Productivity and Motivation: Simon Hanselmann and Brent Willis

This is the first of three posts surveying Australian and New Zealand cartoonists about productivity and motivation. I recall several conversations with comic folk regarding creative lulls and productivity impediments. Specifically with cartoonists that produce work at the self-published or small press level. With no onus on earning a living from their craft cartoonists with day jobs can be challenged to stay motivated and productive. Six cartoonists responded to a few questions regarding productivity, sharing advice and insight into their working methods.

Simon Hanselmann

Do you experience a drop in productivity upon completing a comic? 

No. I generally throw myself right into the next exciting thing on the pile. Like Don Rosa, frightful workaholism. Fear of death. Fear of mediocrity. Sometimes I obviously allow myself a treat and will melt onto the couch and focus on movies I've never seen before. Or perhaps I'll "charge sleep" for 24 hours and then do a 40 hour stretch of non-stop drawing. I do suffer from Depression and a cocktail of personal problems. That can shut me down sometimes... but not upon completion of anything. Usually in the middle of multiple things. I never rest on a completed piece. I look for the mistakes in it and move onto a new, hopefully better piece.

Have you developed methods to deal with creative lulls? 

A proven method! I say this into the mirror every morning and bedtime: "Don't be complacent, know that your newly finished work is awful and full of mistakes. Start a new project immediately. You suck. Your stuff is ugly. Fix it. Get better. Be funnier. Are you working as hard as you can on your embarrassing life choice? Be the best. Be aware of all of your "competitors". Be entertaining. Look beyond local pats on the back. Your friends are lying or are tasteless idiots. You need to be trying so much harder... Chris Ware, Beyonce, Michael DeForge, RuPaul.

What do you consider the primary obstructions of your productivity?

Family problems. Cool gigs. Cool friends. The aforementioned deep black pit of despair and anxiety. Self-hatred. Way too many emails. Beautifully directed films and television that demand to be paid full attention. Books. Keeping up with everything that's happening in the "Global Scene". Sleep. Preparing food. Bodily upkeep...

I endeavor to keep my responsibilities to anybody or anything at a bare minimum.

People who "know" me are generally used to me not leaving my house / "studio".

I have deadlines, real and self-imposed. I can't come to your thing. The clock is ticking. My body is decaying.

Brent Willis

The subject of comics and productivity is an interesting one. In New Zealand, and maybe in Australia as well, it's a very rare few that can make a living out of making comics and so most of us have to work either part time or full time, which has the effect of relegating our comics work as a hobby, which in turn means that we South Pacific comic makers aren't as productive as we'd like to be. For me, (and I'd say for a lot of other people as well) my day job is the main enemy of productivity. Five days a week, I have to wake up at six o'clock in the morning, rouse myself out out of bed, get ready for work, travel to work, work, and then get home which is usually about 6 o'clock or later if if I want to stop at the supermarket or see a movie or have a few after-work drinks on Friday. By which time I need an hour or two to chill out afterwards, eat some food and maybe watch tv for a bit.  I usually I don't bother doing comics after work, unless I'm feeling up to it, in which case I maybe do an hour or two, nothing too intense. 

I save most of my drawing for the weekend. I usually set aside at least one full eight hour day and one half-day. It's important here to do a bit of planning beforehand and to set realistic goals as to what you want to achieve for that day and if necessary, do some over time to complete what you intended. Even if you don't feel up to it you should still concentrate on your comic and be self-disciplined enough not to be distracted by anything else. And that's the other main enemy of productivity - everything else. TV, DVDs, Computer games, crosswords, newspapers, the internet, books, other peoples comics, other people, in fact everything that isn't your comic. That's why I prefer to do these things after work on the week-days when I'm not likely to be doing comics, that way I can fully concentrate on comics on the weekend. Also be careful of how much research you need to do for your comic, as you can end up spending too much time browsing the internet or reading books about other related topics, which don't end up being that useful to you. 

As far as the life-cycle of a comic and how it affects productivity, I find it easier to gain enthusiasm at the start of a project when its fresh and new and my motivation deteriorates around the middle of a project once I've been working on it for a while and I'm still a long way off finishing it. So this is when you need to stick to be at your most disciplined and stick to the schedule, and keep plugging away at it. Usually when I'm near to completing a project and I can see the end in sight, my motivation picks up. I find it better to stick to one project at a time. I've seen a few people getting distracted by other projects when their motivation wanes on their first project and end up with a bunch of unfinished stuff that never gets finished.