Practice and Research - Feedback Point 6 Reflections

I write this in August, having actually completed this review in May. To say that things have not gone as planned since Feedback point 5 in February would be an understatement.

The toll of unemployment and an extremely uncertain and hostile job market took its toll on me. It impacted my mental health considerably, and constantly looking for work left me little time to work on completing my work for Mostly Harmless Adventures. A silver lining is that I was still able to continue my monetised campaign, playtesting the adventures and rules I had written. It also gave me some opportunities to continue exploring the visual language of the world's setting.

I had created presentations like Pecha Kupas many times before. I think though, that my familiarity with the format made me subconsciously put it aside in my mind. Before I knew it, it was May. While the bulk of the work for this module is done (taking my Mostly Harmless illustrations further is more relevant for my professional and commercial pride than anything else), I still needed to reflect on where I had gotten to with the project, and where I could then take it in my upcoming module.

Eventually, I did manage to set aside the time and headspace needed to complete the Pecha Kupa, which you can see below:

https://youtu.be/5QDi8Bz6oiU

As you might notice from my delivery, I had assumed that I had a compressed, but achievable, timeline. I was wrong. Somewhere between February and May, my understanding of my completion date became incorrect. By the time I had submitted Feedback Point 6, I would only have less than a week to complete the unit! I felt broken, and so ashamed that I had put literally years of hard work in jeopardy - particularly when I had completed enough content to achieve this unit's learning objectives.

My planning for the feedback points, however, has been less than stellar. I attribute this to the shift from the previous way of working to Assignments (usually five or six) to the ten formative feedback points. It's something I am going to need to reflect on more as I come to the conclusion of this unit. What I am proud of, however, is the resilience I was able to muster in the face of disaster. With guidance from my tutor and programme lead, I requested a three-month deferral of my studies. I didn't need three months to finish the work, but I did need to focus on my wellness, get my ducks in a row, and come up with a plan of date-driven tasks that I could used to request a small extension after the deferral window completed to get my final points submitted.

That deferral was successful. I used the time to focus on my mental and physical wellbeing, as well as come up with a plan with my tutor. I was given a six-week extension, so I knew the dates I needed to work to. The deferral window ended at the start of August - so I am here again, writing things up, back in action and filled with determination to get this chapter of my studies resolved successfully. During the deferral window, I also managed to secure a life-changing opportunity - the ramifications of which will affect the direction I may want to take my illustration career in the future. However, that is best left to my next reflection.