# Some recommendations

**URL:** <https://discuss.pencil2d.org/t/some-recommendations/6659>\
**Category:** General Discussions\
**Created:** [21 August 2022 16:02 UTC](https://discuss.pencil2d.org/t/some-recommendations/6659 "2022-08-21T16:02:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Jordan\_River\_Studios](https://discuss.pencil2d.org/user_avatar/discuss.pencil2d.org/jordan_river_studios/32/1204_2.png) [@Jordan\_River\_Studios](https://discuss.pencil2d.org/u/Jordan_River_Studios)\
**Post date:** [21 August 2022 16:03 UTC](https://discuss.pencil2d.org/t/some-recommendations/6659/1 "2022-08-21T16:03:00Z")

</div>

Aight

So I as an individual have a very low attention span (so unless it’s something that interests me I have a hard time learning it) and caffeine, energy drinks, etc., don’t work on me at all. They don’t phase me and I retain the same energy (I haven’t tried five hour energy though).

With that being said if I sit in the same position for hours doing the same thing (which animation requires me to do) I get tired. And lack of motivation sets in and I move away from animating and just start playing some Minecraft instead.

Any recommendations to keep me energized and motivated?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Kalaherty](https://discuss.pencil2d.org/user_avatar/discuss.pencil2d.org/kalaherty/32/298_2.png) [@Kalaherty](https://discuss.pencil2d.org/u/Kalaherty)\
**Post date:** [21 August 2022 19:54 UTC](https://discuss.pencil2d.org/t/some-recommendations/6659/2 "2022-08-21T19:54:56Z")

</div>

I don’t know if I can help at all, but how long would you say you sit and animate for without getting up?

How long from sitting down (assuming you’re feeling motivated when you start), do you start to feel distracted or unable to focus?

What I’m getting at is that people usually can focus quite well for about an hour, some people a li’l less and some people a bit more, but usually at around an hour, people start to lose focus on something they’ve been trying to concentrate on.

I’d advise that if you notice you’ve been working for around an hour, get up, maybe pace around, do a short burst of exercise or even just get a glass of water. Try to set an amount of time that you’d consider an acceptable break… something between 5 to 15 minutes (I’d say).

Maybe just before you start again, look up a random short animation on youtube and consider what you like/dislike about it and whether you can observe something you wish to work towards or to avoid.

I hope that helps… I have similar issues.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ralmon](https://discuss.pencil2d.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/r/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Ralmon](https://discuss.pencil2d.org/u/Ralmon)\
**Post date:** [21 August 2022 23:11 UTC](https://discuss.pencil2d.org/t/some-recommendations/6659/3 "2022-08-21T23:11:40Z")

</div>

I read that the pomodoro technique could help in this case and I actually use this too. Essentially you get a timer set it to say 30 minutes or more and work in that time. Stop after the timer sets of then set it again to a shorter time (like 10 minutes) and take a break. And repeat. There are even apps of it.

Here is a Wikipedia article about it:

> **[Pomodoro Technique](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique)**
>
> The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. It uses a kitchen timer to break work into intervals, typically 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks. Each interval is known as a pomodoro, from the Italian word for tomato, after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer Cirillo used as a university student. 
> The technique has been widely popularized by apps and websites providing timers and instructions. Closely related to concepts such as tim...

Seems to help me. Maybe it helps you.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![JoeyH](https://discuss.pencil2d.org/user_avatar/discuss.pencil2d.org/joeyh/32/1824_2.png) [@JoeyH](https://discuss.pencil2d.org/u/JoeyH)\
**Post date:** [22 August 2022 13:32 UTC](https://discuss.pencil2d.org/t/some-recommendations/6659/4 "2022-08-22T13:32:22Z")

</div>

I prefer to either set goals for the day and giving that list to someone else; as well as doing work in 20 minute intervals with breaks 20s to 10mins
