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[James posts his thoughts on Game Development at The Blocky Pixel]



So it’s 10am and I’m still wearing my PJs. I’ll probably still be wearing them by lunch – at which time I’ll get myself some pot-noodles and watch an episode of MacGyver. If my mother was to read that she’s probably be pretty disappointed – it makes me sound like a jobless bum. The reality of it is a bit different, however. While working from home in a creative industry has it’s perks, it’s not all sunshine and four-day-unshaven roses.

My day doesn’t really start at 10am, or even 8am. It starts when I wake up at 6:30am, lie in bed and start planning my day. For the first hour or so of most days I’ll mull over what my daily goals should be, start pondering design, and generally warm up my brain. If I’m especially busy at that time, I’ll use my iPhone to organise my thoughts. Once I’m reasonably satisfied with what I want to get accomplished, I can relax for a little while, and get some breakfast and check out Google Reader.

What happens next really depends on what phase we’re in with a project – most of the time it’s new development. At this point I’ll bring up my task list and pick something fairly quick and easy. It’s good to get something small done to immediately feel productive. Small chemical rewards are released into my brain and I feel pretty chuffed with myself.

“See! You have a real job!” I think.

Now I’m slipping in to my zone, things get a little hazy. Time melts away as I get entirely absorbed into coding. I need to be careful here, because it’s not uncommon for me to skip lunch entirely (and maybe miss MacGyver). I’ll work through the list of things I want to get accomplished, tick them off as I go.

Suddenly it’s 4pm and I’m thinking I need to stop soon. It’s far too easy to keep working until 10pm and neglect my social life. It generally goes something like this:

“Cool, it’s almost time for me to stop working, I’ll just quickly get this feature done. Won’t take more than an hour”

*code for an hour*

“Hmmm… that feature gave me some ideas… I’ll just quickly get that done too…”

*code for another hour*

“OH SHIT! BUGS!”

*code until my Girlfriend finally convinces me I should sleep*

“But just have to implement this… oh… it’s midnight. Yeah… I should go to bed…”

*Lie awake for the next hour unable to stop thinking on how to solve my problem*

But this is just one type of day – some days are more like today. I have a coffee, read some news and potter about writing blog posts, then watch MacGyver AND Magnum PI. These days are important too, lest I fall victim to burnout and be no good for anyone.

Is this typical of your working day too? If not, how does a day your indie life unfold?