I banged out a week of comics today in a fairly non-stop seven-hour session. The inked buffer is at 61, a new high score, and included in that inking is the strip for June 12, 2007 (making for seven years of Schlock.)
Now I’m too tired to do anything else, and I’m feeling depressed about it.
DEPRESSED. New High Score plus Seven Years = Depressed. This is ridiculous.
I finished all my work for the day (and for tomorrow, truth be told) and I’ve rightfully earned a respite from work. I want to keep going, but I’m too brain-fried and hand-sore to script, color, or do any of the myriad “little” things that need to be done during the week. I should just kick back and relax for the evening, but I can’t. That kind of leisure so early in the week? Why, that’s akin to SLOTH, right there.
And reading the news doesn’t help much. Great. I can now add indignation, anger, and powerlessness to the depression. Unfortunately, their effects stack.
I’m not feeling sorry for myself, mind you. I’m just frustrated that I don’t seem to be wired to enjoy accomplishment. Not today, at any rate.
It’s hard to be happy about anything with news like today’s.
Well, maybe you could direct your energy into another area of your life for a moment? Just a suggestion.
Anyway, I really appreciate the work you do put into the strip. You are really talented.
I have to agree, if you’ve pushed that buffer all the way out to June 12th then take a break. In fact, I’m willing to support said vacation by taking some of my post taxes & car work money to pick up the first book. (And there goes the order into the system now)
Take some time to play with the kids, enjoy some games, or get some extra exercise (I know I could use some of that). And if anyone gets bent out of shape that you might try that, well too bad for them.
I was about to post “*slaps Howard gently*, go play with the kids”.
Played with the kids. Posted afterwards, when the kids went skating. I was far too tired to enter a building that noisy, so I stayed home and wished I could work.
Maybe just some thinking about characters ? I mean if you were too brain-fried to actually script (I’m assuming that’s physically undemanding enough) that you could just make up some silly situations/stories about ’em. Useful for random sketches later I’d hope :).
Congratulations on setting a new high mark!
There’s nothing more frustrating than having a burst of productivity brought to a screeching halt because of physical or schedule limitations forcing you to stop.
Focus on what you accomplished rather than on the fact that you wish you could have continued and accomplished even more.
Another thought: relaxation and maintaining the health of ones body, mind and soul are part of being productive.
Nobody would run an airliner without taking it out of service periodically for scheduled maintenance, nor would you begrudge the need of taking said airliner out of service because it needed some unscheduled maintenance. Just as regular maintenance is part of maintaining the airliner’s overall productivity, your taking time off and relaxing should not be viewed as a loss of productivity but rather as a part of maintaining good productivity over the long run.