Author Journey (March 27, 2023)
I started last week with a huge backlog of work. To catch up, I needed to have my best week this year. However, I was already facing another Real-Life Family Event. So with all that in mind, how do you think I did?
Author Journey (March 27, 2023)
After a week away from home that involved staying up way too late watching way too much anime, I was back home and back to work. However, the kids were not back at school, so I had to entertain them as well as keep up with the day job. Of course, on top of that, I had a massive backlog of posts to catch up on. Any sane person might have just given themselves a break and not worried about keeping up with their personal projects. I guess that means I’m not sane!
The Weekly Recap!
I set myself the rather lofty goal of scheduling nineteen posts. That’s a lot, especially when you consider that in my most productive week this year, I only scheduled sixteen. However, I discovered something that might change the way I do things. If I have the images from the episode, I can confidently write a complete review. Not only that, I can get into a groove. I ended up scheduling twenty from Monday to Wednesday. Then, for good measure, I scheduled another six over the remaining days.
As I spent so much time writing and scheduling posts, I only watched three episodes of anime. I was planning to do none, so this is still more than expected. Had I not built up some incredible momentum, I doubt I would have watched any. Either way, I may need to test this new routine and report back. I may yet be able to further improve my productivity!
I planned on reading two volumes of manga this week after doing none the week before and I also managed that. Given everything that I had going on this week, just hitting these three goals is quite an achievement. However, I’m not done yet…
Since I got so much done early in the week, I was able to devote an entire evening to working through the plot for book five. Once more, I’m amazed at the quality of the first drafts I wrote almost five years ago. There are a lot of typos and short jarring sentences, but then it is a first draft. The story is what I’m really enjoying and how well each group of four novellas fit together to make a cohesive story. I know I planned them that way, but I’m still surprised by just how well they work together.
Hold on, I’m not done yet either. I also managed to sit down with my sketchpad and draw yet another version of Kira. This time I went with a slightly more realistic style, although still trying to keep it familiar to manga readers. I also realised that I’ve not really done much to reflect Kira’s tomboy nature. I think this one rectifies that, plus I gave her a tattoo. Let me know what you think!
| Tasks | Goal | Completed |
|---|---|---|
| Anime Watched | 0 Episodes | 3 Episodes |
| Manga Read | 2 Books | 2 Books |
| Posts Scheduled | 19 Post | 26 Posts |
| Chapters Written | 1 Book Outline | 1 Book Outline |
| Artwork Completed | Some Doodles | 1 Sketch |
Aspirations for the Week!
The kids are back to school and I have nothing hanging over me. Part of me wants to go nuts and set some ridiculous goals after the week I just had, but I know better than that. Life has a sneaky habit of popping up when you least expect it. So, I’m going to keep calm and plan on having a good week without trying to break records.
Watching Anime
Nine is the magic number of episodes that I need to watch each week to keep up with the current pace. Any less and I eat into the buffer. More is good as that increases the buffer, but I shall be going for nine.
Goal: 9 Episodes
Reading Manga
I’ve been taking it easy with the manga as I am already working on quarter three, however, after a little calculation, I can’t afford to rest on my laurels. I need to get back to full speed and as such will aim for four books this week.
Goal: 4 Books
Posts Scheduled
Given my plans from above, this would set me up to do thirteen review posts and one Author Journey. I do have some from my backlog to catch up on, although I do have some more pressing needs so they can wait.
Goal: 14 Post
Chapters Written
Reading the next four novellas and combining them into a plot for book six is exciting, especially as after that I only have two more novellas. That marks the halfway point of the story and it has a massive twist. Then, I’ve got to start making more stuff up. Exciting!
Goal: 1 Book Outline
Artwork Completed
Clearly, I could keep drawing Kira over and over again, revising the style and look until I come back around to what I did the first time. I think I have enough options so I would like to attempt to pull together the cover again, this time with everything I’ve been working on.
Goal: 1 Cover Sketch
Final Thoughts
All these things going on and I haven’t even given you an update on my knee. Well, it’s still sore. I have good days and bad days, but on the whole, it’s moving in the right direction. I am able to drive again so I’m no longer trapped in my home and can resume my weekly library visits. I still need to be careful as it’s at that really annoying stage where I can forget about it for a second and then overextend or jar it. I get a pretty quick reminder though…
This week, I’m going to test out that method that allowed me to hit an insane groove with my post-scheduling. I will try to watch four episodes in the evening and then write them up the next day. If this works, it could change everything. I’m excited about the possibilities. There’s also something I’m currently considering and that’s temporarily going back to seasonal reviews. I say temporarily because the latest season of Dr. Stone is about to begin. I’ve reviewed all of the episodes so far and I feel like I should jump in. I’ll definitely review it one way or another, but I’m currently undecided as to when.
One of the things that I love about doing these posts is that it allows me to look back at how the last week went and set goals for the new week based on what I learnt. Previously, I was just getting annoyed that I wasn’t achieving one aspect whereas now, I can acknowledge that I did do a lot even if I didn’t do everything. The iterative process is very similar to what I do in the day job, so it’s nice to pull on those skills and use them to make my life better in other ways. I think there are other things that I may need to start tracking this way.
Do you track your progress and if so, how often do you revise your processes? Thanks for reading.
Congratulations on a productive week!
I like the drawing — particularly the eyes and hair.
That’s a lot of posts! I probably average about .75 anime posts a day, maybe a little less. I can’t imagine that level of productivity!
I don’t track my anime productivity. But for my other writing, I do a weekly check in. I’ve seen the same benefits you mentioned. It helps me set a baseline for my key performance indicator, which is number of words written. Plus, a less obvious benefit is that I might feel exhausted on evening but just the thought of having to report a subpar performance motivates me to keep moving. So, for me, the progress post has been a game changer!
Thanks. I never expected it, but the process worked so I’m going to try it again. Normally, I watch an episode and write the post straight away, but being away from my laptop meant I couldn’t. Seemed to work out all right.
Thanks again. I’m finding it hard to decide which style to embrace. I feel like I prefer this one, especially as it’s a horror.
Yeah, it’s really helpful. I’m starting to wonder if I should be using it for other things too. Exercising, eating well, etc. It would be more of a personal tracker obviously. Being more aware of what I’m doing seems like a good way to make improvements.