Timbuktoons Studio

Creative Organization might seem like an oxymoron since the stereotypical creative type lives and works in a clutter of chaos (desktop actual and desktop virtual) only coming up for the occasional snack of hummus. But the truth is organization for the animating creative can be quite freeing and well…creative!

Plan everyday in advance.
Do it the night before or right before you dive in. Planning out your day and working from that list can help you work on your own time versus being reactive to whatever daily interruptions you endure. Make it a quick and reasonable list. This takes practice and patience to know what you can really accomplish in a day.

When things come up- add it to the list and practice your creative procrastination skills! Try working from multiple lists (in Basecamp, Highrise or Backpack) such as: Master List, Monthly List, Weekly List and Daily List.

Create imaginary deadlines.
Deadlines are evil! Okay, maybe that’s overreacting. But they’re often used by creatives to procrastinate. How many times have you waited right up until a deadline is looming to finish something? Sure production deadlines can motivate you like nothing else…but at what cost?

They often cause unnecessary and self-created stress and mistakes. Try to think of work in this scenario: I just won a trip to Disney World but I have to leave next week to claim it. How would that change your pace and priorities?

Create a Bucket List.
Have a habit of writing all of your commitments in buckets or categories and review them often. It doesn’t matter what kind of bucket it is…computer, paper, audio, video…whatever works for you.

For example, Mondays are “Marketing Mondays” and Wednesdays are “Webwork Wednesdays” here at Timbuktoons. So, anything related to those topics I send to Evernote for later reading and/or action.

Work the system.
Find a system for organizing and then work it relentlessly. We use Basecamp in conjunction with other tools for analyzing our animation pipeline efficiency. I’m working on going all digital by using my iPad in conjunction with Evernote (Evernote tips from Michael Hyatt). It’s great for quickly getting notes and related web resources into my buckets for later reference.

If you missed a previous post on Creative Time Management here’s a snapshot:

• 5 Keys for Creative Procrastination

For more great organization tips check out the99percent.com by Behance or productivity tips from Michael Hyatt.

Time for some relaxing in the shade and laying in your hammock. Unless, of course, some rats have taken over your watergarden!

Thanks to all of you for your excitement (and patience!) with the Fuzz Feud Pilot episode. We are currently finalizing a schedule to get this thing finished (stay tuned for the date). After starting full production (and right after moving the studio!) Timbuktoons unexpectedly was contracted to do several large projects…which we are just about to finish. So now we’re pulling on extra Flash animators to help us get production wrapped up.

We’ll have info on an official wrap date in the next couple weeks, so stay tuned!

Apple's 32-foot glass cube flagship store, Fifth Avenue NY. Apple Stores have four times the foot traffic than all MLB stadiums combined. (Image courtesy of Apple)

Today marks the tenth anniversary of the brick and mortar Apple stores that, in typical Apple fashion, brought refreshing innovation to the retail industry. I was one of the more than 1500 that waited in line for hours to see what was behind the big glass doors at Tysons Corner in McLean, VA.

Looking back 10 years at my 15 minutes of fame
While there several reporters interviewed me about the experience. Just for fun I did a Google search for my name and Apple and surprisingly my quotes appeared on sites like PCWorld, BusinessWeek, MacWorld and more…

“Nobody can do it like Apple does.”

“It’s a Gap with Apple products!”

“There’s an aesthetic quality to using a Mac. It only goes without saying that their store would be the same way.”

“People here actually know what they’re talking about.”

Why did I wait in line at a mall, usually the bane of my existence? To see a bunch of Apple products? To be welcomed by dozens of cheering and clapping employees? No, although both experiences were, well, amazing.

It happened one night at a CompUSA
Yes, I’m a fan boy, but back in 2001 I’d only been using Macs for about 5 years. The real reason had to do with the miserable retail experience of being a Mac user pre iMac days…back when you couldn’t read an article about Apple without the word “beleaguered” in it or hear rumors of a buyout by this or that company (Sony, Sun, Disney, etc.).

It came to a head for me one late night at a CompUSA (remember them?) searching for a printer cartridge for my Stylewriter. It wasn’t enough to tell me they were out of stock. The clerk had to call his buddies over for a laugh and literally taunt me for owning a Mac. “Does that company still exist?!” “I heard they just got bought by Sun?”

I slinked back home and read my MacAddicts. It was crazy, but typical. When market share determined shelf space and availability (buying online was just taking off) it was a frustrating chore to find knowledgeable people and the right product.

The Apple experience: branding at it’s best
That kind of experience didn’t match Apple’s brand promises. Well, maybe their tagline “Think Different,” but I’m pretty sure that’s not what they meant.

Fast forward to 2001. Apple begins opening retail stores (while others are closing and analysts think they’re crazy) so they can control the whole experience of owning a Mac, from purchase to product.

Everything they do from advertising, product placement, even packaging all supports Apple’s promises that the experience will match their brand’s reputation.

Does a strong brand really matter?
At Timbuktoons, Apple has always been a brand hero. Their devoted attention to the customer’s journey is an inspiration for the way we approach our work. It drives us to understand the spirit of a client’s brand and translate that emotion and information through animation.

Branding matters more than ever in a cluttered market where everyone is vying for attention. Companies like Apple have shown us that, yes, product, price, promotion and placement still count…but so does the experience.

For me, the Apple Store was the last piece of the puzzle to creating one of history’s most valuable brand leaders.

What Timbuktoons aims for and avoids

In our post What’s HOT and What’s SNOT we revealed a few visual story telling guidelines that push us at Timbuktoons when we develop media for children. [HOT and SNOT are two acronyms that remind us what to be aiming for (HOT) and what to avoid (SNOT)].

Below we break that down a further by age groups and basic human development. These are some general rules that guide us that include physical, emotional, social, cognitive, metacognitive, problem solving, creative and moral/spiritual development characteristics.

Babies
•    Early fears are falling, separation and strangers
•    Learn thru senses
•    Learn they can cause things to happen
•    A baby will follow a moving person or look at a light as early as six weeks
•    Soft colors, quiet/soothing sounds, soft/round characters, kind expressions

Toddlers (ages 1-3)
•    Discover the immediate world (home and family)
•    Vulnerable/dependent
•    Development of emotional security
•    Will have to face certain fears
•    Needs sensory stimulation
•    Tremendous period of learning
•    Learns to solve problems thru trial and error
•    Needs to explore/touch/taste
•    Needs safety and affection
•    Girls and boys respond to non-threatening characters (ex: Elmo, Barney)
•    “Terrible two’s”/testing limits
•    Right and wrong judgments not at all firm or in place
•    Beginning to learn social skills, sharing, loving, self-control
•    Not much cooperative play, rather side-by-side
•    Respond to interactive shows
(Show examples: Barney, Sesame Street, Jay Jay the Jet Plane, Yo Gabba Gabba, Max and Ruby, Dora, Diego)

Preschool (ages 3-4)
•    Can play out scenarios
•    Much more developed communication skills
•    Potty training complete or almost complete
•    “Terrible-Twos” over and most want to do things correctly
•    conformity to routines (bed time, getting ready, etc.)
•    Still mostly side-by-side play
•    Much wiggling, shoving, hitting, running, jumping
•    Sharing is hard
•    Whining
•    Acting out to get attention (negative attn is still attn)
•    Can be pokey/no real sense of time or urgency (less true the older they are)
•    Male play is more aggressive
•    Female play is more relationship centered
•    Male play/larger muscles
•    Female play/smaller muscles
•    Play is imaginative
•    From 3-7 fantasy and pretend are at their peak
•    They begin to identify/empathize with characters
•    Senses still very involved
•    The brighter and flashier the better
•    Interest in immediate neighborhood and familiar surroundings
•    Right brain development (emotional, imagination, artistic, musical)
(Show examples: Martha Speaks, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Super Why!, WordWorld, Sid the Science Kid, Handy Manny, Special Agent Oso, Team Umizoomi, Between the Lions)

Age 5-7
5:
•    Learning alphabet, numbers
•    Develop interests/tastes
•    Usually still need a nap
•    Boys 3-7 like firefighters, police, train engineers, funny animals, heroes etc.
•    Girls 3-7 like doll personalities, skaters, dancers, princesses, horses, teachers, babies, etc.

6:
•    Gender becomes more important
•    Boys play with boys, girls with girls for most part
•    Competition becomes more obvious
•    Fantasy and imagination still huge part of thinking/playing
•    May judge characters by a single feature/simple clear-cut virtues
•    More impulsive/reactive than logical
•    Left brain/logic is beginning to develop in some
•    Today a 6 year old may be expected to develop reading/math beyond what we had to at this age

7:
•    Beginning of a more withdrawn/introverted/settled stage
•    Complaining/worries/tensions/fears
•    Beginning to understand abstract concepts like good and evil
•    Begin to take other’s points of view into consideration
•    Peak of dramatic play
•    Unlimited fantasy begins to be replaced with more logical fantasy
•    Gaming and internet use become more interesting
•    Serious collecting becomes more common place
(Show examples: Fetch, WordGirl, SpongeBob, Yugi-OH, Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, Pokemon)

Tweens
8:
•    Beginning of the Tween Stage (8-12 or 13)
•    Transition from kid to teen
•    Savvy at increasingly younger ages
•    Huge impact on film, music, TV, toys etc.
•    Edgier
•    Boys tend to like the gross
•    Once again more social
•    Play occurs in pairs or groups
•    Peer pressure occurs
•    Want to learn the rules
•    They question authority but are not likely to go against it
•    Moral sense developed
•    Beginning to have a historic perspective
•    Future, science fiction, far away lands
•    Sensitive
•    Competitive/play hard

9:
•    Another more introverted/quieter age
•    Overly sensitive
•    Less self-confidence
•    Want to belong to a group/club
•    Hate unfairness
•    Need standardized rules
(Show examples: Chowder, Ben 10, Avatar, Fanboy and Chum Chum, American Dragon Jake Long, Phineas and Ferb, Kick Buttowski, Kid vs. Kat)

Upper Tweens (Ages 10-12)
10:
•    Respects authority generally
•    Straightforward/predictable
•    Friendly/happy
•    Fewer fears
•    Begin to identify with sports stars/media icons

11:
•    Beginning of adolescence for many
•    Eager, alert, active, imaginative
•    Can also be very self-centered, quarrelsome, anxious
•    Emotional swings
•    Rebellious
•    Critical
•    Need guidance
•    Peers are important
•    Need opportunities for increased leadership/responsibilities
•    Imaginative play decreases
•    Boys – media time now split between TV and gaming
•    Girls – media time now split between TV and Internet/Magazines

12:
•    Officially end of tween age
•    Earning money
•    Making more decisions
•    Girls worry about weight/appearance/fashion
•    Boys are always hungry
•    Less critical of parents
•    Peer pressure and use of drugs/alcohol become topics of discussion
•    Greater sense of humor and understanding of sarcasm
(Show examples: Adventure Time, iCarly, Big Time Rush, Sym Biotic Titan, I’m In the Band, Victorious, Destroy Build Destroy, Total Drama, Generator Rex)

Age 13:
•    Beginning of teen years
•    Another age of withdrawal and worry
•    Hormonal and moody age
•    Many girls have already reached puberty
•    Less difference between boys/girls as far as developmental details
•    Want to think for themselves
•    They question what others believe
•    Still need love, acceptance
•    Searching for identity
•    Many think they are fully mature
•    Influences or issues surrounding alcohol, drugs, sex will likely arise
•    Easily embarrassed by parents
•    Arguments more likely to occur with mom
•    Process info quickly and act like info sponges
•    Respond to irony and sarcasm, but still appreciate slapstick
•    Like entertainment featuring other adolescents and young adults but still watch classic cartoons that have some edge
•    Media preferences based on the entertainment itself
•    Comic books start to lose their appeal
(Similar viewing habits to upper tweens plus teen and adult dramas, and reality shows)

For more info on basic human development and understanding your audience, read Chapter Four of Animation Writing and Development by Jean Ann Wright. The rest of the book is a great resource as well!

Here are a few insights that have turned us from free floating creative types to efficient and organized free-floating creative types!

There are not enough hours in each day so you know you will always have to procrastinate on something. The trick is to force yourself to choose to procrastinate on the small things in order to get things done.

Don’t clear up the small things first!
Resist the temptation- we often underestimate how the small things add up and seemingly never end (especially e-mail).

Choose to do the most valuable and important first.
Place value on the items you need to accomplish each day. The 80/20 rule states that 80% of what you do is the least valuable, while 20% is the most valuable.

Do it tomorrow!
Work on the e-mails and phone messages that came in yesterday and file today’s away for tomorrow. The benefit is that when your mailboxes are empty, you are done for the day regardless of what comes in! For example, I created a “Do Today” email box and a “Do Tomorrow” e-mail box and file e-mails accordingly.

This helps limit expectations others have of you. It is way too easy to get in a trap of pleasing people immediately. The problem is that our own work piles up until we have to work many hard and late hours to catch up.

Learn to say “no.”
Say no to the things that are not of high value to your goals. Look at your tasks as the following: Must, Should, Nice, Delegate, Eliminate.

Identify your constraints.
One major cause of procrastination is a feeling of inadequacy and a lack of confidence. What is holding you back from achieving your purpose quickly and well done?

There is no shortage of time management resources…just do a search on Amazon.com and you will be overwhelmed! These ideas are a mix of things that have worked for us at Timbuktoons, “Eat That Frog” by Brian Tracy, “Time Management for Creative People” by Mark McGuinness, “Do It Tomorrow” by Mark Forster, designcoachoncall.com, the99percent.com and a host of other tips and tricks from the world of personal productivity!