So here's the deal. I started a weekly webcomic a few months ago and put out nine strips in a row. Seemed like I was on the right track and had at least a couple decent strips. Then my wife and I decided to buy a house and things got really crazy. I had to do a bunch of freelance work in short order to make sure we had the money. Plus, my wife, as of this writing, is 7.5 months pregnant with our first child.

Because of all this, I decided to take a short break on the comic. That "short" break has lasted three months. We're now in our new house, but I'm still doing tons of freelance work (I'm a web developer, btw).

My question is, how do you guys do it? I know the short answer is, if it's something you want/love to do, you just make time. That's all well and good, but a guy has to sleep and spend time with their family too. My problem is that my ambition far outweighs my energy and motivation. In addition to webcomics, I want to write more and I have lots of ideas for web sites and apps that may never see the light of day because of my "day job" and all the stuff I'm doing on the side for other people.

Another factor in this is just the sheer fear of it. Last night (a Sunday), I was done with everything at 9:30 and thought I might have enough time to bang out a strip. But this three month gap has now made me terrified of the blank screen again. But that's just my own neurosis, and isn't the crux of my question.

So how do you do it? I know at least one of the Halfpixel guys still has a full-time job. Do you just work all night? Shun friends and family? Buy stock in Red Bull and Double Shot? Any time management secrets anyone can share?

Thanks much.

When this wasn't my full time job I simply found time (which I know is not helpful)

My child is now 2 I can sympathize with the baby problem (sorry guy, its only going to get more time-consuming). My tip is really that my writing partner is my best friend so we would get some scotch sit back and have a good time writing and drawing the strip... I realize that probably won't help, sorry.

Yeah, I'm sure the baby coming will suck up what little extra time I had in the first place. Honestly, I wonder if I have to just be honest enough with myself and admit that at this stage in my life (new house, new baby, tons of paying work), that I just have to sacrifice some of the other for-the-love-of-it work that I want to do.

I already don't watch much tv though. I have to wonder, how many of those guys substitute time spent with their spouses/kids with work. Not saying they all do, but certainly some must.

And to say "I have no time" as a blanket statement is sort of a misnomer as well. Yes, I DO have enough time in aggregate for the week that I could do a strip. But it also means not being able to just take an hour to watch a ball game or play Xbox or just sit and chill with my wife. I think if I felt every time I took a break or mindlessly surfed the web "oh I should be doing [insert project here] right now", I think I'd go crazy.

But it also means not being able to just take an hour to watch a ball game or play Xbox

If the urge to draw comics is not stronger than this then you will never get to comic #10 let alone #100 or #1000.

@Chris

I don't that statement is fair, I think he means he needs some time to himself (we're not robots after all)

Really? So the answer is just to have no life? I noticed you didn't quote the part where I mentioned spending time with the wife.

Honestly, I can't think of anything I'm passionate about enough that I'd be willing to dedicate every waking moment to it, at the expense of family or anything else.

I think this has been an issue that's worried me from the start. Yes, I've been drawing since I could hold a crayon, and yes I want to keep making comics. But I wonder, does the fact that I'm unwilling to dedicate everything to it mean I'll never accomplish anything?

Why not just realize that at this current point in your life, you honestly don't have the time. I'm almost 8 months pregnant and I know my productivity is going down. Obviously the paying comic work comes first and my web comic has always fallen in the spare time category. I'm working on a good sized buffer now while I have the time, and then I'm going to enjoy my baby (fingers crossed he comes on time, or maybe even a little early!)
Don't think you'll never accomplish anything, just postpone it until you're comfortable with the new house bills and the new baby routine. While you do have some spare moments write. You don't need many supplies to just sit down and write strips and when you find the moments to draw again you may have a nice backlog of ideas to get you going quickly.
If comics are what you're passionate about, you'll do them.

In your original post you say

My problem is that my ambition far outweighs my energy and motivation.

I don't think there is a fix for that. If you don't have the urge to make comics regardless of the obstacles you face then you probably just won't do it. It's largely a solitary activity and the need to create has to come from within.

i only spent 2 weeks with out drawing and already i'm in a panic to face the 'blank page'

@Chris

I don't that statement is fair, I think he means he needs some time to himself (we're not robots after all)

I have to side with Chris for this one. If this is something you want badly enough, then you don't mind putting other things (friends, family, video games) on the back burner. People don't draw comics because they want to--it's because they feel the have to.

There's nothing wrong with valuing things like human interaction. In fact, it's probably more normal than sitting drawing by yourself until 2 AM every night. Just be honest with yourself about how much time you have to commit, and enjoy yourself, however you spend that time.

This truly is a matter of priority. I've been a workaholic and I've been a bum. Honestly, I'm comfortable with either. There have been days (if not weeks or months) where I did my work, came home, did the work I have to do there, chilled out for the remaining hours, and went to bed. I did absolutely nothing productive and was perfectly fine (except for that feeling that I'm wasting my life, but that can be quieted fairly easily). I have also times where I did what I had to do, came home, closed the door, drew the blinds, put on music, and just wrote until I physically couldn't stay awake any longer. When I woke up the next day, I felt like hell, but I also felt amazing for being so productive.

The question comes down to, what is the most important thing to you? I hope to god that your wife and child are the top of that list. It would also be nice if your health and well-being are up there (if for nothing else, to help provide for your wife and child). But the question is, what comes next?

Do you want to tinker with small projects like apps? Do you want to do more prose? Do you want to make comics? More importantly. do you want to do these as a hobby or as a career? A hobbyist makes these things for himself. A professional makes it for others. If you aren't trying to make a career out of comics, then don't worry and do them when you have the energy. However, if your ambition is such that it eats away at you when you don't make them, then try taking one random night and spending 3 hours just making a comic. If the act of making a comic just for fun does not give you energy and doesn't make you feel better about yourself, then screw it and do whatever does give you energy and pride.

The sad truth is that there just aren't enough hours in the day. A fixed amount are dedicated to work and another set for sleep. The rest are yours for free time. Of course, everything that isn't work or sleep comes out of your free time, so there's always far less than you think. If you can't find the free time, then schedule it. If there aren't enough hours, then you can consider cutting back on your sleep (though you may regret that in the long run). I wrote about that in my blog. There are also a number of posts I've made about finding energy, staying motivated, and getting over fear. You may need to do some digging around, though. Feel free to give it a look see and hopefully it can help.

I was married once, though it didn't exactly work out. While I was married, there's no way I would've been able to do a webcomic. Before that and after it- now we're talking.

If I'm honest, I am not happier with leisure time. There have been times in my life where I was like a recovering patient, with nothing to do but kill time. I wasn't happier. I was sure less stressed out, but I wasn't even less prone to freaking out and drama, in spite of the lower stress.

My big problem now is that I want to be way better than I regrettably am, so time management continues to be a problem. This in spite of the fact that I run my own software business and can fuel it with bursts of development work, and then turn it over to a storefront company and let orders trickle in. I'm poor, but I have time for a daily comic.

I get up at 7 in the morning, and work (at varying intensity) until around 3. If I count other stuff besides drawing and writing and comic busywork, it runs later- if I averaged it out it'd probably be about 12 hours a day, or 6 hours of really focussed active work and 6 hours of daydreaming. Without the daydreaming the other 6 hours would suffer and take false paths though.

I don't watch television- or go out, really. I was already reclusive, so now I have an excuse ;)

We are not robots- but one thing that's very apparent to me is, you'd better have some understanding of what the job actually is. If you see a job description that says 'doodling alone, endlessly' and you say hey! Sign me up! then you probably can tolerate the many other tasks you get stuck with. And if you are already doing that- why not capitalize on that lifestyle? :)

...... you're making me feel like I shouldn't do this (then I remember the money I am receiving :P)

But COME ON!!! cut the guy some slack, he is having a baby!!!

While its true you need serious motivation in yourself (I believe I said that in another topic myself) there are contrenuating circumstances.

MONEY? You get money? There can be money??? ;)

For me, the short answer is staying up later than everyone else. I have a full time job, a wife, a 5 yr old and a 2 yr old. I will not sacrifice time with them to work on my strip. Like you, it's just not something I'm willing to do. It's part of the reason I only update 3 times a week. After they all go to bed, I stay up a couple extra hours to work. Then get up bright and early to go to work. It's pretty much the only way.

Then there's the lunch hour, which is good for writing, blog posts, sketches, extras and plans. Weekends usually go a little better because both my girls like to come downstairs to the studio and draw with me on their kids art desks. We make a regular thing out of it. Them mom gets to read quietly.

It's rough but it's worth it. You make the time to work it in AROUND family time. Your family can be your best support group, don't piss'em off.

I agree with Joe. I stay up later than everyone else. I have a 6 and 4 year old. It took me 2 years to figure out my strip and what I wanted it to be. I feel bad that I didn't start when I first had the idea but it took that long to get it going. I designed my strip to be simple and a quick read. I designed it knowing myself and what I can pull off each week with something that is satisfying to me and hopefully an audience. I am 2 months ahead on my M-W-F schedule. I am toying with the idea of going 5 days a week if I can build up enough buffer before the end of the year. If my kids go to bed at 8:30 or so, I can stay up until 2:00pm and still get out of bed in the morning at 7:00am. I don't do this every night but it works to work when everyone else is asleep.

Luckily, I have a job that is easy for me to accomplish the tasks needed to be done each week. Sometimes I can be waiting for a print job to be done and jot down some ideas in my sketchbook which I carry around constantly. Sometimes I ride the train to work and that time can be used as well.

I would tell you to build as much of a buffer as possible before the baby comes and then you know what you have to do in a given week to keep it going. A buffer before you even start your strip is key. Don't put it out there too soon so people will be disappointed when they see that you don't update consistently.

Thanks a ton guys for the responses. Great stuff. I especially liked the advice from Joe and Brian on keeping family stuff in the forefront. I do have a tendency to want to work late, and usually I can work easily until 2am with just a little coffee by my side. The problem is, I have to get up at 6:30, so I'm a zombie the next day. Like literally dozing off at my desk at work. I hear that's not good :)

But I'm definitely thinking of little ways I can insert stuff throughout my day. Lunch is a good one too. Typically I eat lunch at my desk, and only long enough to finish eating. Maybe I need to be more diligent about taking an actual lunch "break" to do things for myself.

As maybe changing your style and the size of the strip. For my comic I work on 9 by 12 inch paper and do a more cartoony style cause I can get through penciling and inking in two hours. The style is coming a long and each one looks and feels better then the last. (most of the time.) I also knew some guys with family who got up earlier then everyone. They got up at 4 a.m. and drew. They are now all professionals but still have a great healthy family life. Just finding balance and making it work.

You don't have to give up having a life to do comics, you just have to look at it a little differently.

Like many, I work full time. PLUS I have a freelance writing contract that obligates me for 7 articles a month, my boyfriend and I just moved in together a few months ago and, no, we're not done unpacking but we're close, lol. But even with all this, I still produce 5 strips total per week for 2 different webcomics. Here's how I manage:

Sunday afternoons/evenings are my long day: I try to get my scripting for the week done along with at least half the necessary pencils. Sometimes I do, sometimes I end up pencilling on my lunch breaks Monday & Tuesday. Monday and Tuesday nights my boyfriend makes dinner while I comic and I usually manage to get all strips done by the end of Tuesday night. Wednesday and Thursday nights get split between the articles I've got to write and any other projects I've got going on (my monthly podcast, secondary comics that are in the scripting phase, etc) or sometimes slacking off, depending. Friday night is date night: no work! Even if we don't go anywhere I avoid my studio and we hang out together, catching up on whatever we might have missed each night at dinner or before bed. That still leaves Saturdays for stuff around the house, being social, or working on larger projects that don't fit during weeknights.

I don't consider myself 100% efficient by any means, but I manage to work essentially 2 jobs, webcomic and produce regular blog features while keeping a fairly active social life without feeling like I'm missing out. What makes the difference is drive/desire and an awesome support structure.

Hate missing your favorite television shows? Invest in a TiVo or other DVR (best $15/month we spend) and watch them when you get your to do list for the evening, or week, caught up. Want to game? Use it as a reward for getting a comic done. Time with the family important? Switch to fewer updates per week and spread out your workflow over more nights.

Just don't make excuses or blame your circumstances. Own your choices.