Priorities

In a previous post I discussed the profound influence that Sean "Day[9]" Plott has had on my way of thinking. Day[9] is a former professional gamer and current "shoutcaster" for StarCraft II, a real-time strategy game that has become the world's most popular e-sport. In addition to being a hilarious lad, Day[9] makes an effort to find universal life lessons in the world of gaming, much as I attempt to do with music.

It would be difficult to succinctly summarize StarCraft II in its entirety, but the most important aspect to understand is, arguably, the vital importance of multitasking. At any given moment, a player might need to produce units, purchase upgrades, construct buildings, attack his enemy's base, and defend his own base all at the same time. In order to make this happen seamlessly, high-level players must move their hands with incredible precision and speed, racking up hundreds upon hundreds of key presses and mouse clicks every minute.

When a lower-level player wants to improve his control over a particular action, such as building mineral harvesters, Day[9] suggests a fairly simple remedy: bring that action to the top of your priority list and keep it there. Even if there are much more important actions to deal with at any point in time, you are not allowed to attend to them until after you have completed the action at the top of the list. If done correctly, the player will experience two effects as a result of this exercise: one is a series of crushing defeats as a result of their skewed multitasking. The other is a rapid improvement in their handling of one gameplay element, to the point that they can consistently do it well without even having to think about it anymore.

----

Today at around noon, I got back to Boston after spending Thanksgiving weekend in Connecticut. With only a few weeks until finals start, I've got a lot to do in the next 72 hours: I've got the final draft of a paper and a real analysis problem set due tomorrow afternoon, lighting designs for six dance performances that need to be done by Tuesday night, a group theory quiz on Thursday morning, and a computer science project due on Thursday night. So what was the first thing I did when I got back to my apartment? I played guitar for two hours and wrote a blog post, of course. Why? Because music is at the top of my priority list, plain and simple.

----

Week 22 total: 18 hours
Grand total: 536.5 hours
Required pace: 423 hours (+113.5)