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Ring Psychology

by Aaron Hall

Volume Thirteen: Time Vampires Writing, like any other artistic or creative undertaking, is far from an exact science. I in no way believe myself to be a master of the game or a voice of authority on the dos and don’ts of writing. This column is simply me sharing with all of you some of the things that I’ve picked up along the way that seem to help me out. Use them, abuse them, make fun of them, or sell them on eBay. Now, on to the article! “Time Vampires” The one thing I talk about constantly in this column is wasting time. Seriously, looking through the archives, I’m like a broken record with this subject. But the fact is, it’s the kryptonite of the productive individual. Our greatest weakness. The only way to get rid of our weaknesses is by identifying them. Only then can we work on them and get rid of them. So, instead of just saying DON’T WASTE TIME, this week we’re going to explore some of the more common time wasters that we all run into on a daily basis. My hope is that by identifying these things we do that waste time, or time vampires as I’m so cleverly calling them, we can eliminate them. Television. I think that’s a big one for most of us. Television is great. The Shield, 24, NFL football, Smallville, Alias, Lost. There are a lot of great shows that are worth watching every week. And really, it’s no problem if we sit down weekly and watch a few hour long shows. Here’s the problem. The Real World, Sportscenter, Cops, Friends, all the other shows on MTV, Trading Spaces. You get the drift, right? These shows are time vampires. It’s one thing to enjoy the well acted drama of The Shield for an hour. It’s a much different thing to watch the new Real World cast drink themselves silly and then confirm for all of the world that indeed, America’s youth are a bunch of drunken retards. I’m just as entertained as you are when an angry Baton Rouge cop tackles a nude crack addict into a ditch, but the fact is I’m not really getting anything out of watching Cops. I’d never be able to quit watching television, but what I have been able to do is greatly limit the time I watch and the type of shows I watch. When it comes down to it, it’s more important to script four pages than it is to watch The Osbournes. Now, of course television isn’t the only time vampire there is. Videogames, internet, even some friends are time vampires. The idea is not to give up doing the things that you love. Being productive doesn’t mean you have to live in a one man social prison. What it does mean is that you have to learn to discipline yourself. You have to learn how to set aside time in each day to get something done on your projects. You have to learn how to pick yourself up from a bad day and still get some work done that evening. YOU HAVE TO LEARN TO TURN OFF THE TELEVISION. I’ll close with something else I say a lot. It comes down to desire. How bad do you want it? Even if it isn’t writing and creating comic books, how bad do you want it? How much does it mean to you to succeed? How much would it mean to make your dreams a reality? Enough that it’s worth playing less videogames? Enough that it’s worth hanging with your friends a few nights less every week? Enough that it’s worth turning off the television right after your favorite show and getting back to work? I feel like I’ve talked this subject to death, so I’m going to step down off of this soapbox at least for the next few months. Because when it comes down to it, hearing this stuff from someone else isn’t the answer. I can point out some of the problems and share a few things that help me break the bad habits, but unless you’re ready to work on them for yourself then it won’t change anything. You have to decide for yourself that you’re done wasting time. And hey, if you’re happy doing all the stuff you want in life and just living day to day, good for you. Everyone is different and I would never begrudge someone a carefree sort of life. But I think I can pretty freely say that if you’re a writer/creator/artist, being productive is a pretty big thing for you. And for those people, being able to identify and kill time vampires in your life is an all important step in being productive and reaching your goals. Until next time, this is the guy who finishes second in the Tour De France every year and the stranger that was starting at you while you were out today, Aaron Hall, signing off. If you have any questions or comments about creating comics feel free to email them to freejenkins@gmail.com and I’ll answer them right here in this very column because yes, I care about you that much.