Another easy tip, don't set your quality settings to high even for a final. You can add many hours of render time with little noticeable improvement. There are threads on it, I just mention it because that tends to be the first mistake we all made. But it will always depend on the scene in question.
Also, search "flicker", this will give you a basic heads up for animation stuff (vs. stills) that you will want in the back of your mind as you go along. searching flicker should lead you to many threads on various animation things including tricks and setting to use.
And use the TUTs! Since we have a bunch now. It will save you some time since you want to learn as much as you can in 30 days.
I am NOT a guru, that is for sure, but having been here awhile, I have seen some really smart and talented people need more than 30 days to understand the things they make look easy. Just be carful not to get discouraged.