Getting back in touch with reality

Miscellaneous Topics
#1

So for the past yearish, I have been pretty much on this laptop every single day for hours on end, learning, reading and coding.

I was doing this mainly to increase my chances in getting onto a HND course in Game Dev, I have achieved this and recently for the past 2 weeks, this laptop has been under the stairs collecting dust.

Today is the first day I have been on it to do any significant work, I have projects I want to complete but at the moment I feel as if I have “accomplished” what I aimed for and I need to take a step back and get back in touch with the real world.

So far the past 2 weeks I have been away camping for a few days, away at the weekend up north with the missus, been biking to work and after work every day…hell yesterday I spent 6 HOURS on a hill 750ft above sea-level making a short film for no real reason, mainly just for fun ( I also took the bike up because the track down is insane).

How often do you guys say “enough is enough, I need a break”?

#2

A few years back, after I realized how much weight I had gained and how unhealthy my lifestyle was, I decided to never again put myself in the position where I need a break. Instead, when I’m not at work I stay active by walking where I need to go as often as I can (easy to do when you live in a metropolis like Seoul), exercise (ride my bike, go hiking, hit the gym), meet friends, run errands, make time for chilling with my wife, and fit my programming time into what’s left. Not only am I in much better shape, but I feel more productive when I’m on the keyboard. As it turns out, once I made the changes and adapted to my new lifestyle, I actually have more time for coding than I expected to.

#3

[quote]How often do you guys say “enough is enough, I need a break”?
[/quote]
Well, happens, but normally I start to play games then…
This has probably to change but yeah…

#4

Take breaks, but regulate the breaks heavily. I used to program every day and churned out code a ton, but now I barely ever code and it really makes me feel just… Lazy.

I have other stuff I do with my life (drummer in a band, getting my pilots license, girlfriend, school) and when I get home I have time to code but… Steam is open and CS:GO is just waiting to be played. I rationalize my “unproductivity” by telling myself that I already do so much and I just need to relax before I fall asleep. Fast forward two hours and I feel guilty for gaming becuase I could have coded for a while and worked on the many projects I have going on.

Moral of the story? Take breaks but don’t get lazy like I am right now.

#5

I think it is inevitable. Any time you are doing one thing long enough, no matter how fun/engaging/rewarding/challenging it is, you will need to take a step back and do something else. Otherwise you burn out, and then you hate it for a long time. I routinely take breaks from programming, so much so that my breaks are more or less scheduled. Typically I will program for about 2 weeks straight, then take a week to do something else. One of the reasons I love programming games so much is that there is so much more to do than programming! There is art, music, sound effects, character building, etc. Keeps me from getting burnt out, and I find that if I was stuck when I took a break and came back I was able to solve the problem with fresh eyes!

#6

sounds like you took a well deserved break. You should keep a calendar to schedual events when you have a lot of free time.

I did the same when I was more of a beginner to java and programming as well. Some days I would get confident and actually render something(not understanding how) and most days I would get frustrated with the fact that I can’t learn this. One day I thought I was getting productive and found site like stackoverflow. I started coding more and found JGO. After realizing my biggest mistake(I tried to use Java2D for pro games and thought libraries were shortcuts). Now I code all day everyday.

Pretty much take a brake to appreciate yourself, or just relax. Of course, get your job done…