Alistair Doulin, a developer from new independent games startup from Brisbane, Bane Games, has written the second part of his blog editorial concerning working full-time at home. The first part covered sticking to a work routine and making sure you have a clearly defined separation between your work space and leisure time. This follow-up covers the equally important issue of keeping motivation.
Staying motivated is an issue well worth covering, and it's definitely one that can make or break any new indie start-up. Going at it on your own steam for months on end is by no means a skip in the park. Alistair offers some great advice on how he gets things accomplished, from setting up and achieving short term and long term goals, working with others, as well as showing press some of your work, all of which are great ways in keeping yourself motivated...
Whether you find it easy to stay motivated and focused on a project or not, there is one general rule that holds true for everyone:
The shorter the project, the easier it is to keep motivation.
Keeping this in mind, the first rule is the easiest; keep your projects as short as possible.
Hand's up if you've lost hours or entire afternoons because of youtube, facebook, or reddit, particularly when you have plenty of work to get done? Online distractions such as these are the common activities that push down productivity and zaps away motivation, particularly when you're at home and have no one else to answer for. The best and perhaps the most obvious advice, which by no means is the easiest, is provided by Alistair...
If you find yourself falling into a routine of getting distracted by something, do your best to completely remove it from your work hours.
As with his previous write up, this is an equally informative piece. Adhere to them and you'll find yourself in a good spot. Be sure to chime in over at Alistair's blog with your responses and feedback.