I started my game dev journey in 2020. Like many others here, I teamed up with my best friend to “Make a damn game”. A year later, we had nothing. Just some ideas and some drawings. Who knew our dreams of a top-down open world RPG with time manipulation mechanics would be complicated!

We eventually split from working together after this, and I did my own thing (we're still best buds, though). I never gave up on this dream of making games, however. No matter what, I wanted to make something. I started working on project after project but didn't finish anything. I wanted to know why?

Well, fast-forward to this year and I realized something. Every time I get free time, my brain goes to “Work on the game” or “Work on the dream”. On paper, it sounds like a good thing, right? “Chase your dreams” and what not. Truth is far more complicated than that. I was burnt out. I have a family, I have a full-time job. I physically need to find time to relax and unwind.

So, I made an agreement with myself (following some advice from Pirate Software). For a month, I'm going to just work on the game every weekday (minus Wednesday) for no more than 3hrs. If it doesn't work out, we'll just go back to the drawing board. Well, it's now month two, and I'm pleased to say that I've never gotten so much done in my life. I've worked on Turret game for a month straight, and I'm super excited to work on it tomorrow (It's Wednesday, my dudes).

Set limits for yourself. Make room for breaks and fun. Otherwise, you'll hate what you do.