how do you motivate yourself after 5pm when you have a day time job

[Escapee]

If you currently have a day time job , what do you do to keep yourself motivated all the time in developing indie games?

For me , I read self enriching books ( like Zig ziglar and anthony robbin) and steve blog . the problem with this is by the time i'm done reading the articles or books, it's about time to go to bed . I've also tried to slot in at least 15 mins per day to exercise but the plan failed miserably partly because i didnt force myself enough to do it.

[robleong]

Lial the Leprechaun. (clip1) (http://www.lialtheleprechaun.com/ltl2.gif)(clip2) (http://www.lialtheleprechaun.com/ltl4.gif)

LOL - cute St Patrick's Day diversion! You could consider changing the title to "Liam the Leprechaun", as Liam is a common Irish name...

I digress. I have just as much difficulty finding time to program after a day job. In my case, most days I arrive home from the office at 7 pm or later, and I'm half dead by then, at which time the wife starts looking for attention! So, programming is confined to the weekends. :)

[Mark Fassett]

I don't do anything to stay motivated. If you're not motivated to work on your project over anything else that you might want to do - then you picked the wrong project.

[Andy]

I don't do anything to stay motivated. If you're not motivated to work on your project over anything else that you might want to do - then you picked the wrong project.

"... - then you picked the wrong business for you." I'd say ;)

[Robert Cummings]

To keep motivated, I keep a list of things that need doing and know what must be done next. If you are discliplined with a sharp focus, you tend to at least get some of it done even on poor days.

[revve]

I don't have to do anything to stay motivated. Whenever I think of slacking off, I just think of my 9-to-5 and then I get going again. My drive is my desire to go independent, whether it is to make games or do something else.

[luggage]

Sometimes I've not even got up by 5pm...

[Savant]

Is that supposed to be a positive thing?

[ggambett]

I agree with Andy and Mark. Have clear goals. Know where you want to go. If you picked the right goals, the ones you feel passionate about, that should be enough. You shouldn't have to ask yourself "hey, how do I motivate myself?".

If it happens sporadically, ie you're generally motivated but sometimes you feel you can't work... don't. It's probably need to rest more than lack of motivation. One thing I started doing in 2006 and had a wonderful impact in my motivation and even my mood is not working at all on weekends. Give yourself some rest, go party.

[DangerCode]

If you currently have a day time job , what do you do to keep yourself motivated all the time in developing indie games?

I've had problems with that at times in the past, but I think I've been doing a good job of it the last six months or so. I'll explain more below.

For me , I read self enriching books ( like Zig ziglar and anthony robbin) and steve blog . the problem with this is by the time i'm done reading the articles or books, it's about time to go to bed.

I hear you there. I've found the best rememdy for this is to listen to motivational/inspirational audio books as part of my commute.

But ... I've kind of had my fill of Zig and Brian Tracy and Stephen Covey and the rest. I still pop in Earle Nightengale from time to time.

The latest thing I listened to that I found really great was Chrisopher Reeve's "Still Me".

I've also tried to slot in at least 15 mins per day to exercise but the plan failed miserably partly because i didnt force myself enough to do it.

I exercise for an hour every single work day and I find that important. It gives me extra energy and I get a huge motivational rush from being in the best shape of my life. That experience has taught me a lot about taking steps every day towards your goals.

If you're having problems getting to the gym than I strongly recommend you find a work out partner who's a real stickler for making sure you make you go. If you're like me it will take a good month for this habit to kick in, and you'll likely feel overtired at first, so just keep in mind that you'll get past that eventually.

But back to being motivated on my personal (indie) projects ... I think what really helps me out here is the idea that every single day I must do *something* that brings me closer to my goals. Somedays I just do something very small and seemingly insignificant, like refactor some small C++ class or something but lately I've been finding myself blasting through my to-do list, which feeds back into my motivation.

It's easy to feel overwhelmed when you look at your goals as a whole, so I find it important to really hammer away at the concept of taking small steps every day.

Good luck.

[revve]

I exercise for an hour every single work day and I find that important. It gives me extra energy and I get a huge motivational rush from being in the best shape of my life.

I cannot agree more with this. I used to do this and it fealt great - you just have more energy the whole day when you've gone to gym in the morning. It's also a great stress-buster.

I stopped this a while ago for some insignificant reason (work or something). I'm now looking to start again - just waiting for my local gym to have some sort of special again.

[baegsi]

For me , I read self enriching books ( like Zig ziglar and anthony robbin) and steve blog . the problem with this is by the time i'm done reading the articles or books, it's about time to go to bed.
Reading some motivational stuff from time to time is fine, but I think there has to come a point where I stop listening to others and do what's needed to reach my goals. I too think it's key to work on something that's truely worthwhile to you and motivation is not a problem anymore (and you can forget reading books about what others think you should do - it's actually a waste of time).

[Mr.Blaub]

Organise a folder of your favourite music that you think is of an uplifting mood. Each time you come home from work, open the folder and drag no more than five random files into your favourite media player playlist. Play the tracks and just sit back, chill out for 10-15 minutes. Once the short playlist is done, you haven't whiled away all your free time and if you've picked music that means something to you, you'll probably feel invigorated.

Music is a very powerful drug, and the only side effect is (a meagre) loss of time.

[Anlino]

Music is a very powerful drug, and the only side effect is (a meagre) loss of time.

Might want to add a side effect. I have no reason why, but all the windows here at home shatters to peices when I start to bark/sing. I wonder why?

If you currently have a day time job , what do you do to keep yourself motivated all the time in developing indie games?

I am still a student, and keeping motivated is no trouble to me. I think about my homework:D

On a more serious note, i visit the forums. I look at games the other devs here has released, and that motivates me to work on my own game. And, i listen to music. Chess, Grieg, Robin Williams, Crowded House and everything in between.

[Escapee]

In my case, i think the best thing to do to get myself fully motivated in doing indie stuff is to "burn the ship" , that means quiting my stable but boring and stressful day time work, and then go on to do all recommendations that are given here - exercise regularly, indie development , cool music , reading books and etc. but then my parents and relatives will destroy my ears when they realize it.

" you must be joking, son , You are 20+5+2 years old already , you must have a stable job and income "

" this sort of thing is only good as a hobby"

"You are not going to make it, it's too risky"

[svero]

I came to the conclusion that I'd never be able to really do it and so I quit my job. I tried all kinds of things but at the end of the day, for me, it just wasn't possible. Now I'm working on a new problem. How do I motivate myself during 9-5 when I'm only working on games to not just sit around chatting on msn or posting here :-)

[Jason Chong]

In my case, i think the best thing to do to get myself fully motivated in doing indie stuff is to "burn the ship" , that means quiting my stable but boring and stressful day time work, and then go on to do all recommendations that are given here - exercise regularly, indie development , cool music , reading books and etc. but then my parents and relatives will destroy my ears when they realize it.

" you must be joking, son , You are 20+5+2 years old already , you must have a stable job and income "

" this sort of thing is only good as a hobby"

"You are not going to make it, it's too risky"


Guess what, I burnt my ship late last year. 15+15+1 but I do have savings that should last me about 3 to 5 years and I still do external projects (but I pick my clients carefully and check their credit history as much as I can nowadays)

Now stuck in KL for a non-game project. If it goes through, will extend my indie warchest for another 2 years.

And if that went well again after that, the royalties and maintenance support I get from that project could possibly make me financially free to continue developing my indie games without much interference or the need to source for any other projects.

There's a catch though. You gotta live frugally.

No car loans and no debts, no financial burden.

[AnthemAudio]

Yeah, and no squandering your money on things like heat or energy either.:)

I find that (and I know my case is a little different being an audio producer) I have multiple projects going on at once. Some need SFX, some need music, some need dialogue. If I'm bored of one, I move on to another, jumping between projects if necessary. Try to keep your work as varied and interesting as possible.

Actually, one thing I do is listen to stuff I did YEARS AGO...pre-Anthem Audio, pre-audio degree, even pre-wife. Old bands I was in, stupid audio sketches I wrote. It helps put things in perspective for me how far I've come, how much I've learned...

Unfortunately this approach can be a timesink of itself, dredging up old memories/projects can have you pondering/reminiscing for hours...but it does clear your head and either knocks you for a loop or gets you back on track.

It's a good thing to schedule an hour block or the likes to keep up momentum day to day like a few of you have mentioned. It is an uphill battle (no matter how much fun you may have from time to time) and you need a good running start and no let up.

Tony

[baegsi]

In my case, i think the best thing to do to get myself fully motivated in doing indie stuff is to "burn the ship"
I had to do this too. However, keep in mind that going full-time means you have to motivate yourself more than ever before. When you have problems with motivation already now, I'm not sure quitting your day-job would be the best thing to do.

[robleong]

There's a catch though. You gotta live frugally.

No car loans and no debts, no financial burden.
But the good thing is, it is easier to be successful in selling software when living in Malaysia where the cost of living is something like 3 or 4 times cheaper than in the US, and you can charge the same US price for your game on the net.

[Escapee]

<quote> But the good thing is, it is easier to be successful in selling software when living in Malaysia where the cost of living is something like 3 or 4 times cheaper than in the US, and you can charge the same US price for your game on the net. </quote>

Car is expensive ( 4X time of US car's price ) here because the money is being used and spent in making our beloved national car - THE PROTON, which is also regarded as the best in the world in producing inferior but expensive car at the expense of taxpayer money.

Oil is expensive ( 4 X times of US oil price)

Electronic devices are equally expensive because most of them are imported .

Buying a house is equally expensive especially in urban area ( around 100K USD )

The only thing that's seriously cheap here is the hawker's food, cheap and tasty ......

[Savant]

Buying a house is equally expensive especially in urban area ( around 100K USD )
100K is not expensive for a house in the US. In rural areas, that will get you a small but pleasant place. In big cities, that will get you a broom closet.

[Escapee]

100K is not expensive for a house in the US. In rural areas, that will get you a small but pleasant place. In big cities, that will get you a broom closet.

Very true, I have relatives living in cities of CA and the cost of owning a house is like at the min of 400K USD .......

[revve]

Buying a house is equally expensive especially in urban area ( around 100K USD )

It all depends on location. I'm in the process of buying a (first) house for myself - a small 2 bedroom standalone house in a moderate neighbourhood cost about that amount. Or I could move away from the slightly more "in" areas and only pay about $30 000. And Cape Town is supposed to be a "cheap" place to live in on a global scale. It is one of the more expensive places in South Africa itself, though. You also get much more expensive. Sigh....

I regularly see 2 bedroom flats/apartments starting at $250 000 very close to where i am buying. House prices are just a joke these days.

[Mr.Blaub]

You could always grab a patch of land and build your own house. You'd save a fortune.

Anyone realise how wildly off-topic we are?

[GBGames]

I also find that focus and clarity of goals helps with motivation, and I hang out in the #gamedevelopers channel on irc.starchat.net since it keeps my mind on game development instead of letting it wander towards email, newsgroups, or other random things.

[Artinum]

100K is not expensive for a house in the US. In rural areas, that will get you a small but pleasant place. In big cities, that will get you a broom closet.

This doesn't just apply to the US but here in England too! Compare a two bedroom detached house in rural Leicestershire to even a small flat in central London.

Weird to me. I'd prefer living in a quiet rural setting to a big, noisy, smelly city.

As for motivation - I have found that there is no stronger motivation for me to get something done than avoiding something worse. I generally find that when I've got something particularly nasty, the washing up gets done a lot faster.

More useful advice - Things To Do lists. I drive my partner mad with them. They are really useful though - write down everything that needs doing, mark any urgent ones in some way and then do them as and when the opportunity comes up. Cross them out when done. Try to finish one thing before you start another wherever practical. When the list gets messy, write out a new one.

I used to keep my lists on scraps of paper but my partner insisted I use a notebook of some kind. This is better - a notebook doesn't get lost so easily and you make a mental association with it.

[varmint]

If you currently have a day time job , what do you do to keep yourself motivated all the time in developing indie games?

For me , I read self enriching books ( like Zig ziglar and anthony robbin) and steve blog . the problem with this is by the time i'm done reading the articles or books, it's about time to go to bed . I've also tried to slot in at least 15 mins per day to exercise but the plan failed miserably partly because i didnt force myself enough to do it.

I work from 9-5 get home at 6 - 7 and work until 1am - 2am. I've being doing this for about 5 years, and have to say I'm pretty tired. But some things that work for me are:

One quote I live by is:
"Best way to get started, is stop talking and get doing." - Walt Disney

First thing I do when I get home from work is fire up lightwave or programming IDE. (Leaving web browser closed).. Turn on some tunes and work away until I get hungry. Then take a small hour break, make food, watch some TV then get back to it.

My desktop back grounds are always from ingame screen shots, this is really inspiring.

If there is something at work that PO'ed me, I'd use that to motivate myself to work more on our game after hours.

Short answer if you really want to do something you'll make time for it. I hear alot of people say "oh I don't have time", yet they make time to go out clubing, surf the web, watch TV, play games, etc.

Also having good laptop helps. At lunch time at work I'd dissappear and go work on my laptop. :D

Also I'd usually take friday nights off (sometimes thursdays too depending on how crispy I felt), but Saturday was a work day were alls I worked on was the game. And sundays was at least 1/2 a work day. :D

[MrPhil]

I don't do anything to stay motivated. If you're not motivated to work on your project over anything else that you might want to do - then you picked the wrong project.
I respectfully disagree. This is something I’ve heard many times over the years. I believe that some of us have to struggle more at achieving our goals than others. We all have inner demons that are unique and different. Self-employment and self-directed goals bring out these challenges. Just because something isn’t coming easy doesn’t mean it isn’t important to you.

So I’d suggest thinking of your self as a human steam engine. You can NOT just put all the pressure you want on yourself to perform or you’ll blow the boiler. You've got to find the optimal operating pressure. You got to remember the word HUMAN. You need to be reasonable toward yourself and your expectations. I always make the mistake of treating myself like a robot and over working myself to the point that I have a procrastination meltdown.

My best formula yet:

1. Set goal of X hours of game work and then DO it
2. After, X hours make a list of chores you are worried about (only the ones you are worried about this is not a list of all your chores or things todo)
3. Address the top Y of the things you are worried about
4. Take rest of the day/evening off

Experiment to find the X and Y that results in the maximum amount of happiness, satisfaction, progress and healthiness.

I think the important thing to recognize is that the list of chores is never ending. There is always one more light bulb to change, one more errand to run and one more project to finish. So don’t make the mistake of ‘cleaning your plate’ and then working on your game (or whatever.) You’ve got to make your priorities literally come first.

Ideal, I would get up, exercise, work a couple hours on my game, and THEN go to work, but I’m not sure my steam engine will ever tolerate getting up that early.

Also, I’d like to reiterate something that Pkeod touched on. Focus on getting good results, resist perfection and push for excellence only after it is clearly needed.

[Coyote]

Here are some tricks that work for me:

Trick #1 - Cultivate a no-fear attitude. (http://www.rampantgames.com/blog/2006/02/fighting-procrastination-local-maxima.html) Psych yourself up before going into dev mode. Put on the headphones with some great rock or techno or whatever pumps you up, convince yourself that you are some dynamite super-programmer alpha geek or whatever, and jump into it with no fear (but hopefully with a source-control safety net --- just in case).

Trick #2 - Make it a HABIT. That takes discipline. Just start by saying something like "ten minutes per night, every night." Maybe beef it up to thirty minutes after a while. But you need to spend at least 21 days STRAIGHT to get to the point where it's just part of your routine. Then it gets easier - your day isn't complete until you've done something productive on your game.

Trick #3 - MAKE LISTS. Prioritize said lists. Set goals for knocking things off of your list. Some of the most useless days I've spent in front of the computer started with me being all excited to develop, then I play the prototype a couple of times, try to figure out what I'm supposed to do next, and end up shutting down and playing videogames or watching TV instead. It's the whole writer's block / blank page problem. By keep a list with you all the time and adding to it constantly, you have less problems kick-starting your brain. I *think* this stems from being in "creative mode" versus "production mode" - when I'm in one, the other goes into hibernation or something.

[icosahedron]

Man, some of you guys would do Cortez proud!

For me, I do the 10 minutes a day thing that Coyote told me about. It's easy to find 10 minutes a day, and once you're into it, then it's a lot easier to keep going.

About the lists part, Read Getting Things Done by David Allen. It's helped me immensely. I used to forget stuff and blow off commitments, which made me a huge flake. Now, I'm getting things done. :)

I also like the music part. Some good XTC, China Crisis, or Aztec Camera really gets me going.

Also, as I fall asleep, I like to imagine what my game will play like. Sometimes that gets me excited enough to get out of bed and go work on it some more!

Lastly, I just got used to not getting enough sleep. I only sleep 5-6 hours a day during the week. Probably not what many here would recommend, but, priorities, my good man, priorities.

I like the exercise thing. I do it 3 times a week for an hour. I read while I run, usually a selection from the Personal MBA list. I've burned through 5 books in a few weeks. It's been really good for me. Kills two birds with one stone.

Well, that's my rambling. Good luck and don't fear burnout. Swish it around like mouthwash and then spit it out! (Okay, that didn't make much sense perhaps.)

[Larry Hastings]

By sheerest coincidence, I saw no less than two old postings from 43 Folders addressing the very topic of motivation / procrastination.

Kick Procrastination's Ass: Run A Dash (http://www.43folders.com/2005/09/08/kick-procrastinations-ass-run-a-dash/)
Procrastination Hack: (10+2)*5 (http://www.43folders.com/2005/10/11/procrastination-hack-1025/)

[Glen Pawley]

Procrastination has been my biggest weakness. I can't really say that I've kicked it, but what has helped a lot is detailed todo lists. I think this helps me for three main reasons. 1) It structures my effort. As someone said, too often if I don't have a clear set of goals I end up just goofing around, picking at the work, and not really making any impact. 2) It constantly reminds me just how much friggin work I have left to reach my end goal and that I can't afford to waste the time. 3) Knocking off an item from the list gives me a little bit of self satisfaction that I redirect as energy to keep going.

Have to admit that currently not having easy access to any decent new games/movies/comics/etc has worked wonders as well :D.

[Savant]

how do you motivate yourself after 5pm when you have a day time job
Remind yourself that the more days you don't get your project done, the more days you'll have to go back to your day job. :)

[Polycount Productions]

Stop visiting these forums. Or blogs. Or checking email. Or reading books.

And start coding instead (http://www.gameproducer.net/2005/11/29/1-hour-solution-to-any-problem/)

Now, go on already.

[Indiepath]

This is my day time job :D Motivation comes from self-belief. I know that I will continue to succeed and that my work and boundless efforts will ensure my company remains successful and highly profitable. If I did not believe this I might as well work for someone else.

[Sharpfish]

I think it's a lot easier to be motivated after you have released a game AND it has sold enough to convince you it is a viable business (even part time).

Before that? Inner Turmoil, doubt, sleepless nights, scrapped code, second guessing, too much reading of forums. (of course, there are good days too - especially when listening to good music)

Best thing is to lock yourself away from outside influence for a month and just code. I try to but I always end up back on here ;)

[MattInglot]

I've recently switched to waking up at 5 in the morning every day. I found that I was wasting my best energy on my other commitments such as phone/e-mail, university classes, groceries, and all sorts of other tasks that aren't "my best possible use for my best possible energy".

Waking up in the morning was also my final push to start a blog (http://www.mattinglot.com/blog). I now had more energy and this was going to be my first set of articles (go ahead and check them out (http://mattinglot.com/blog/2006/03/17/the-extreme-morning-experiment)).

I have only been doing the waking up early thing for a week so longterm success and results are unknown, but at the moment I have to tell you it feels great and my productivity has shot through the roof. Not only am I getting ridiculous amounts done as the morning whizzes by in a blur, but rather than suffering, most of my other day appointments are easier to perform. I've already worn myself down enough with high quality creative work on advancing my business and find that my brain is no longer jumping all over the place wishing it could be doing meaningful work instead of taking care of low energy tasks.

It was also surprisingly easy to convert to the schedule. The first day was a piece of cake, and I felt incredibly energetic despite having had only four hours of sleep (falling asleep early is hard). The second day was the toughest as my body wanted to sleep in and catch-up on sleep lost the day before, but I was still having problems falling asleep early. Since then it has been much smoother sailing compared to the regular wake up at 8 or 9. I will continue to experiment to see if earlier hours like 4 or 3 could work for me.

I really don't think there's any one specific thing that will make it possible to work hard after you have just come home from work. The work environment is extremely exhausting and unless you have a natural or very well developed "talent" (for lack of a better word) for mustering up an energy rebound that won't fade away, trying to work after work is never going to deliver optimal results.

Oh and coffee is not the answer. It's never the answer (but still it's delicious).

[Savant]

Yep, I started getting up at 5am early last year and it's the best decision I ever made. I did it because of a Pavlina article if I remember correctly. Anyway, yeah, all of my best work gets done in those early morning hours. I'm wide awake, energized, and ready to rock.

[Escapee]

I wake up at 5:30 am everyday so that i would able to avoid the crazy traffic here and reach my office on time at 8:00am to work my ass off for 3 lady bosses who love chatting (i call it backstabbing) most of time.

[robleong]

Very true, I have relatives living in cities of CA and the cost of owning a house is like at the min of 400K USD .......

Well, in the San Francisco bay area, if you're looking for a house in a decent area, it is close to 1 million USD now.

I miss the really inexpensive and very tasty hawker food in Malaysia, alright. Thankfully, we have reasonably good Malaysian food here in the bay area, but the prices are much, much higher!

Not sure if you're lucky or the exact opposite if you answer to three lady bosses!

[Escapee]

Well, in the San Francisco bay area, if you're looking for a house in a decent area, it is close to 1 million USD now.

I miss the really inexpensive and very tasty hawker food in Malaysia, alright. Thankfully, we have reasonably good Malaysian food here in the bay area, but the prices are much, much higher!

Not sure if you're lucky or the exact opposite if you answer to three lady bosses!

Just imagine that your mum has just become your immediate superior, then you would feel how lucky am I. :D

[Sharkbait]

You're a man.. they're women! Charm your way to success! :)

[robleong]

LOL @ Sharkbait! That's right - ignore the fact that they're much older than you, Escapee. Just practise flirting - it's fun and keeps you in shape. At least I guess that's still something you can do in Malaysia. Here in the US, the sexual harassment laws are too strict to even consider something like that!

[Escapee]

LOL @ Sharkbait! That's right - ignore the fact that they're much older than you, Escapee. Just practise flirting - it's fun and keeps you in shape. At least I guess that's still something you can do in Malaysia. Here in the US, the sexual harassment laws are too strict to even consider something like that!

I have sexual impotence whenever i work in the office :D :D

[dmikesell]

After 5:00? Try after 7:00...:)

It's about time mgmt. Set attainable goals for evening sessions and schedule them. Even if it's only for an hour, schedule that hour and stick to it. You'll be amazed at how much free time you have during a typical "hectic" week.

[Savant]

It's just like money. If you start paying attention and really keeping track you'll be shocked at how much time/money you're wasting each day.

[Sysiphus]

well, I have experienced a very funny fact. My day job is at a game company, so , the curious thing is that when arrive at home, gotta do great effort to keep doing *even more* graphics. Specially more, even more pixel art. My hand, wacom and mouse get a kind of over-speed, but the drunk kind ;) (while I don't usually drink... ;) ) Is curious to see the easiness I have for doing stuff that extra last pair of hours...(if I were drunk anyway...I'd be unable to do any sort of graphics..) But I'd rob a bank to have a more relaxed life.

So, when I worked in non game -and sometimes, not even art- related jobs, I tended to come really eager to get back to my passion. When was at a first game company, thought game passion would be killed for ever, as when u do stuff so fast and so much stress , u end up hating them.Which is true. But give a month of break, or of change of job, and back to the passion :D .Even a weekend or some day off (it happens once a year).

These days, I don't hate so much what I do at work, but get really tired. Main motivation is...money, and well, there's allways a less important(than money) but allways present intention of the highest quality, no matter if it's just an icon, or a normal mapped model. Indeed, if I were forced to do bad quality work as rule, I'd abandon inmediately this profession and field...

I am really sure if I'd have back a non game job, I'd get motivated more easily. Anyway, when there's money, there's motivation ;) In my case. And a lot of money, a lot of motivation... :D As doing art is allways what one allways liked to do, after all.

In the mourning..I have a rule.Don't think in how many hours are yet to pass. Just focus on next problem to solve. It works for me. ;)