Consistency is something that a lot of us struggle with especially when it comes to making something that requires our full energy and time to develop. I have lost count at the number of times that I have excitedly started a project only to stop working on it after a few weeks of mental frustration. Of course, this roadblock is something that many of us have struggled with and continue to struggle with to this very day, I like to call this phase of the project The Mid Development Hell.

The Mid development Hell

Have you ever remembered a time in which you were extremely keen to start something new or exciting whether it be to write a book or draw a piece of art or make a game? You may have been excited at first as you tried to come up with new innovative ideas and concepts, but as you tried to turn that idea into a respectable piece of art, you noticed that the process of making something great comes with many roadblocks and learning curves that you will need to overcome. This is what I like to call The Mid Development Hell due to it being well… hell. Your motivation is at an all-time low, you encounter various problems that just contribute to your already drained motivation and your drained motivation just tries to give you many reasons to quit.

How do you deal with the Mid Development hell?

“Consistent action creates consistent results” – Christine Kane

1. Take small bites every day

You may have heard the phrase “bite off what you can chew” or something similar to that, well turns out that phrase is true, how do I know that’s true? well, I remember one day I wanted to make a top-down shooting game with an immersive story all on my own. This idea in my head excited me and I was working on this project every single day, except I was working on this project for hours on end and did not set any micro goals. What was the result?

Not only I completely burnt myself out in the process but I ended up getting my priorities wrong, I ended up forgetting things that were essential to my well being such as staying healthy and spending enough time with people around me. This just fueled my temptation to give up on this project that I was working on for weeks and it did, in just a few weeks I gave up on continuing my top-down shooter game due to being burnt out, tired and encountering various glitches and problems that did not do my motivation any favours. What’s the moral of this story? Set small goals every day! Your not gonna do any favours if you’re burnt out, try to make a table or plan that will outline how will you approach this project and take one baby step at a time.

2. Look after yourself

If you are not looking after yourself, your work is going to look like crap, I remember the days when I use to work on a project and have pizza for breakfast as a way of fueling myself for the morning, let’s just say that project I was working on did not go far due to my shady eating practices. But the reason why this is in my list is that over-consumption of junk food causes tiredness, in fact, a staggering 61% of people agree that junk food is the primary cause of their constant tiredness and how does this impact the long term project you are working on? Well, when you are tired you must have figured out that you sit around and watch Netflix all day.

3. Discipline

Ok, this is something that requires a kick in the ass but discipline is something that can change your life if you can master it, especially when you have a big project to complete. If you can just hold on to the very end then I can assure you the regrets will not haunt you, and it’s gonna be hard, very hard but it will be worth it.

I hope you have benefited from reading this article, it’s very rare that people read nowadays but I hope you take these lessons to heart. If you want more self-improvement tips or just want to be entertained, follow my twitter.