I am a gamer. I have been as long as I can remember. I grew up on board games. My family had a fair collection. Family gatherings involved card games. Video games slipped in: first an Atari, then an NES, and so on. In high school I started tabletop roleplaying on a Star Wars system. We would meet in the art room at lunch time and game. The only thing I remember was shooting some spare parts for target practice.
The DM graduated a few years before me so gaming stopped. I didn't game again for a long time, mostly because I didn't know anyone else to game with; I lived in a small town. At college I was more interested in other types of gaming. However, in 2007 I came back to gaming as the Dungeon Master (DM) for a D&D 3.5 game (Nerd speak. If you don't understand, it's not important). This challenged me. I needed to learn the rules (several books worth--one of my players wanted to be a Warlock). I had to plan the story. I had to teach most of my players the rules I had just learned.
While the rules were fairly simple, because of my deep and abiding love or rulebooks, telling the story was more difficult. This is because there is no set way to tell a story. There are few rules for story creation. There are lots of ways to do it, and a lot of ways to do it poorly.
In D&D the major obstacle is too many storytellers. If the game is running correctly it should be a collaborative storytelling process. Each players gets a say in how the plot develops. This is a big deal for me. As a writer I like to develop plots, create likely scenarios, and guide everything towards a specific ending. Things should tie together. Nearly everything is important. Players often seem to care less about the story and more about what cool things their character can do. They generally blow stuff up. Note: I know that is a huge generalization and there are some great players out there who want to advance a cool story.
This means you have two possible outcomes. The first is holding to your plot against all odds. You remove options from the players, explain why what they want to do doesn't work, and drop hints about "acceptable" behavior until they get the hint and play along. This is appropriately known as "railroading"; players hate it.
The other option is letting the players do whatever they want. You throw your plot out the window and make up consequences for their actions as you go along. After the players leave you cry into your notes and then attempt to pick up the pieces. The players might love this at first, but it generally makes for a horrible story and the players will eventually lose interest. The campaign dies. Also, before the campaign dies the Game Master (GM) stops having fun. If he's not enjoying the campaign, no one is. They are part of game just like everyone else. Their enjoyment is important. So you need to find middle ground.
I'm learning a lot about this from my friend David. He's been a GM for two decades (or thereabouts). I am currently a player in his campaign and it has been illuminating. I wish I could tell you about all the insights he has given me, but many are still sinking in.
One of the great things that I've learned from him is the idea of treating the campaign as if it is a television show. The story comes in seasons. Each season has a central story arc. Within that arc you have episodes. Those episodes are a single night of gaming or two nights as an occasional "to be continued" happens. The episodes advance the story.
You also plan filler episodes. These are episodes that generally aren't about the central story, but allow the players a lot of freedom. They can get out craziness, but then they are generally ready to get back to the main story. Even better, if you can later find ways to tie the filler stories into the main story you will seem like a genius in the eyes of the players. It also adds a lot of depth to the campaign.
Another idea I've learned is that you treat the episodes like television writing. Good series don't write one episode at a time, they write all the episodes so they connect together better. Take time to plan the campaign, not just a session. If you plan episodes in advance then you can have a game plan for how unexpected player actions change the world. You'll have more time to anticipate what the players might do. For example, in my next campaign (Pax Malio Season 3) the players will (hopefully) choose to engage in a specific action. Time of day will affect the outcome. Not engaging in the action affects the world. Are there other things the players might do that I have considered? Sure, but the better prepared I am the more it will seem like reasonable repercussions to player actions and not just punishment for not following the script.
This is really the crux of telling a story as a group. You can't force the group to tell the story you want. You also can't them do whatever they want. Good GM's give players options to choose from and know how those options will affect the story. Some options will be more or less attractive. Mysteries, good mysteries, will keep the players within the boundaries because they want to solve the mystery. You can't plan an ending to a campaign (or sometimes even a single session). You have to plan several and see which one you end up at. Good GM's should read Choose Your Own Adventures regularly to get the idea of options in roleplaying.
In the end, I think the thing that makes this easiest is knowing your group. The more experienced a GM is with a group the more they'll have a good idea of what will happen. Then they can plan accordingly.
My campaign has me excited. My friend David's campaign is ending. We have about 6 episodes left. This will probably take us through 2013. 2014 is my year. This has given me more time to plan a campaign than I've ever had. I am currently planning about eight episodes. I have a small handful of them rough sketched. I don't have an order for how this happens. In the end their won't be one. I'm just going to present problems to the group and see which ones interest them. However, problems not dealt with will have consequences.
I have never been so excited for a story and as the game happens I will be blogging about how it goes. I see this last season being the most successful story I've ever played. I hope my players end up enjoying it as much as I've enjoyed writing it.
Last words of advice then. If you have a great idea for a campaign start planning it now. Plan it as discrete episodes. Make options. Make several endings. Don't wait until your group is ready for a new campaign. Don't even wait until you have a group. Rough sketch it (don't finalize anything) now and you'll be better able to tweak in the details as your players hit the field and all your planning is for naught.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Monday, August 5, 2013
Psychology and Health or How I Stay Fit
Hello everyone! I know that a major concern people have today is weight loss. You see it everywhere. Heck, I use to worry about it too. Especially a little over a year ago when I weighed close to 180. Then I dropped a lot of that way and people asked me how I did it. I told them honest: I got sick and stopped eating. Not healthy and it didn't make me feel good either. That is why this post isn't going to be about weight loss. It's going to be about health which is much more comprehensive than just weight. I should prelude with a disclaimer: I'm not advertising this. I don't think this will work for you. I'm not a doctor, nutritionist, or other health professional. I don't plan on this blog being widely read so I don't have references at hand for some of the information I'm going to write about, but if you want them I can get them. This is just what I am doing for my own definition of health and it makes me feel better, even if it's not really working.
Since the sickness back in 2012 I've been working to get in shape and stay there. I want my weight loss to be healthy. Last time I weighed myself I was sitting at 153.6. That puts my BMI right about a 23. Healthy! However, I would like to get it under 150. Why? Trying to get it under 150 will help keep me concerned enough that hopefully it won't go higher. Keeping weight off can be one of the hardest bits. Maintaining a goal should help me maintain my healthy weight. Anyway...on to
4 Ways I Stay (Get) Healthy
1. Sleep
Sleep is important! I can't emphasize this enough. If you want to be healthy, get enough sleep. If you need 8 hours, get 8 hours. Don't just assume that if you can get by on six that you only need six. Find out what enough sleep is for you! I'll blog about that later.
Studies show that sleep deprivation has negative effects on the body. It makes us slower and we don't have the same energy. This makes it hard to exercise. Studies are also showing that lack of sleep messes with appetite hormones such as ghrelin and leptin. Basically, when you don't get enough sleep you are more likely to feel hungry and less likely to feel full. You'll eat more! Outside of weight, sleep deprivation can also harm the mind making us anxious, irrational, and screwing with our memories.
Sleep = health. I try and get a good night sleep every night!
2. Stretch
I don't stretch everyday, but I know I should. Stretching should be one of the first things we do in the morning. Not a serious stretch, but a light one to help loosen up the muscles. Look at little babies. Look at cats. Look at dogs. What do they do when they wake up? They stretch! What do adult humans do? Stumble to the kitchen or the bathroom. No wonder I'm so tense!
I don't know all the benefits of stretching, but I do know it's good for me. A light stretch before working out can help avoid injury. A good stretch after working out can increase flexibility. A good stretch before bed often helps me sleep better. I'm trying to stretch everyday to help myself feel healthier.
3. Exercise
I have heard that we should get a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise each day. Everyday is hard, but when I exercise I do get my thirty minutes. Here's how: 1. Push-ups and crunches. I try and do these 5 days of the week. I have no organized schedule. Sunday is an off day and then one other random day (often Friday). In general I do crunches until I can't do anymore which is about 50-60. Then I do push-ups until I can't do anymore which is about 30. Then I take a break and come back and do it again. On days when I'm really motivated I try and get in a 3rd set. Generally, each set has fewer reps, but that's okay by me. My goal is to get back to where I was at 18 (I know! That's one tall order) and be able to do three sets of 40 push-ups. Crunches doesn't have a goal.
A recent addition to my push-up regiment is the Saturday morning workout. In between katas I do sets of 10 push-ups in five variations: regular, fingertip, knuckles, diamonds, wide. I've only done this twice. The first Saturday I made 100 push-ups. This last Saturday I made 160. I think 200 push-ups would be a good end goal, but we will see what happens.
2. Karate
I do karate three times a week. The adult class is 75 minutes, so that's 150 minutes of karate a week across two days. However, I also take my daughter to a kid's class so that adds another 45 minutes. Throw it my personal Saturday morning workout and n a good week I'll get as much as 5 hours of exercise just from karate. It's fairly low impact exercise, but it does have me moving a lot of the body in a lot of different ways so it's a good all-over workout. Added benefit it's practical. My current goal for karate is to learn all the kata from my style. There are 18 kata, I know 16 of them (thus 160 push-ups on Saturday mornings). I should have all of them by the end of the year.
3. Walking/running. I walk to work most days M-Th. That's 1 1/2 miles. If it isn't too hot at the end of the day I also work home. Three miles round trip. Nights I don't work often end with a late night walk. These are faster paced to make them more impactful (buzzword!). Those walks are generally about three miles too. Talking to my Doctor friend David I learned that a walk should be about three miles before it really starts doing any good for your health. I'm set there.
Added to the walking is running. Several months ago I confessed to my coworker/friend Shelley that I don't understand people who exercise until they get sick. I was mostly thinking of runners when I said that, probably because running more than anything makes me feel like I want to vomit. I want to get past this and I've been inoculating myself to running by doing it every Saturday morning. I run laps around the local park where I do my Saturday morning karate workout. It's a good warm-up before the karate. Given the size of the park (it houses several softball fields) a lap is about .8 miles. I started off doing a half lap before I would walk the rest. Now I'm up to the full .8 mile lap. Slowly but surely, I plan to advance that to 2 miles even. Then I'll be satisfied. Of course, that will be slow enough that I'll never feel like I'm dying after I run.
4. Eating Better
A big portion of eating healthy for me is eating smaller portions. I'm not depriving myself any, but I'm realizing that I eat too much. For example, on burrito night I used to eat two burritos packed full of goodness. Then I would eat some cheese quesadillas afterwards. On barbecue night it would be a burger, a brat, a hot dog, AND sides. Now I'm trying for a single burrito; a burger, a brat, or a hotdog; a small handful of chips. Of course eating less food isn't always easy. Here are some things that are working for me.
a. Smaller plates. Experiments have shown repeatedly that the bigger plate you have the more you will eat. This generally holds true even if you go back to refill the plate. We essentially have three plate sizes. I generally try and use the smallest. I also try not to cram as much food on there as possible, but use what comfortably fits.
b. Plan for children's leftovers. I have a big problem with eating my children's leftovers. This generally leaves me feeling like a little too full and gives me more food than I need. However, when I plan that I am going to do this (some meals are more predicable than others) I will take less. Then the leftovers give me just enough to satisfy.
c. Eat slower. Honestly, I'm not good at this one. In my home you'll generally see me walk away from the table first while everyone else is still chowing down. I'm not a slow eater. However, I know I should be and it's something I'm working on. Dinner conversations help to slow me down.
d. Put the dinner away immediately. I tend to be a grazer. If food is left out I will come back and snack on the little tidbits. The best way to avoid this is to put it in the refrigerator. Out of sight might not be out of mind, but it definitely helps.
e. Eat the right amount the first time. I try and avoid seconds, because it seems that when I take seconds I generally take too much. Then I overeat.
f. Have a piece of candy. Seriously, why not? If I deny myself I'll just obsess over it and then binge later. If I give in early I'm more likely to walk away after a small handful of M&M's or a single cookie. Fighting the urge will generally turn into a small handful of cookies later.
Here comes the psychology. It's called thought suppression. The basic premise is that when you forbid yourself from thinking about something you have a tendency to think about it more. Tell yourself not to think about those cookies and those cookies will invade every other thought. What does that mean for diets? Don't forbid yourself certain foods. You'll just obsess and avoiding them will be harder. Better to eat a controlled portion in the first place. However, there are things you can do. Instead of forbidding yourself from thinking about it, distract yourself. Go do something else so you can't think about food. Admit that the craving is okay, you're just not interested. Don't have the food in the house. Out of sight helps keep it out of mind. You'll have an easy time fighting the urge for ice cream if it isn't there reminding you every time you open the fridge.
Of course, that's not the end of the psychology. Thought suppression has another dark side. It's called the rebound effect. What happens when you're done forbidding yourself from thinking about food? Will the temptation disappear as soon as the fruit is not forbidden? Nope. Not at all. There will be a temporary rebound effect after the restriction is removed. You'll think about it even more! That's where binges come from. You deny and deny and deny. Then when you break you don't just break a little, you break hard time. It's why I try not to deny myself foods.
I was going to finish by talking about eating healthy, but I don't really have a lot to say about that. I'm not an expert and won't pretend to be one. I do like Alton Brown's approach to eating. You can find it around the internet, so I won't bother re-posting it here. I think the biggest thing I try and do is cook most of my food, avoid soda, and choke down some fruits and veggies occasionally. Oh, and my morning egg for breakfast. It really does help stave off the munchies until lunch time.
Since the sickness back in 2012 I've been working to get in shape and stay there. I want my weight loss to be healthy. Last time I weighed myself I was sitting at 153.6. That puts my BMI right about a 23. Healthy! However, I would like to get it under 150. Why? Trying to get it under 150 will help keep me concerned enough that hopefully it won't go higher. Keeping weight off can be one of the hardest bits. Maintaining a goal should help me maintain my healthy weight. Anyway...on to
4 Ways I Stay (Get) Healthy
1. Sleep
Sleep is important! I can't emphasize this enough. If you want to be healthy, get enough sleep. If you need 8 hours, get 8 hours. Don't just assume that if you can get by on six that you only need six. Find out what enough sleep is for you! I'll blog about that later.
Studies show that sleep deprivation has negative effects on the body. It makes us slower and we don't have the same energy. This makes it hard to exercise. Studies are also showing that lack of sleep messes with appetite hormones such as ghrelin and leptin. Basically, when you don't get enough sleep you are more likely to feel hungry and less likely to feel full. You'll eat more! Outside of weight, sleep deprivation can also harm the mind making us anxious, irrational, and screwing with our memories.
Sleep = health. I try and get a good night sleep every night!
2. Stretch
I don't stretch everyday, but I know I should. Stretching should be one of the first things we do in the morning. Not a serious stretch, but a light one to help loosen up the muscles. Look at little babies. Look at cats. Look at dogs. What do they do when they wake up? They stretch! What do adult humans do? Stumble to the kitchen or the bathroom. No wonder I'm so tense!
I don't know all the benefits of stretching, but I do know it's good for me. A light stretch before working out can help avoid injury. A good stretch after working out can increase flexibility. A good stretch before bed often helps me sleep better. I'm trying to stretch everyday to help myself feel healthier.
3. Exercise
I have heard that we should get a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise each day. Everyday is hard, but when I exercise I do get my thirty minutes. Here's how: 1. Push-ups and crunches. I try and do these 5 days of the week. I have no organized schedule. Sunday is an off day and then one other random day (often Friday). In general I do crunches until I can't do anymore which is about 50-60. Then I do push-ups until I can't do anymore which is about 30. Then I take a break and come back and do it again. On days when I'm really motivated I try and get in a 3rd set. Generally, each set has fewer reps, but that's okay by me. My goal is to get back to where I was at 18 (I know! That's one tall order) and be able to do three sets of 40 push-ups. Crunches doesn't have a goal.
A recent addition to my push-up regiment is the Saturday morning workout. In between katas I do sets of 10 push-ups in five variations: regular, fingertip, knuckles, diamonds, wide. I've only done this twice. The first Saturday I made 100 push-ups. This last Saturday I made 160. I think 200 push-ups would be a good end goal, but we will see what happens.
2. Karate
I do karate three times a week. The adult class is 75 minutes, so that's 150 minutes of karate a week across two days. However, I also take my daughter to a kid's class so that adds another 45 minutes. Throw it my personal Saturday morning workout and n a good week I'll get as much as 5 hours of exercise just from karate. It's fairly low impact exercise, but it does have me moving a lot of the body in a lot of different ways so it's a good all-over workout. Added benefit it's practical. My current goal for karate is to learn all the kata from my style. There are 18 kata, I know 16 of them (thus 160 push-ups on Saturday mornings). I should have all of them by the end of the year.
3. Walking/running. I walk to work most days M-Th. That's 1 1/2 miles. If it isn't too hot at the end of the day I also work home. Three miles round trip. Nights I don't work often end with a late night walk. These are faster paced to make them more impactful (buzzword!). Those walks are generally about three miles too. Talking to my Doctor friend David I learned that a walk should be about three miles before it really starts doing any good for your health. I'm set there.
Added to the walking is running. Several months ago I confessed to my coworker/friend Shelley that I don't understand people who exercise until they get sick. I was mostly thinking of runners when I said that, probably because running more than anything makes me feel like I want to vomit. I want to get past this and I've been inoculating myself to running by doing it every Saturday morning. I run laps around the local park where I do my Saturday morning karate workout. It's a good warm-up before the karate. Given the size of the park (it houses several softball fields) a lap is about .8 miles. I started off doing a half lap before I would walk the rest. Now I'm up to the full .8 mile lap. Slowly but surely, I plan to advance that to 2 miles even. Then I'll be satisfied. Of course, that will be slow enough that I'll never feel like I'm dying after I run.
4. Eating Better
A big portion of eating healthy for me is eating smaller portions. I'm not depriving myself any, but I'm realizing that I eat too much. For example, on burrito night I used to eat two burritos packed full of goodness. Then I would eat some cheese quesadillas afterwards. On barbecue night it would be a burger, a brat, a hot dog, AND sides. Now I'm trying for a single burrito; a burger, a brat, or a hotdog; a small handful of chips. Of course eating less food isn't always easy. Here are some things that are working for me.
a. Smaller plates. Experiments have shown repeatedly that the bigger plate you have the more you will eat. This generally holds true even if you go back to refill the plate. We essentially have three plate sizes. I generally try and use the smallest. I also try not to cram as much food on there as possible, but use what comfortably fits.
b. Plan for children's leftovers. I have a big problem with eating my children's leftovers. This generally leaves me feeling like a little too full and gives me more food than I need. However, when I plan that I am going to do this (some meals are more predicable than others) I will take less. Then the leftovers give me just enough to satisfy.
c. Eat slower. Honestly, I'm not good at this one. In my home you'll generally see me walk away from the table first while everyone else is still chowing down. I'm not a slow eater. However, I know I should be and it's something I'm working on. Dinner conversations help to slow me down.
d. Put the dinner away immediately. I tend to be a grazer. If food is left out I will come back and snack on the little tidbits. The best way to avoid this is to put it in the refrigerator. Out of sight might not be out of mind, but it definitely helps.
e. Eat the right amount the first time. I try and avoid seconds, because it seems that when I take seconds I generally take too much. Then I overeat.
f. Have a piece of candy. Seriously, why not? If I deny myself I'll just obsess over it and then binge later. If I give in early I'm more likely to walk away after a small handful of M&M's or a single cookie. Fighting the urge will generally turn into a small handful of cookies later.
Here comes the psychology. It's called thought suppression. The basic premise is that when you forbid yourself from thinking about something you have a tendency to think about it more. Tell yourself not to think about those cookies and those cookies will invade every other thought. What does that mean for diets? Don't forbid yourself certain foods. You'll just obsess and avoiding them will be harder. Better to eat a controlled portion in the first place. However, there are things you can do. Instead of forbidding yourself from thinking about it, distract yourself. Go do something else so you can't think about food. Admit that the craving is okay, you're just not interested. Don't have the food in the house. Out of sight helps keep it out of mind. You'll have an easy time fighting the urge for ice cream if it isn't there reminding you every time you open the fridge.
Of course, that's not the end of the psychology. Thought suppression has another dark side. It's called the rebound effect. What happens when you're done forbidding yourself from thinking about food? Will the temptation disappear as soon as the fruit is not forbidden? Nope. Not at all. There will be a temporary rebound effect after the restriction is removed. You'll think about it even more! That's where binges come from. You deny and deny and deny. Then when you break you don't just break a little, you break hard time. It's why I try not to deny myself foods.
I was going to finish by talking about eating healthy, but I don't really have a lot to say about that. I'm not an expert and won't pretend to be one. I do like Alton Brown's approach to eating. You can find it around the internet, so I won't bother re-posting it here. I think the biggest thing I try and do is cook most of my food, avoid soda, and choke down some fruits and veggies occasionally. Oh, and my morning egg for breakfast. It really does help stave off the munchies until lunch time.
Monday, July 29, 2013
How Long is Saturday
When I was younger (e.g. a few weeks ago) the idea of doing chores on my Saturday caused much distress. Saturday was a day off. Saturday was a day for relaxing. Work was for the week, not the weekend. However, on Saturday the 27th of July of this year I came to a startling realization: If you prioritize and get to it then Saturday is pretty long. There is time enough for work and play.
Let's take my Saturday and break it down.
7:00--First wake up.
8:00--Second wake up.
I usually wake up about 7:00 most days, and since I'm awake I get out of bed. Saturday's are no exception. This is an important point: If you want to have plenty of time to do things then get up at a reasonable hour. Lounging in bed and refusing to rise just wastes the day. This is followed by another important point. You'll notice that I went back to bed for another hour in seeming contradiction to my first point. However, this wasn't laziness; this was sleep deprivation. I haven't been sleeping well. Catching up on sleep is important. Here's the second point: Sleep deprivation makes everything harder. Get plenty of sleep. Seriously. If you are depriving yourself of sleep to give yourself more time to get things done your work will be sloppier, your decision making slower, your concentration impaired. You will need more time just to do everything. You will be slower! Save yourself time and get enough sleep.
8:30--Work out.
The Saturday morning workout is becoming a regular thing for me. I'll talk about that next post. I eat breakfast (a banana) as I drive to workout. Most of the time multitasking just slows us down, but with something as automatic as eating a banana it is a definite time saver and gives me the energy I need for that workout.
10:00--Second breakfast.
Because you need to refuel and rehydrate after a good workout.
10:30--Mow the lawn.
Here's where some of the real time saving comes into play. My usual tendency is to delay mowing the lawn. I like to make excuses about the grass getting dry so the mower doesn't clog, giving the batteries for the electric weed whacker time to charge (why don't I check those the night before!), not wanting to start too early and disturb the neighbors. However, do I spend this time wisely? Nope. I usually just lounge around the house watching cartoons or playing mindless games on the Ipad. They aren't things I really want to spend my day doing, but they are buffers against the things I don't want to do. Point three is something most parents already know but I seem to forget: If you procrastinate it will just take longer. You might as well just get to it.
As an added bonus I got to watch the kids play on their bikes while I mowed. That killed two birds with one stone.
11:30--Prepare the kids lunch.
I think this is a vital part of time management for parents. Feed the kids when they're hungry; feed yourself when you are hungry. It keeps the children from being whiny (about food). Put aside whatever you are doing and spend the time putting lunch together. While they eat they are (hopefully) less likely to bother you and you can return to whatever task you were doing in peace. If you try to finish first you'll just get slowed down by their constant cries for food.
12:00--Finish mowing.
12:45--Set up pool for children.
I was hot. I was sweaty. I was tired. I just wanted to shower. Food called my name. However, if I delayed setting up the pool then I would have to get hot, sweaty, and tired again later. That would deter me and the pool wouldn't get set-up. Besides, I was already in the backyard. Point four: Rest is important, but rest when you need it not when it would merely feel good. Oh, and when you're doing hot sweaty work make sure you stay hydrated. Heat exhaustion will ruin your entire day.
1:00--Lunchtime.
This is the point where a lot of people wonder "where has my day gone?" However, from a practical perspective I'd only been awake five hours and look how much I'd gotten done. I still had nine hours of my day left! Those afternoon hours tend to crawl by. There's a lot of them and people are generally at their most alert and effective. It's a good time to get a lot done.
1:30--Lifeguard the kids while they swim.
Humans don't multitask. Not really. Human consciousness can't focus on multiple things at once. The conscious mind is truly one-track. This means that when we are multitasking one part needs to run on the unconscious line and a lot of tasks are too complex for this line. So, to compensate for this we run two (or more) tasks in the conscious mind by switching back and forth between them. This causes us to do both tasks more slowly and generally not as well. Imagine driving one train forward a small distance, removing it from the track, putting a second train on the track, running it forward, removing it, replacing the first train...both trains will get to the destinations eventually after much more time and effort. Still, there are times when this is acceptable. Finding those times and using them well maximizes a Saturday. For example, while my children swam I could have sat there to prevent them drowning and done nothing else. Instead, I chose to read a book. I couldn't disappear into my book the same way I usually do. I had to stop reading every minute or so to check on the kids, but this didn't prevent me from enjoying the reading. Neither did the children drown. This is point five: If you have two tasks that won't suffer from switching rapidly between them, do them simultaneously. The tricky part is recognizing which tasks are appropriate for this simultaneous. Driving should never be one of these tasks. Just saying.
2:15--Shower (finally!).
2:30--Birthday Shopping with the children.
Honestly, shopping would have been faster without the kids, but it also allowed me to spend time with my children. Plus, getting the children out of the house allowed Trina more time to be productive or relax. This in turn creates less for me to do. If you want to know about Trina's birthday check out her blog. I'm sure she will talk about it in a few days.
4:30--Video Games.
Why? Because it is one of the fun things I wanted to do on Saturday. This wasn't just wasting time because I lacked something else to do. This was purposeful sitting down to play video games. More importantly, I had the time! Being proactive about my day meant little wasted time and more time to do what I wanted.
6:00--Dinner.
7:30--Movie/Wrap Presents.
I can't emphasize this enough: I love movies! Movies at home are also a great way to waste time. However, they can be used for not wasting time as well. I watch movies while I stretch, do kata, clean (especially old favorites I don't need to pay attention to!), fold laundry, etc. Movies (especially old favorites) fall neatly into the category of tasks that won't suffer much from doing them simultaneously with other tasks.
9:30--Relax, Get Ready for Bed.
10:30--Go to Bed.
What stands out to me is I had more I could have done in the evening but the chores were done. The work was finished. I spent my evening relaxing before bed with more reading. Left free I could read all day.
One of the other things that helped was minimizing wasteful time spend on the Internet. Several years ago I read "The Tyranny of E-mail" by John Freeman (thank you Goodreads for helping me remember the title) that included a list for making your e-mail use more efficient. I don't remember the entire list, but I do remember the basics. I try to apply them to texting, Facebooking, e-mailing, etc. When I stick to it the amount of time I waste online is greatly diminished. A check-in that lasts no longer than a minute isn't a big deal, but too many of those and you find your day disappearing. Scheduling time for the Internet (once in the morning, and once in the afternoon) is a good way to make your day more efficient.
So that was my Saturday...now if I can only remember those points for future Saturdays.
Let's take my Saturday and break it down.
7:00--First wake up.
8:00--Second wake up.
I usually wake up about 7:00 most days, and since I'm awake I get out of bed. Saturday's are no exception. This is an important point: If you want to have plenty of time to do things then get up at a reasonable hour. Lounging in bed and refusing to rise just wastes the day. This is followed by another important point. You'll notice that I went back to bed for another hour in seeming contradiction to my first point. However, this wasn't laziness; this was sleep deprivation. I haven't been sleeping well. Catching up on sleep is important. Here's the second point: Sleep deprivation makes everything harder. Get plenty of sleep. Seriously. If you are depriving yourself of sleep to give yourself more time to get things done your work will be sloppier, your decision making slower, your concentration impaired. You will need more time just to do everything. You will be slower! Save yourself time and get enough sleep.
8:30--Work out.
The Saturday morning workout is becoming a regular thing for me. I'll talk about that next post. I eat breakfast (a banana) as I drive to workout. Most of the time multitasking just slows us down, but with something as automatic as eating a banana it is a definite time saver and gives me the energy I need for that workout.
10:00--Second breakfast.
Because you need to refuel and rehydrate after a good workout.
10:30--Mow the lawn.
Here's where some of the real time saving comes into play. My usual tendency is to delay mowing the lawn. I like to make excuses about the grass getting dry so the mower doesn't clog, giving the batteries for the electric weed whacker time to charge (why don't I check those the night before!), not wanting to start too early and disturb the neighbors. However, do I spend this time wisely? Nope. I usually just lounge around the house watching cartoons or playing mindless games on the Ipad. They aren't things I really want to spend my day doing, but they are buffers against the things I don't want to do. Point three is something most parents already know but I seem to forget: If you procrastinate it will just take longer. You might as well just get to it.
As an added bonus I got to watch the kids play on their bikes while I mowed. That killed two birds with one stone.
11:30--Prepare the kids lunch.
I think this is a vital part of time management for parents. Feed the kids when they're hungry; feed yourself when you are hungry. It keeps the children from being whiny (about food). Put aside whatever you are doing and spend the time putting lunch together. While they eat they are (hopefully) less likely to bother you and you can return to whatever task you were doing in peace. If you try to finish first you'll just get slowed down by their constant cries for food.
12:00--Finish mowing.
12:45--Set up pool for children.
I was hot. I was sweaty. I was tired. I just wanted to shower. Food called my name. However, if I delayed setting up the pool then I would have to get hot, sweaty, and tired again later. That would deter me and the pool wouldn't get set-up. Besides, I was already in the backyard. Point four: Rest is important, but rest when you need it not when it would merely feel good. Oh, and when you're doing hot sweaty work make sure you stay hydrated. Heat exhaustion will ruin your entire day.
1:00--Lunchtime.
This is the point where a lot of people wonder "where has my day gone?" However, from a practical perspective I'd only been awake five hours and look how much I'd gotten done. I still had nine hours of my day left! Those afternoon hours tend to crawl by. There's a lot of them and people are generally at their most alert and effective. It's a good time to get a lot done.
1:30--Lifeguard the kids while they swim.
Humans don't multitask. Not really. Human consciousness can't focus on multiple things at once. The conscious mind is truly one-track. This means that when we are multitasking one part needs to run on the unconscious line and a lot of tasks are too complex for this line. So, to compensate for this we run two (or more) tasks in the conscious mind by switching back and forth between them. This causes us to do both tasks more slowly and generally not as well. Imagine driving one train forward a small distance, removing it from the track, putting a second train on the track, running it forward, removing it, replacing the first train...both trains will get to the destinations eventually after much more time and effort. Still, there are times when this is acceptable. Finding those times and using them well maximizes a Saturday. For example, while my children swam I could have sat there to prevent them drowning and done nothing else. Instead, I chose to read a book. I couldn't disappear into my book the same way I usually do. I had to stop reading every minute or so to check on the kids, but this didn't prevent me from enjoying the reading. Neither did the children drown. This is point five: If you have two tasks that won't suffer from switching rapidly between them, do them simultaneously. The tricky part is recognizing which tasks are appropriate for this simultaneous. Driving should never be one of these tasks. Just saying.
2:15--Shower (finally!).
2:30--Birthday Shopping with the children.
Honestly, shopping would have been faster without the kids, but it also allowed me to spend time with my children. Plus, getting the children out of the house allowed Trina more time to be productive or relax. This in turn creates less for me to do. If you want to know about Trina's birthday check out her blog. I'm sure she will talk about it in a few days.
4:30--Video Games.
Why? Because it is one of the fun things I wanted to do on Saturday. This wasn't just wasting time because I lacked something else to do. This was purposeful sitting down to play video games. More importantly, I had the time! Being proactive about my day meant little wasted time and more time to do what I wanted.
6:00--Dinner.
7:30--Movie/Wrap Presents.
I can't emphasize this enough: I love movies! Movies at home are also a great way to waste time. However, they can be used for not wasting time as well. I watch movies while I stretch, do kata, clean (especially old favorites I don't need to pay attention to!), fold laundry, etc. Movies (especially old favorites) fall neatly into the category of tasks that won't suffer much from doing them simultaneously with other tasks.
9:30--Relax, Get Ready for Bed.
10:30--Go to Bed.
What stands out to me is I had more I could have done in the evening but the chores were done. The work was finished. I spent my evening relaxing before bed with more reading. Left free I could read all day.
One of the other things that helped was minimizing wasteful time spend on the Internet. Several years ago I read "The Tyranny of E-mail" by John Freeman (thank you Goodreads for helping me remember the title) that included a list for making your e-mail use more efficient. I don't remember the entire list, but I do remember the basics. I try to apply them to texting, Facebooking, e-mailing, etc. When I stick to it the amount of time I waste online is greatly diminished. A check-in that lasts no longer than a minute isn't a big deal, but too many of those and you find your day disappearing. Scheduling time for the Internet (once in the morning, and once in the afternoon) is a good way to make your day more efficient.
So that was my Saturday...now if I can only remember those points for future Saturdays.
Monday, July 22, 2013
What am I Blogging About?...and Apocalypse Now
When I originally created this blog I intended to talk about my writing projects; I named it Raven's Writings (I have a penchant for ravens). However, it never worked out well. I would blog about my current projects for a short time, but then writing flagged and so did the blog. Besides, in a given week I might only add a scant 4,000 words. That is insufficient to blog about. Predictably updates became fewer and farther between until the blog was forgotten. I attempted to revive it on a couple of occasions to the same disastrous results. This leads me to an uncomfortable question: Can I feasibly devote an entire blog to just writing?
No, no I can't. Not yet.
But if I'm not going to focus on writing, what am I going to focus on? The answer is obvious: nothing. I won't focus on anything, but I will talk about everything. Writing is one-dimension of my life and, to be honest, a small one. I am also a gamer, a martial artist, a teacher, a father, a husband, an entertainer, a dreamer, a cynic. I am many things and the blog should encompass all of them. That should give me plenty to blog about each week.
A few years ago I was in the habitat of sending out lengthy e-mails to my family and a few select friends. These e-mails, two or three times each year, summarized current developments in the several aspects of my life. Time has gone by and those e-mails have stopped, but the premise behind them is still good. This blog will replace those e-mails. However, instead of sending them out to the people who I think will want to hear about them I will just place them so that they are available for anyone who wants to look at them. Consequently, I've renamed the blog "Brendan's Blog" until I can think of something that captures my personality without sounding too pretentious. Feel free to add your suggestions in the comments.
Still, writing will be a major focus of the blog and I've created several static pages that will be updated much more slowly than the weekly posts. They reflect my WIP and include histories, summaries, progress, goals, and an excerpt. I'll add static pages for non-writing material as I find the need. Also, I hope to create a menu bar that will link you to posts sorted by subject. Even so, I am fairly excited about the current look of the blog. It feels more functional than the old blog and it looks modern. The original blog seemed to herald from the days when everyone was making websites on Angelfire and similar sites (I did that too!). Keep an eye out for future changes to improve functionality.
So what can you exactly expect on this blog?
Apocalypse Now I often spend long hours at my desk. Much of this time is spent grading student papers, answering e-mails, keeping up-to-date, etc. However, I generally take a break during lunch to eat without worrying about work. I often watch a movie during this time. It's a good way to relax between class sessions. The college has a small movie collection that I've been sampling from, but this weekend I decided to start sampling in a more organized fashion. My goal: watch all the fiction movies the library owns. Given that they generally add two or three each month this will be a long, long, long term goal. I started this weekend with the A's. Technically, numbers come first but they only had "12 Angry Men" in that category and I've seen it. So instead, I started with "Apocalypse Now".
The best part for me was finally understanding what Apocalypse Now was about. I have a tendency to maintain a willful ignorance on a lot of subjects. One of these areas is the subject matter of movies and books. I am often acquainted with the title without a real understanding about the plot. Apocalypse Now was one of these. It also opened my eyes to how little I know about the Vietnam War and makes me interested to find out more. War movies are not my typical fare, but I enjoyed Apocalypse Now.
Added bonus: I will now understand things that allude to, parody, etc., this movie.
No, no I can't. Not yet.
But if I'm not going to focus on writing, what am I going to focus on? The answer is obvious: nothing. I won't focus on anything, but I will talk about everything. Writing is one-dimension of my life and, to be honest, a small one. I am also a gamer, a martial artist, a teacher, a father, a husband, an entertainer, a dreamer, a cynic. I am many things and the blog should encompass all of them. That should give me plenty to blog about each week.
A few years ago I was in the habitat of sending out lengthy e-mails to my family and a few select friends. These e-mails, two or three times each year, summarized current developments in the several aspects of my life. Time has gone by and those e-mails have stopped, but the premise behind them is still good. This blog will replace those e-mails. However, instead of sending them out to the people who I think will want to hear about them I will just place them so that they are available for anyone who wants to look at them. Consequently, I've renamed the blog "Brendan's Blog" until I can think of something that captures my personality without sounding too pretentious. Feel free to add your suggestions in the comments.
Still, writing will be a major focus of the blog and I've created several static pages that will be updated much more slowly than the weekly posts. They reflect my WIP and include histories, summaries, progress, goals, and an excerpt. I'll add static pages for non-writing material as I find the need. Also, I hope to create a menu bar that will link you to posts sorted by subject. Even so, I am fairly excited about the current look of the blog. It feels more functional than the old blog and it looks modern. The original blog seemed to herald from the days when everyone was making websites on Angelfire and similar sites (I did that too!). Keep an eye out for future changes to improve functionality.
So what can you exactly expect on this blog?
- Health updates. What am I doing to stay in shape? Is it working?
- Karate. What kata have I learned? Did I pass my kyu test? Pictures of injuries I've given/received.
- Gaming. How is preparations going for next season? What happened in the most recent gaming session? What new board game do I love/hate?
- Improv. Am I still doing it? Is Haphazard getting back together or coming together with an all new crew? Do I have any new characters I am working on?
- Food. Have I created a crazy recipe (I have a few in mind)? What have I barbecued recently?
- School. Funny moments in class that I can safely share. Insights on teaching. Memorable moments from student papers.
- Movies. I enjoy nitpicking them, thinking about them, etc. See thoughts on current movies, classic movies, and whatever I happened to stumble upon via Netflix.
- Stuff. You know, just stuff. Those things that you want to put on Facebook, but the idea is too long and you don't really want to ramble on. That kind of stuff. I think a lot of stuff.
Apocalypse Now I often spend long hours at my desk. Much of this time is spent grading student papers, answering e-mails, keeping up-to-date, etc. However, I generally take a break during lunch to eat without worrying about work. I often watch a movie during this time. It's a good way to relax between class sessions. The college has a small movie collection that I've been sampling from, but this weekend I decided to start sampling in a more organized fashion. My goal: watch all the fiction movies the library owns. Given that they generally add two or three each month this will be a long, long, long term goal. I started this weekend with the A's. Technically, numbers come first but they only had "12 Angry Men" in that category and I've seen it. So instead, I started with "Apocalypse Now".
The best part for me was finally understanding what Apocalypse Now was about. I have a tendency to maintain a willful ignorance on a lot of subjects. One of these areas is the subject matter of movies and books. I am often acquainted with the title without a real understanding about the plot. Apocalypse Now was one of these. It also opened my eyes to how little I know about the Vietnam War and makes me interested to find out more. War movies are not my typical fare, but I enjoyed Apocalypse Now.
Added bonus: I will now understand things that allude to, parody, etc., this movie.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
The Plan
I find that despite my beginning of the year resolutions I have been bad about writing. To be fair, I have been getting a lot of writing done, but it has been erratic and sporadic. I have taken on a lot of projects; little writing on many projects mean that little progress is made. The feeling that I'm not progressing causes discouragement. That in turn leads me to write less. To counteract discouragement and distractions I have created "The Plan":
1. Blog weekly. I don't have it in me to blog more than that, but I feel that one blog a week is a commitment I can keep. It will also give me plenty of time to write a blog post and edit it before I post it. I might as well practice revision while I blog. I think the best day for this post to appear would be Monday. That allows me Sunday to write the blog and Monday evening to look over the blog before posting.
--1.a Revamp the blog. Make it prettier, functional, etc. Anyone know someone who is good at that?
2. Gain an audience. Blogging to improve my writing does little good if I don't have an audience who is waiting for the next update (or at least pretending to). They can also provide feedback and encouragement. Some of you are here because of my efforts on this step. Please, feel free to pass on the blog to anyone you think might be interested.
3. Define my works in progress (WIP) and set goals for the progression of said WIPs.
4. Write everyday on something even if it is not one of my WIP. The blog counts. Letters to friends count. Facebook statuses do not count. Neither do work e-mails.
5. Strengthen my writing network. I have several friends who are writers and I need to reconnect with them and remind them that I'm a writer too. With their permission I will post links to their blogs and websites here.
Hmmm...I am sure there is more to do. Look for the first post of my rejuvenated blog on Monday highlighting my WIP. In the meantime, I am open to suggestions of steps to add to my plan. Thanks in advance.
1. Blog weekly. I don't have it in me to blog more than that, but I feel that one blog a week is a commitment I can keep. It will also give me plenty of time to write a blog post and edit it before I post it. I might as well practice revision while I blog. I think the best day for this post to appear would be Monday. That allows me Sunday to write the blog and Monday evening to look over the blog before posting.
--1.a Revamp the blog. Make it prettier, functional, etc. Anyone know someone who is good at that?
2. Gain an audience. Blogging to improve my writing does little good if I don't have an audience who is waiting for the next update (or at least pretending to). They can also provide feedback and encouragement. Some of you are here because of my efforts on this step. Please, feel free to pass on the blog to anyone you think might be interested.
3. Define my works in progress (WIP) and set goals for the progression of said WIPs.
4. Write everyday on something even if it is not one of my WIP. The blog counts. Letters to friends count. Facebook statuses do not count. Neither do work e-mails.
5. Strengthen my writing network. I have several friends who are writers and I need to reconnect with them and remind them that I'm a writer too. With their permission I will post links to their blogs and websites here.
Hmmm...I am sure there is more to do. Look for the first post of my rejuvenated blog on Monday highlighting my WIP. In the meantime, I am open to suggestions of steps to add to my plan. Thanks in advance.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Back in the habit
Life. Who knew? The Beatles I guess. So almost two years ago I lost my job as an adjunct writing instructor. It wasn't that they were dissatisfied with my performance, but that they had run out of work for me to do. I was forced to find a new job. I was fortunate and found one a few months later and found myself moving in August 2010.
I immediately stepped into orientation for my job as a full-time instructor at a community college. One of the deans of the college cited his plan from decades ago when he got hired: work as a teacher and do his artwork on the side. However, he soon began spending so much time on work that he never found time for his art, and he said that he never regretted it. At the time I thought that I would not become him. I would maintain my writing in spite of the pressures and demands of the job. I would be published! It was even encouraging to find that someone in my department had recently published a novel. I could find support for my goal. I would still be a writer.
Now here it is almost three years since my last blog post and my writing habit has gone down the drain. I am determined to reverse this trend. This was motivated by several factors. The first was the roleplaying campaign my group was playing. I spent some time writing the summary that I thought I would novelize it. The first few chapters were well received by my gaming group and that gave me support to continue.
The second motivation came while preparing for courses. This semester I decided to fall back on a technique from my adjunct days. The assignment guide. I used an old assignment guide as a format for the new ones I was preparing. In the process I came across this old assignment.
"DAILY WRITING
Due Monday, June 14th (Bring to Class)
100 points
To become better writers it is necessary that you write every day. For this class you are required to write a minimum of 200 new words every day, Monday-Saturday (including holidays)."
I still believe that. If you want to succeed as a writer you must write every day (or as close to every day as is feasible). I believe it, but I haven't been doing it. I am going to change that and get back in the habit of daily writing. It shouldn't be too difficult: there is a lot of writing to do.
The third motivation was New Years. It's a time to make a fresh start and I made a resolution to finish a novel this year and revise one. That's a stiff order if I don't spend time daily working on it. However, I believe it is possible and this blog is going to help me get there.
I immediately stepped into orientation for my job as a full-time instructor at a community college. One of the deans of the college cited his plan from decades ago when he got hired: work as a teacher and do his artwork on the side. However, he soon began spending so much time on work that he never found time for his art, and he said that he never regretted it. At the time I thought that I would not become him. I would maintain my writing in spite of the pressures and demands of the job. I would be published! It was even encouraging to find that someone in my department had recently published a novel. I could find support for my goal. I would still be a writer.
Now here it is almost three years since my last blog post and my writing habit has gone down the drain. I am determined to reverse this trend. This was motivated by several factors. The first was the roleplaying campaign my group was playing. I spent some time writing the summary that I thought I would novelize it. The first few chapters were well received by my gaming group and that gave me support to continue.
The second motivation came while preparing for courses. This semester I decided to fall back on a technique from my adjunct days. The assignment guide. I used an old assignment guide as a format for the new ones I was preparing. In the process I came across this old assignment.
"DAILY WRITING
Due Monday, June 14th (Bring to Class)
100 points
To become better writers it is necessary that you write every day. For this class you are required to write a minimum of 200 new words every day, Monday-Saturday (including holidays)."
I still believe that. If you want to succeed as a writer you must write every day (or as close to every day as is feasible). I believe it, but I haven't been doing it. I am going to change that and get back in the habit of daily writing. It shouldn't be too difficult: there is a lot of writing to do.
The third motivation was New Years. It's a time to make a fresh start and I made a resolution to finish a novel this year and revise one. That's a stiff order if I don't spend time daily working on it. However, I believe it is possible and this blog is going to help me get there.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Moving On, Not Giving Up
A little over a week ago I got my second rejection for "A Reason for Evil." I truly believe the agent gave my novel as much consideration as any other project she receives. Her reply was probably a form letter she sends to everyone she rejects (I know that's how I would do it. I hate having to think up a good way to say something bad). Still, there was something in the letter that really made me consider. She said, "I'm just not enthusiastic enough about the premise of your story...." After reding this I realized that I wasn't enthusiastic about the premise of my story either. I was sending the novel out to agents to get practiced in doing so, but I didn't really expect the novel to get published. I don't really love the story. While the experience is good, and there is a chance the book could get picked up I've decided to stop sending the book out to agents. Why would I want them to publish something of mine that I don't love? It would be a waste of everyone's time. My first novel did a wonderful thing for me: It showed me I could write. It has served its purpose. Now it is time for it to be put into the file drawer while I work on more exciting tales. I'm not giving up on it. I'm just moving on to something better.
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