I was recently asked by a coworker about how I manage to still pursue other things while working at our startup. Working as a game developer can be demanding at times. It’s not all fun and games as what you would expect. The startup I work for have Fortune500 companies as clients so there’s an expectation for world-class high quality work. I’ve managed to get used with the high stakes work culture after trying out a lot of coping tricks. I, myself, am surprised that I can still do my hobbies and still progress on my personal projects while working 8-5.
I do a lot of things to make sure I can do the things I love. Here’s the top 5 things I do to get both my work goals and my personal goals on track:
1. Manage your time
“Great creative minds think like artists but work like accountants”
– David Brooks
Time is the only thing you can truly spend. You will never have it back. Manage your time like your life is on the line. Keep a schedule. I use a technique called time-blocking to stay on top of my day.
Whenever you feel like you’re not getting anywhere, ask yourself: Are you spending the majority of your time working towards the things you want?
2. Make sure to get enough sleep.
Respect your tools. If you take care of your tools, They will work efficiently. If you don’t maintain your tools, They’ll rust and wither away. It’s the same for your body and mind. If you don’t take care of it, It won’t work as best as possible.
Sleep is the best way to recover. Studies have shown that lack of sleep affects your attention and willpower. Give yourself permission to rest. We’re here for the long haul after all. Respect your time for work and time for recovery.
3. Consistency is better than intensity.
There’s a typical pattern that happens whenever humans strive to do better for themselves :
- Intense motivation and inspiration
- Intense activity
- Intense fatigue and/or burnout
- Feeling satisfied with the activity
- Stopping the activity altogether
This is the primary reason why most people don’t follow through their goals. The intensity makes a person feel like they’ve basically achieved something. Instead, choose consistency over intensity. It’s better to start with a routine that you can enjoy and follow through every day. Once you’ve turned it into a habit, you won’t even have to think about it!
You can have great progress with intensity but the moment you stop doing it everyday, you lose. Choosing consistency doesn’t mean you won’t make progress. You’ll have small progress everyday and those small wins can compound over time.
4. Rig the game so you can win
“Alleviating performance anxiety allows you to overshoot your goals, continually succeed, and build confidence and momentum.”
-Tim Ferriss
We’ve been conditioned by our society that success comes from dreaming big and always struggling to reach it, that lowering the bar meant giving up and being a loser. So we grit our teeth and push forward, ignoring everything else. Eventually, failures pile up and mentally consume you. Slowly, the mental stress of under-achieving creeps up on your life. Worse, you’ve mentally paralysed yourself with all the pressure.
Games taught me that challenges, at the right difficulty, can be fun. So why shouldn’t it be the same with our life? Constantly pressuring yourself to have big results everyday can be taxing. Worse, you might end up feeling that you’re not progressing anywhere.
Instead, keep your measure for success low enough so that it’s easy succeed everyday. Maybe you’re an artist working on a game, a low bar would be one art piece per day. If you make crappy art, that’s fine. Keep doing it. You’ll find that as you consistently succeed everyday, you’ll get enough momentum that before you know it you’ll be making 10 pieces a day. Lowering your bar tricks your brain into taking action. Taking action gives results. Results make you better at what you do.
It’s not about settling for less. It’s about lowering your expectations so that you can take action. The benefits of removing the intense pressure of producing massive results everyday far outweigh the psychological consequences of under-delivering everyday.
5. Don’t forget to have fun!
You’re a game developer. You make things fun for a living. Don’t become too busy that you forget that fun is an important part of work. Your goal is to spread fun for yourself and for others.
I could list down a lot more other tricks that I’ve learned to use over time but these are the top 5 things that help me everday. What are thoughts about it? Do you use anything to keep yourself going?
Gab De Jesus 