The Tracker:
For the few of you that care how I spent my day, here are my weekly time trackers. Explanation for what everything means is at the bottom.
Week 8 time and project tracking
Every week I set time goals for the week in 4 main categories to make sure I'm staying productive. Here is a basic breakdown of each category.
Primary: Is actual production work on a final project. So pre-production, writing, post-production and filming of actual scripted short films, tv shows, films, novels etc etc.
Secondary: Is all other work that goes into my YouTube channel. My vlogs, videos on screenwriting, or film theory and filmmaking. Reviews etc. All that YouTube-like content counts as secondary work.
Third: Is other productive work that is not quite as essential as secondary. Things like watching a movie but in a way that isn't as deep as analyzing a movie, morning primer, social media engagement and promotion, meetings and other such productive work that is not craft related, but also important.
Other: is other stuff I'm doing to better myself that is not directly related to filmmaking, but will make me a better person overall and is not a time waster. Things like working out, education, learning a new language or instrument etc..
There is also a more detailed view that shows the subcategories of each main category. Here is an explanation of those subcatagories.
Primary : subcategories
This section is pretty self-explanatory. It's the writing, pre-production, production (filming), and post-production of any main project such as Short Films, films, shows, books, etc.Secondary : subcategories
Research Prime: Any research I'm doing for a primary project.Writing/Filming/Post Pro: These 3 subcategories are the writing, filming and post-production (editing) of any content that isn't a primary project. Content such as my vlogs, film analysis, and other such content.
Mindful analysis and consumption: This is all the script studying, film studying, and deep analysis and mindful consumption of films and scripts that I do to try and better myself as a storyteller and filmmaker as I learn my craft.
Creative and Craft learning:This time spent reading books, taking classes or course that are related to filmmaking and storytelling. This is different from Mindful analysis because I'm learning from other peoples ideas rather than discovering my own through analyzing content I enjoy.
Third : subcategories
Basic consumption: This is any consumption of films and other stories, but not at the same deep analysis level that I do for "Mindful analysis" category above. This can be for enjoyment or just light analysis during a first viewing or viewing in a theater.Morning Primer: This is time spent going over the morning primer that I use to remind me of my goals, keep focused, and also a way to prime me to get motivated to work hard that day.
Social Media: Any engagement and work I do on social media. Networking and building an audience will be important to be able to make a living as a filmmaker. As long as I'm working and not just browsing and wasting time, it will be counted here.
Other promo work: Anything promotion related. If I have an interview, a podcast or anything like that, it will count here.
Distracted brainstorm: Sometimes its essential for creativity to waste time and let your brain wander. Go for a walk, play a game, or just meditate and be in your head. While this will be for primary projects, it can also come dangerously close to procrastinating, so it counts towards the "third" category.
Meetings and business: Anything business related. Meetings with people, work towards business research and learning, doing taxes and paperwork and other such stuff that is essential but kind of a distraction as well.
Other : subcategories
Website and Organize: All work that goes into improving or updating the website will go here. Also, I have a bad memory, so I take extensive notes. Organizing those notes takes a lot of work and time, but also helps me remember and learn the concepts, so it's not a total waste.Japanese / Korean / Academic Learning: I want to continue studying the Japanese language, as well as start Korean and other languages. Also academic learning, such as furthering my knowledge of history, science, and math. I would also like to dabble in playing instruments and other self-improvement skills and knowledge. All such things count here.
Home Workout / TaeKwonDo: I try and stay fit, working out at home, as well as teach TaeKwonDo once a week, all that tracking will go here.