I can hardly manage my job and my time meant for learning 3D. What should I do?

Alander787

Hello,

Recently I started working as a 3D generalist at a graphics studio. The job is great, no issues at all with anything. The money is good, work hours too, office etc.

Everything about it is just great. I couldnt be more thankful for having such an opportunity, because it's actually my first job, right after my high school. I've been learning 3D when I was studying there, because the school stuff wasnt that much time demanding so I had a lot of free time to utilize for learning something.

But now, lets get back to the topic. The job is great, but whenever I come back home I find it hard to manage my time to learn new stuff, to watch some courses or do some practice. But its not that it's impossible to get some things done, however its sometimes really hard. I have a girlfriend and a dog and they also want to spend some time with me.
Aside from that, I'm not always in the right mood or I'm just too lazy to do anything. And in the end I feel like I'm not progressing in anything at all and it really stresses me. I then feel totally uninspired, unmotivated and cant come up with anything of what could I do or make a choice on what to do next. Thanks to that I end up playing games or watching YouTube videos. Surely it's healthy to take a break, play some games and give yourself some time to rest, but this is not the case. I find myself doing this too often. Don't get me wrong, I love playing video games, its also what got me to this industry in the first place, but I don't want to feel like I waste too much time instead of actually learning.

Also little sidenote. Whatever I have to do at work, I just do it without hesitation in the best way possible, but when it comes to personal stuff, I sometimes find it hard to even get over the blockout phase.

Thank you for reading this essay and also thank you in advance for any tips and advices that could potentionally help me. Try to give me every tips possible. It might be that Im completely overlooking some fundamental basic things and concepts that are being commonly associated with my problem.

And also, sorry for my bad english. Haven't been using it actively for some time now (because of things written above)

TL;DR

I have a great job, but suck at time/mood managing in regards of my personal stuff, learning new things and social life.

Eric Chadwick

Check the sticky at the top of this section, in particular the Motivation is Bull link. Should help you!

YF_Sticks

It's a tough topic man and I know the feeling of not wanting to do anything after work. I won't give you all the inspirational quotes etc because you already know all of them probably. If I were you I'd ask myself:

Is pursuing a career in game art (or whatever it is you want), really what you want to do?

If you can't possibly find any motivation after work, no one can really help you but yourself. Because you already know what you should do. You're not missing anything. You know to get better, you have to sit down and work. There's no magic to it. 
Try to answer this question first and maybe think about what you really want to do. It's hard work in itself, but it will help you in the long run and to get a clear aim again. 

sacboi

Also little sidenote. Whatever I have to do at work, I just do it without hesitation in the best way possible, but when it comes to personal stuff, I sometimes find it hard to even get over the blockout phase.

Worth thinking about.

Greedus

Hey Alander

This is a common feeling for most people starting out in the industry, when your hobby becomes your job its hard to find time for yourself or personal development without feeling exhausted. the best thing you can do, is work new things into the daily work schedule. for example if your a generalist there's a lot of ground you have to cover and you wont always know the cleanest way to do something. make a plan to incorporate new things into your work routine. don't be afraid if it takes a bit longer, you need to progress as an artist at the end of the day and you'll only do that if your learning new things and refining your skills.  its always worth asking your work for personal development time to. a lot of company's have started to incorporate this into their employee contracts, there's also the possibility of flexible working hours. 
one last thing i will say, always have a personal project going on outside of your work. doesn't matter how long it takes or how much energy you have, try to put aside a few hours a week for it, create a routine out of it. try to make a healthy habit out of your own development. 

i hope this helps in some way, im sure you'll figure it out

good luck!

scottycharly

I know exactly what you mean. Personally, I resolved the issue by waking up one hour early every weekday and working on my personal stuff during this hour. I don't allow myself any social media or reading news or whatever during this period, only 3D stuff. The upside is that you are at your optimal concentration and it's very quiet around the home. The downside is that is hard for about a week and also that you eventually lose one hour of fun TV/gaming evening time.

Ex-Ray

Bit of a generalisation but I feel folks can get 'lost' when there isn't a voice from authority. When you've gone through the education and work system, I feel this is a natural feeling during your personal time. I say don't beat yourself up too much, you just need some structure and be proactive. 

I recommend small steps, 30-60mins with clear predetermined goals like 'today I'm going to unwrap these 5 objects'. When the time is up screenshot what you've done so you have a record, then stop and you can reward with tv/game time etc. Basically you're trying to slowly create some momentum and see positive visual updates from the daily screenshots. Choose projects that are achievable and you're passionate about.

So I think you just need some warming up exercises as you're trying to run from a cold start. Once you get going and after a while it will become a routine/habit. All the best. 

Larry

Who says you must do stuff all the time? Take a step back, enjoy your friends and family, you don't have to keep running. When you find yourself you wanna do 3d, then just do it. Or just experiment and don't finnish anything. There are no rules. Let's make some bullet points

-It's good to do other things as well.
-If you want to, make small stuff like a rock or a bush or a rough blockout of a complicated prop or environment, then just dump it. So what?
-Making 3d at your job is practice, and with practice you get faster.There's just not a portfolio piece until the game has being released
-Since you already got a job in the industry your portfolio is fine. Your CV is better and a potential next job will be easier to find
-Be confident in your skill, all will be fine

Alander787

Thank you all for your tips and advices. You've been very helpful  

Now I'm gonna get my stuff together and figure out my time managment, routines etc. 

I'll post here what I'm going to be working at soon!