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[Royal Den Studios]

Hello  I'm going to put this out there because I'm sure most of every one here has the same problem. How in the world do you get productive with your work?! Every time I go to work on a project I usually just program or draw one sprite and then think to myself "Man its been an 20 minutes. I might watch some TV" or something similar. At this rate my game would be done in 20 years. I've found a couple of solutions to this and feel free to post some of yours as well.

1. Put your work space far away from distractions. If this isn't possible disconnect or put away any distractions.
2. Listen to music or a podcast while working. (I prefer the Transistor OST)
3. Draw concept art while your not working (If your away from your work space that is) This help excite you about your game.
4. Look at other games with the same feel of yours (No not play just look at screenshots. Google is your friend)
5. Make a To-Do list (One Note is a good software)
6. Be efficient. If you get tired out by making tile sets all day get a program that lets you do it quicker. (Pyxel Edit is amazing and free)

Well that's all I have for today. Remember to post your advice below. Now off to procrastinate...

[kriyo_funions]

-getting up, I like to write whatever might be on my mind.  jot down things I have to do for the day or during the week unrelated to work, whatever might be bothering me.  Usually gives me head space to not get distracted during working.

-Do whatever that needs to get done before sitting down.

-Prioritize taking care of myself.  Making sure I'm less in a burned out working state, and more in a positive clear head space place.  In the long run, maintaining a good state of mind and body, keeps your stamina up, keeps you creative.  I don't do much exercise, except for biking and walking, but meditation helps me find a good place of stillness, clarity, as a break from the constant problem solving and busy body mentality that's so draining.

-Make mental notes of what I do for distraction, and try to let go of bad habits.

-Prioritize being less on the computer as much as possible, unless I need to work.

-Cutting down my active list of projects.  Simplifying.

[CaLooch]

I hang signs over my computer (whiplash was an inspiring movie, in a masochistic sort of way)

[s0]

the pomodoro method works good for working when im not motivated

[oahda]

I hang signs over my computer (whiplash was an inspiring movie, in a masochistic sort of way)

Oh, I had that two homes and countless years ago.

[Kevinfu510]

I dreamed of an AI that would constantly "nag" at me for not being productive enough or "inspire"/"motivate" me to do more work, it would also check all the programs i've been using, and also the total mouse clicks,and keyboard presses that i have done in a certain time frame... just to make sure i'm not tricking it. 

it would also have a sweet/cute looking animated avatar! and it would be placed at the edge of the screen,
and that is the way to be productive in the future! (remember you heard it from me first!  )

_{or you could ask your friends/family to do the same thing mentioned above!}



my weird dreams aside :
To keep myself being productive and not procrastinate/delay any more work.. i usually have some sort of text file/folder placed in the middle of the desktop to remind me i have work to do. or just change my wallpaper! XD

or you could sit down/lie down alone with your mind/thoughts; and wonder a few things/think up ideas and such.. cause sometimes that works too! (eg: the toilet/your bed)

or if all else fails, watch a few Development timelalpse videos/read a few DevLogs on the interwebs! :D

[Elsaess]

The Pomodoro method works quite well for me.

It's important to plan your energy efficiently, as well as your time. I tend to work in a frenzy, followed by a layoff. If I really work during the frenzy, and then take serious rest during the layoff, I can keep that cycle going.

Eat well, exercise. Take time for walks in nature. Mindfulness. Stay healthy and happy.

Don't use social media. At all. Obviously there are cases when you'll have to for promotion etc. Maybe a schedule would help with that.

When you sit down to work, work. Once you get past the initial phase of discomfort, you can become quite focused and then the work is relatively easy.

[ProgramGamer]

This kind of half related but here it goes: I need to quit browsing 9gag all the time. It is a serious problem because not only am I losing productivity, but it's starting to affect me in a way that I don't want it to. How do I effectivelly block it from everywhere I go?

[Battlefrog]

This kind of half related but here it goes: I need to quit browsing 9gag all the time. It is a serious problem because not only am I losing productivity, but it's starting to affect me in a way that I don't want it to. How do I effectivelly block it from everywhere I go?

There's a free add-on for Firefox that's called LeechBlock, and it blocks a certain website for a certain period of time, say from 7:00am to 4:45pm on a Friday for example.

Link is here: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/leechblock/

If you use Chrome as your primary web browser, it might be on there, I'm not sure.

[JWK5]

One of the best ways I've learned to be productive and not get distracted I wonder if I have any more ice tea left in the fridge it's a pretty fun game so far, I am actually liking Dragon Age: Inquisition a lot the character creation I should work on my Game Maker Studio project tonight a peach fruit cup sounds good.

In other words, the only way I can be productive is to accept that I will be distracted and to roll with the punches and wind the train of distraction back towards what might be productive.

[ollie_r]

For me going with the natural flow of things works. I have times in the day were I just can't concentrate, usually between 1pm and 3pm. During that time frame I do other stuff like phone calls, paper work, chores, exercise, reading, playing, etc. I try not to beat myself up for not being productive when I don't have the right energy levels for it anyway.

Pomodoro is a good thing, I just never really liked the alarm. So instead my "peemodoros" are between drinking -> going to the bathroom. It also helps with staying hydrated. 

Take some time to plan your weeks. That "Managers schedule vs creators schedule" was really eye-opening for me. When I have a day with one or two appointments, I try to make that whole day about "buffer work" and more exercise than on non-buffer days. That day can't be salvaged anyway, so I try to make the best out of it given its nature.

[JWK5]

One a related note:

Cracked: 5 Lifehacks For Living With A Terrible Attention Span

[PixelJunkie]

You can't force inspiration. Sometimes you just need to go out there and take a walk, hike, see a movie. Whatever you gotta do. Your best ideas come when you're not trying to think of them.

[Bravo81]

This is a great topic, I use the Sticky Notes in Windows and have two Whiteboards in my office.
I'm going to look into the 'POMODORO TECHNIQUE'

[missfacetious]

One thing that think a lot of creatives get distracted by is new, amazing ideas. I use the "it's not a great idea unless I come back to it later" approach.  I also use this trick to not buy so many things off of Amazon.  Write down your idea to see if it looks good later, or just sit on thinking about other things until it comes back.. then it might be a good idea. My most frustrating thing is making sure I'm on track and not completely changing gears when another, better idea pops into my head.

As for distractions, I totally agree that outside forces can make you less productive. The good news is that those usually you can fix. Shut the door, don't work in a coffee shop or public space (I know people swear by them, but I have no idea why), put on headphones and just think about what you are trying to accomplish.  My motivation comes right out getting things done, so I tend to think about finishing it rather than procrastinating. Without distractions of the mind and physical world then, you would think I would be really productive?!

[Photon]

don't work in a coffee shop or public space (I know people swear by them, but I have no idea why)

I'll chip in on this one. Sometimes the coffee shop is its own little getaway. When I was in college, I found it significantly easier to head to the public wi-fi spot at the fast food place and work on homework than I did going home to where I had distractions from what other people were doing and from "playthings" (see: video games.) The coffee shop, if you will, can be a break from your normal environments, allowing you to zero in on what you came for in the first place. A little white noise isn't a bad thing either, but I suppose it depends on the person there; if the white noise is bothersome enough, just bring headphones and some music.

[Tanner]

gtd, gtd, gtd

i use omnifocus but i also am just as likely to keep a running list on a piece of paper or notebook. i'm pretty bad at it sometimes but sometimes i am okay at it.

[kd.hebbes]

Ya it can be rough sometimes. Its hard if there isn't an actual date it needs to be complete by or else you're screwed. I usually try to set a deadline for myself and have a few smaller (less intimidating)deadlines between the big deadline and now.

Also listening to awesome people talk about success.



(Arnold Schwarzenegger's inspirational speech about his 6 secrets to success)

If you keep working everyday and try to do a bit more each day than you're used to you'll train yourself into the habit.

[hube]

I've been doing a lot with Mindmeister which is just a free online mind mapper.

The beauty of the mind map tree structure is you can collapse things. I usually have a branch opened up with all the things that need to be done and another few that are closed whee I keep ideas and things I'll do in the next milestone.

The mind map let's me break each task into smaller tasks and hide things I'm not focused on. It really helps manage the overwheing amount of things to do on a game project.

I've heard many great things about omnifocus but not having an iPhone really limits the interactions with it.

[vigaman]

Convert your distraction into a passion in some way. Works like a charm and that's why I'm wasting time being active on the forums, when I could of been developing more features in my game.