Finding time to do new things is difficult, especially if you have a full time job or if you are a full time student. Some of you may also have kids to take care of.
It’s hard to get motivated, it gets very challenging. Life is hard.. You might want to become a GameDev and learn more about programming or be a creative artist.
So, how can you find the time to go through courses and learn new skills?
I’ve seen this question over and over again.
1. Good news is: We all have the same amount of time in a day. You cannot deprive yourself from sleeping, nor working out. But you can definitely limit the amount of work out. I used to work out like crazy, i had 6 percent body fat and huge muscles in my late teen years to early twenties, but this doesn’t make me healthier. At the end of the day, do exercises that will keep you healthy in a limited amount of time. No need to spend hours at the gym every day.
You don’t work out or exercise? Maybe you should. It has been proven that people that exercise tend to have sharper brain function. In other words, you’ll be able to do more in less time! Awesome!!
When it comes to sleeping habits, don’t cut on sleep. Sure you’ll have more time to work on your side project, but as time goes by, you will be sleep deprived and you can’t keep up the beat. You won’t be efficient and you’ll be miserable. It’s unhealthy.
In other words, you need to maintain a balance. I’m sure you already know that. Remember, getting to where you want to be is not a race, it’s a marathon. Patience, you will get there.
2. Set a time reserved for side projects. Start with a 15 minute slot every day. Everyone can find 15 minutes a day. Come on! Watch a few video lectures. I always make video lectures about Unity or iOS that are 3 to 5 minutes. You can easily watch a couple of them and try it out on your computer.
Also, tell you family and friends, that you’re not available at this time, then after a couple weeks, they will know not to bother you during this time slot.
15 minutes a day for 2 weeks means you have 3.5 hours dedicated to learning and sharpening your skills. You know you’ve got courses like the Captain Rocket one where you can make and publish the whole iOS / Android game in 2 hours.. So don’t tell me you can’t do it!
3. Don’t be cheap: Time is money, and money is time. If you can’t find the time then spend money that buys you time. I mean, you can spend $10 bucks to get great graphics that you don’t have to create yourself. Or you can pay someone on Fiverr to create a nice app icon. Don’t spend 5 hours on an app icon when someone can do it for $5, unless you have the time… but then don’t complain you couldn’t find the time for your side biz!!!
4. Continuing on #3, you can delegate tasks. Work ON your biz, not IN your biz. Find people that can do stuff for you. Go to Upwork.com, there are plenty of qualified people ready to help, without having to break the bank!
5. IMPORTANT: the majority of people I know that want to make games or become game designers forget about this: YOU NEED TO THINK OF IT AS A BUSINESS NOT AS A GAME.
Sure you’re making a game, that’s the end product, BUT, you’re building a business… A business that makes games.
Not bringing in money will surely make you end up having to do something else to make money, which ultimately will result in dropping your side projects…
How do you turn this passion into a business?
Integrate advertising networks, video rewards, in-app purchases, coin management system, analytics, email list building. These are just a few efficient ways to monetize your games. And by the way, I’ve got so many courses that show how to do this, hands-on, step by step, error proof.
I’m gonna stop here. I hope you’re all pumped up now, and make the changes necessary to get to live the lifestyle that you deserve. Turn your passion into reality.
Your future self will thank you for it.
Now tell me in the comments how you’re going to learn new skills and how you’re going to make it happen.
Cheers!