Previously I had been working as a software engineer for a variety of studios, mostly on AAA console titles (Playstation, Xbox). I had a defined role, a selection of game areas I was responsible for, and I worked as part of a large team. I had a tech lead and a project manager, and everything was structured for me.
Not any more – now I am the tech lead, and the project manager. And the artist, the designer, the webmaster, the bizdev guy, and the tea boy[1]. I have the freedom to choose what I work on each day – but also the responsibility to choose what I work on, to organise, plan and schedule the work, and to make sure I’m working on the right thing. It’s thrilling and frightening both, and if I’m not careful it’s easy to enter some kind of analysis paralysis where I can’t start on anything because I’m worried it’s the wrong thing.
“Indeed this is probably the biggest challenge for me so far – working on the right thing at the right time.”
I know what Nick means!
I’m finding that every day I’m getting a better routine, a better technique, and better results. In a few months, I’ll be doing even better than I am now. Of course, these things work for me, they might not work for you. What do you do to organise time when working solo? How do you schedule and motivate yourself?
Motivation has never been a huge problem for me. Perhaps being a curiosity-driven only-child of immigrant parents has given me lots of incentive and opportunity to come up with puzzles and challenges to solve. Programming was a hobby during high school, and eventually it became my profession (after a bizarre detour into accounting — don’t ask). However, one recurring issue is the lack of feedback that comes from working in isolation. There are limited opportunities to bounce ideas off colleagues and potential users. Sometimes I don’t know when to stop (i.e. when the program is “good enough” to ship). Also, not having others to give you a reality check may mean occasionally going down some blind alleys.