I Give You Permission To Stop! 

I saw this and almost clicked on it but you told me to stop! Then I stopped stopping so I clicked

What you describe there is being workaholics and the burn out that awaits us at every turn with that mindset. The tricky part with burn out is that when you start to feel burned out, you're already well into it and probably been for months it's an underlying problem. To me what helped out a lot on this is that my boss literally block my git and server access to the project at 5pm to force me out of that unhealthy routine of putting 12-14 hours a day on some "extra" features I really wanted in the game. It took a good 6-8 months for me adjust, but eventually it really broke my unhealthy habit. Compared to my old job where the boss would always squeeze me to do all nighter and crunching for months and months it's been a crazy relief to say the least to break this cycle down. Now when I really don't feel like it I'm not ashamed or reluctant to tell my current boss: "Hey man today it's just not working I'm chilling out and I'm gonna game a bit or do other stuff I need doing." Bottom line is we're not surgeon savings people life's where doing games, we have to chill out and take care of our mental state all the time.

Wise words Tim thank you. Puts me at ease 🙏🏿 Stopping/resting isn’t quitting so it’s ok to give that to ourselves. Most growth & recovery’s during rest as they say 💪🏿♥️🔥

Lol. This channel needs a rebrand to be Healthier Game Dev. Join up with Healthy Gamer and just own the fact that you're a good counselor. You may be in the right field but in the wrong position

Coincidentally watching this video on my week off of game dev. Me and my partner will be enjoying a beer without worrying about the project. Cheers 🥂

Thanks Tim... I've been working 7 days a week on my game the last 4 months or so and starting to find it hard to stay focused on it. Which sucks! I'm hoping to release this Summer and have so much work to do. I might just take a day off and not feel bad about it. Always enjoy the new videos.

Yep, sometimes you definitely need to press the "pause" button and do a reset. Step back, clear your mind, go take a bike ride or walk on the beach. I sometimes like to fly drones on a nice day, it's a good break. Then just come back strong and be surprised how much you can get done and how much clearly you can think. I've had times where I would get stuck with a difficult coding problem, then i stop, take a break and come back then easily figure it out.

But I haven't even started yet! I've been too busy coming up with new project ideas to not do...

I wish there was a study that examined is it best to discipline yourself and not work when you want to or ride the momentum and work until you don't want to. The point is we want maximum efficiency to avoid burn out as long as possible. Will keeping a schedule help avoid burnout or it doesn't mater if you peaks and valleys in productivity?

Circuit City tho... Ye Olde Skool (: Also, as someone who has a stack of projects and a stack more I'd like to add to it, I can relate. IRL provides an opportunity to step away and feel good about yourself for it because being good at IRL as important or more than the passionate work you do. Take care of your people, even if your people is just you. The cherry on top is that breaks help you reset and come at your work fresh which can turn an hour long debug into a 5 minute debug at times, no exaggeration. Sleep does wonders. Non-work is part of the work.

Exactly what I needed to hear. When work is play, play becomes work. And then you become addicted to work. And then you feel guilty for not working. And then work is no longer play.

Since I went fulltime, I totally define myself by my work. It might not be healthy longtime,but the good thing is, it has kept me motivated for over a year now.

luckily i gave myself permission a couple weeks ago but would've helped to hear this earlier. feeling much happier prioritizing what i need to get done lately instead of trying to do everything.

I gave myself permission to stop and went on a gaming binge for 3 months. Careful about this its hard to be balanced, im either work mode or play mode its hard to be in the middle

Honestly this is advice I think I'll take. I have a bad habit of getting myself into these loops of "i will get this done or die trying" And it's not just in game development, I do this when I play games too, I will literally play a level I have already beaten over and over because some stubborn part of me wants to do better at it. I think one thing a lot of people need to improve at, myself included, is learning to step back and say "you know what, this can wait"

Just took a week off when logically this is probably the worst time to be doing so. I literally did exactly as you described and over worked myself last month. I appreciate this insight because I had come to the same conclusion and I know you walk the walk so it's confirmation that these cycles are natural and I shouldn't beat myself for it.

It's super hard to do, stopping. Thank you for this video dude!

Love the content! Glad RU-vid recommended me your videos again

I have a challenge for you. Build a robot. It's super fun and exciting and might just take you mind off making games.

Makes sense.

*You get rewarded for working more* Well... you might get prese, and you might be used as a threat to other people who don't want to work as much. Like the boss will point at you and say look at that one, their working way longer.

So true. Sometimes it's so hard to stop when job is in the same space as your hobby. Thank you)

Hey Tim! I've been super burnt out for the last 4 weeks on my project. I was ignoring a lot of signals to stop the grind and reconnect with various parts of my life that I enjoy, and I think that's cost me a total derailing and 4 weeks of no progress. I've been there before, but this time I am going to approach development with the sensibility of life balance. Thanks for this video.

In high school we would hang out in front of circuit city and drink beer. Good times..

What if you've got a different sort of problem where you almost never get to work on your project because you've got a bunch of other stuff going on? (School, work, and a startup). In overcommitment hell at the moment and it feels like a vicious cycle lol Thanks for the video Tim, ill keep that in mind going forward.

Well said tim!

I make a living as an artist and I hate drawing. I just wanted to tell stories in a visual way, so I've learned how to draw. People start paying me for this and I got jobs as an artist. I've been working for publishers since then. I don't like the process of creating games, but I want to see my goddamn game ready. Usually, I don't want to stop because I want to finish asap. You're right. One way or another, taking a break is a problem.

Thank you

Love these videos from you I can listen your voice for hours!

Thanks for this Tim...

Man, I haven't watched your videos in a while Tim. Have you lost weight? You're looking pretty good. I'm jealous, lol.We used to have pretty similar body types but my body has gone to shit lately from WFH stress.

Ye I'm feeling you there 😅 it's rough.

Lol I don't stop

What is "work life balance" my precious?

Man, digital eye syndrome is real. Get some rest or your body will force you to rest even longer than you'd like to.

This is especially true if you're solo.

yes.

Not sure if this is ironic, but this vid makes me highly consider, once again, quitting my day job to focus on game-dev for a year.

Fix your mic man or stop muting silence in post. The in and out noise is driving me nuts.

I know that you have to get revenue from RU-vid but honestly this videos are getting so repetitive. Always a clickbait-ish title and a pessimistic theme :/