Surviving the 24 Hour Comic Day Challenge

Last week, we talked about the 24 Hour Comic Day Challenge.  The 24 Hour Comic Day Challenge is an event where comic creators devoted an entire day to creating a 24 page comic book from scratch.  To reach the goal requires perseverance and dedication.  There are some tips that can help you to stay focused and alert.  I want to share with you my perspective from last year’s 24 Hour Comic Day Challenge as well as over a decade of experience working hours that no sane persons should.

Set goals and milestones

The key to staying on track during the 24 Hour Comic Day Challenge is to set goals and milestones. The most obvious way to break it up is one page per hour. Since very little preparation for the comic is supposed to be done before the day, time should be allocated to come up with an idea and basic outline. A more detailed breakdown or thumbnails can be helpful, but time is of the essence so it may not be feasible. Breaks should be factored into the goals which leads us into the next tip.

Take breaks

Physical and mental fatigue are the two enemies of productivity. Taking a break can help stave off both of those. A good rule of thumb is to take a 10 minute break for every 50 minutes of work. Early in the challenge it’s best to minimize breaks so that you can bank some time for breaks that take longer like food breaks.

Eat often

Food breaks represent the longest breaks that participants will take during the challenge. It’s best to eat smaller portions more often. Eating smaller portions often ensures that you don’t suffer from blood sugar spikes that can make you drowsy. The best snacks to eat are sandwiches (just not turkey), nuts, and cheese.

Limit caffeine intake

When people think of late nights or drowsiness, the drink they often think of is coffee, soda or energy drinks. While these do offer a temporary pick up, the spike in the blood sugar level can ultimately lead to a crash in several hours. In addition, too much caffeine can lead to stomach aches and cramps. The best way to consume caffeinated beverages staying up is to take a big drink initially and take smaller drink throughout the night spreading out your caffeine consumption.

Drink Water

A better idea is to drink water throughout the evening. Not only will cold water keep you alert without the shakiness or crashes of caffeinated beverages, but it will also keep your bladder full. It’s hard to fall asleep with a full bladder. Cold water splashed on the face can provide a quick pick me up when you are starting to feel drowsy.

Exercise

One of the best ways to stay alert is get your body moving walking around, running laps around the strip mall or riding your skateboard (yeah that was me last year in the parking lot). The elevated heartrate can actually have effects for up to several hours depending upon the duration of the exercise. An added benefit is that exercise makes you thirsty which makes you thirsty and we’ve already talked about the benefits of drinking water to stay up.

Power naps

Short naps lasting 15-20 minutes, known as power naps, have been known to reverse sleepiness and improve some memory functions. In some cases, a power nap can be as effective as a whole night of sleep. By planning and staying on task, you would create a buffer that would allow you to take a power nap when you start to hit “the wall” toward the end of the challenge.

You may not be able to incorporate all of these tips for your 24 Hour Comics Day Challenge. The key is to have some techniques and strategies to help you stay awake and alert. Good luck with the 24 Hour Comics Day Challenge. We hope to see some of you at SpazDog Comics on October 3 and hear from the rest of you about your experiences.

Shawn Demumbrum
SpazDog Comics
www.spazdogcomics.com

Email: shawn@spazdogcomics.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/SpazDog
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