Don't be this kind of Developer!

Ever tried this? Planning out your entire gamedev project - at once. In every little detail.
I tried doing so - with Hack n Plan. I laid out the entire array of features as detailed as I could. It was nice in that it helped me how large it will become. However: It did not work out at all for me. After a while, I found myself overwhelmed by the volume of tasks I've set up and ended up demotivated enough to never touch that Hack n Plan project again.User error doesn't make the tool bad, however.

So what was the problem here?

I cannot focus because of too much clutter! And I'm clutter-minded already:

It starts with detailed and seemingly endless todo-lists. If I don't clean up and these lists grow to large, this is what happens in my head:

Out of 1000 important tasks let's pick the least important one because fuck progress!

There is SO MUCH to do!

Where the hell am I going to even start, oh my god, oh my god

Before I work this long list, let's take a look at this game I haven't played in forever!

Developer meltdowns are BAD.

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READ: Ways to boost your productivity

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What one must do is to trick oneself into working and getting comfortable with what one is doing.

That means, getting rid of all things that's preventing you from doing it: tuning down on the "lazyness threshold"; fostering a habit that comfortably enables you to get shit done. Like, going to the gym that just happens to be on your way home when calling it a day.

Something similar can be done using this 5-step-iterative approach:

1. Evaluate
2. Structure
3. Implement
4. Take Notes
5. Repeat

How does it work?

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1. Evaluate the current state of your project: find out what bugs exist and what still needs work.

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2. Structure the current iteration.

   Create a todo list consisting roughly of:

   • 10% new features
   • 30% extending existing features/improving user experience
   • 60% bug fixes
   If you have a list from step 5 in a previous iteration, use that list as basis for bug fixes and extensions.
   New features should be a lower priority; if they are "spontaneous features": Get rid of them. NOW. KILL IT WITH FIRE.)
   Ensure the extensions/features/bugfixes are meaningful and leading you to your goal; which is finishing your game in time - NOT playing with your game mechanics until it's perfect which it will never be.
   
   
   

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3. Implement the todo list.

   Do it blindly. Do not think much. Do Shia a favor and JUST DO IT.

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4. While implementing, take notes for the next iteration:
   • Bugs
   • Issues
   • UX improvements
   • Code refactoring
   Avoid adding new features to this list AT ALL COSTS

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5. Repeat.

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How can you implement that into your work flow?

I've started to treat the changelog as my todo list when I am in step 2 (Structure). I will take notes there to solve problems or figure out how to implement or improve features. When I'm done implementing a feature, I remove the implementation notes and reword the feature for normal folk (gamers) to read and understand.

For step 3 and 4, taking notes while implementing, I have started to use a separate text file for bugs and issues I encounter in this iteration. I keep this one seperate from ideas for features. The file with ideas is the most spontaneous one and consequently its priority should be very low to zero.
So I don't lose track of what was done, these three files are included in my git repository and are regularly committed.

All these measures help me control the flow of features into my game. Ever since I've been applying this I haven't implemented new ones - most of what I do right now is improving the user experience. It seems to work well - or at the very least: better. :)

Do you have any ways to conquer your inner lazy demons? Share your story in the comments or hook me up on twitter!

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READ: The benefits of getting out of your comfort zone

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6 Tipps Boosting Your Productivity With HackNPlan

The tool Hack 'N' Plan is a very sophisticated project managing tool made by gamedevs for gamedevs. I have been working with it for about 5 months and my productivity sparked ever since. I am more focused and notice when my game is suffering from the infamous scope creep syndrome.

In the following I want to present you 5 tipps how to work with this piece of software. These may work without making use of Hack 'N' Plan, too!

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1. Plan out the most important features first. Focus on those.
   
   
2. Avoid spontaneously added tasks as much as possible.Bugs and improvements of existing code/assets are an exception. This serves mainly the purpose to prevent a scope creep. I know it's tempting to add one idea after the other, but like this you will never get your game done. Ever.
   
   
3. Use the game model feature to set a design direction(e.g. game mechanics you want to have). This will be your focus. Do not add tasks that do not support your game model (except bug fixing)! Push them down the abyss of the forgotten mercilessly if you find any.
   
   
   
   Or just dump sidetracking tasks into a "unimportant brainfarts" milestone if you're not a ruthless task-murderer like me.
   
   
   
   In fact, I'm still trying to find a most effective way on how to use this.
   
   
4. Make many milestones with small scope.Keep it 10 tasks and below, add a max of 5 tasks spontaneously (thus a maximum of 15 tasks in total). You need ruthless focus and this will help you establish it.
   
   
5. Cut tasks into the smallest chunks.You don't have to (and shouldn't) plan out every detail of your project, but if you notice you need more tasks, make them small.
   
   
6. Group together tasks that cover a similar topic.Not doing so has a chance of making you feel scatter-headed because you are jumping from one section in your code to the other. This is ok when you fix bugs, but not when you need focus to do progress.
   
   Do not make a clutter like this:
   
   
   
   ...but keep it more like this.
   
   
   
   Those are all UI-tasks I got done very quickly because I grouped them ruthlessly. Kept the scope of these tasks small, too.

I hope this helped with your gamedev endeavours. Keep on rocking, keep on coding!

Why You shouldn't Always Translate Advice to Your Own Life

Some motivational sites claim that if you want to be successful, you sleep much less than the average person. The argument is that if you sleep less you have more time to get work done and be productive.

I have a few problems with this type of advice. I have no doubt people who can pull this off exists. But you have to adjust that to yourself individually, to the tasks you perform and to your schedule.

I have a dayjob and are ~9 hours per week in the office (including commute).  I still can squeeze in a few hours of gamedev into my schedule depending how draining the task at work were. In my experience, sleep deprivation is extremely bad for my productivity and will eliminate these few hours of gamedev in the evening. Instead, I spent these hours taking a nap because I am exhausted, later unable to go to bed at a reasonable time.

From the start of this month my productivity hit a low because I have screwed with my sleeping schedule, sleeping an average of 5 to 4 hours per day (6 including naps) this and last week. You can probably tell by the fact I haven't written many blogs this month so far. In order to be productive (whether it is coding or writing blogs), my brain needs to be in good shape in order to perform them.


That means: enough sleep, enough sun exposure ("recharging" my nerves), a bit of workout (taking a walk and doing sit-ups in my case), healthy diet (lotsa bluebewwies!) and being in peace of mind (I can't code when I am emotional distress). If one or more of these things are lacking, I am simply not in the shape for these kind of tasks. When tired, I am much better at doing art or music, which flows much better then.


Contrary to the initial advice (sleep less, get more work done) sleeping less actually impacts my ("logical") productivity negatively. However, your aim should create the conditions and environment required that enables you to be productive. If getting enough sleep is one of them, you shouldn't ignore that.

(There may be other reasons why sleep is a requirement for me to be productive, namely that my energy in general is low; it can be raised by correct posture or working out more. Still working on myself :])


It's always good to foster good habits to grow. See the basic point in advice given and see what you can adapt, keeping in mind your own strengths, weaknesses, daily routine and habits.

Just keep in mind not every advice is useful to you or directly applicable to your life. You are on a unique journey and your journey is never the same as someone else's.

7 Ways to Boost Your Productivity

We've all been there once, wasting our time then wondering where it went. So how do you actually boost your productivity?

I collected a few helpful tips here:

1. Get rid of all distractions. Get your focus right! Log out to all your social network accounts. Turn of your phone. Turn off internet, too, if it's not crucial. Spend a few hours doing what you planned without any distractions. DO IT!
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Find a way to organize yourself. Keep a to-do list. If you're an indiedev, you can use HackNPlan. Don't lose track of what you're doing - which leads me to the third point.
   
   
3. Review how far you've come and ask yourself if it helps achieving your goals. You HAVE to do this no matter what you're trying to achieve (no matter if you want to become better as a person, live a better life, or fulfill your biggest dreams). Dream big and make it happen!
   
   
4. Make sure your work environment is well-lit. Bright light encourages your brain to focus more. Too less and you get in sleepy mode!
   
   
5. Make sure your work environment is tidy if you work on tasks requiring a lot of brain juice. For creative tasks, a bit of a chaos may actually help finding ideas.
   
   
6. Make sure you don't work with a full belly. That's when all your blood is in your intestines instead of your brain. The best time for mental work is with empty stomach after a walk, workout, or cold shower, when your metabolism is all fired up, feeding your brain with valuable oxygen. Breathing exercises in fresh air may help, too.
   
   
7. A cup of blueberries and other fruit can help boosting your mental capabilities.
   
   
   

How do you keep your productivity high? How do you keep it? Let me know in the comments!