Planning to fail through reflection

In the recent months I have used Sunday as a day of reflection and planning the week ahead. This blog is now becoming part of that process to share with you the trials of the week - what worked and what didn't and how I can learn to process this for the future. 

Last Sunday I planned out what I wanted to achieve for the week and then used my Google calendar to block out hour sessions for me to complete these tasks. Implementing this has meant that by blocking out these dedicated time spaces I know that I have to focus for. I'll leave my phone in another room to reduce distraction from social media apps and non urgent notifications from Whatsapp etc. I can then look to maximise this time to progress with intention.

I'm trying to use time that I would before have used to scroll through social media meaninglessly such as my lunch break. During my half hour lunch break this week I have been looking through the Force - Figure drawing book and then doing a couple quick figure sketches. This has been a much better use of this time and a good way to break up my day with creativity.

I've been making my way through Matt D'Avella's podcaste - The Ground Up Show this week where he had interviewed Tyler Babin who at the time was working for Gary Vee. They mentioned the book - The Obstacle is The Way by Ryan Holiday who I'd seen pop up on my YouTube algorithm. His content revolves around the teachings of the stoics, specifically Marcus Aurelius, to invert the ideas around obstacles in our lives. Rather than treat these as obstacles that halt progress in our lives it asks you to think of these obstacles as a path. Use these trials, through persistence, to either fuel your push on your path or learn whatever lesson you can from the obstacle rather than focusing on the negatives. 

"What stands in the way becomes the way" (Ryan Holiday) 

I've listened to The Obstacle is The Way audiobook twice this week and it has bolstered my persistence towards self development. Things are difficult currently, but that's life, it is hard at times but it's at these times that we have to continue to push through. There are things that happen that are out of our control, focus on the variables that you can control and the things you can't, deal with them when they come and turn them into opportunities. 

SpiderGwen Marvel Fan art

This week I'd finished up an old Character Design Challenge of a SpiderGwen Marvel Fan art that I'd missed posting due to time constraints. I love the colours of this but there are failures around the anatomy, specifically the hands. Learning from this I need to make sure I take pictures and utilise reference for these situations to intentionally get better. I'm going to use these challenges as a proper brief and develop a story every month around the character, something that I haven't always done because I've not planned to focus. 

Below is the digital painting workout lessons that I've been working on from the Schoolism courses. These two were focused around developing a picture within half an hour with limited values. The first on the left with just black and white and then the one to the right through a limited palette of 4 values. I'm also making my way through the Starting your Journey to build up from the foundations of digital painting. This week was basic exercises through creating lines and building simple images from lines to create different emotions.

Digital Painting workouts with Walter Tulp

I'm making my way through both LinkedIn tutorials for After Effects focused around Motion Design for animating a logo and then making progress through the Schoolism Blender tutorials for the food cart. I've tried to make sure to take in the learning around edge flow which is something I don't think I had ever fully grasped at university. 

This is going to be a long process to get where I need to be. The obstacles for me are time and distractions but with this new Sunday habit of reflection through this blog and then planning my week ahead gives me focus and drive. I may fail at times but these are lessons to learn from and develop from.