Alistair Doulin, one of the programmers from new independent games startup from Brisbane, Bane Games, has written an informative blog on working at home full-time as an indie developer. As many developers who've taken the plunge of going indie could attest to, working at home full time is quite a challenge in itself.
Alistair shares some essential tips for those working at home with an emphasis on making a distinct separation of work and leisure...
The biggest complaint I hear (and face) from working full-time at home is the fact your “always on”. Unlike trudging off to work for 8-12 hours per day where there is a definite line between work and home, the line is blurred. This list is mainly ways I go about emulating that distinct line between working and relaxing.
He describes many ways he goes about from doing this, from creating a space especially for work, keeping away from interruptions, sticking to consistent work hours, and a "kill switch" which everyone should have as an activity to take their minds off games development.
It's actually quite easy to gradually slip out of routine when there's no one else around to tell you what to do and you're not self disciplined enough, but all of the tips provided by Alistair are a great way to keep that healthy work routine happening. Now, keeping yourself motivated? That's another entire discussion altogether...
I gave up on working from
I gave up on working from home years ago due to the motivation issue. When I'm at home I just want to watch movies, watch tv, surf the internet etc.
I go to the local uni library to simulate the atmosphere of a work environment. When I go to that library mentally in my head I know I'm there to work and not fool around.
Motivation
That's the reason why I felt compelled to mention motivation at the end of the news item because that's a considerable other half of the equation. It's extremely hard to keep motivated, day in, day out, for months on end on your own steam.
There are a LOT of distractions to be had when working at home, and it's just so easy to get derailed.
When we have discussions on here debating on whether to study or learn on your own (programming or learning 3D etc), I have to wonder who actually has successfully completed much of their knowledge outside of a schooling system. If you have, well done. It's certainly no easy task.
Good point
That was actually one of the biggest reasons I decided to go to the AIE, and go for 2 years, back in the day. Aside from having a lot to learn (which I definately did), just having a large amount of time during the week to dedicate to the task of making a demo reel, in an environment where I wasn't distracted much, was definately a big deal for me, the odd BF2 and Wolf ET sessions aside ;).
I like to think I'm a pretty motivated person, when it comes to learning, but you're definately right about the distractions side of things. Mind you, I guess some people are more suited to it than others :)
Keeping yourself motivated...
Thanks for linking to my article Souri. I'll make sure to talk about "keeping motivated" in my next blog post