" Well, that’s because I have so many things I want to do each day so to make it all work I shortened the timeframe. All of these things I want to do is not "work" but something I want to improve myself after working out or being creative for 20 minutes, I don't need break afterwards, I want to instead start another habit.
So wish me luck as I attempt to make this year count and knockout goal after goal with my slight change to a proven productive method. And cut me some slack for typos and grammar, I am rusty when it comes to writing, so eventually a new mirco habit of blog everyday will come around and I will gain more and more experience points in it and because a better blogger.
-tav!
Ps. here is a photo of my 4 cats.. because CATS!
