Creating a schedule as a freelance game developer with a full time job
I work a full-time job. It has nothing to do with game development, so I have to schedule in time to work on games around my job and other responsibilities. This can be challenging, but after being at it for more than half a year now, I have learned some things about time management.
Adjust your lifestyle
At the beginning of this year, I decided that I was going to leave my full-time in office job. I was living in the Bay Area, making a decent living considering, but spending 2 hours a day commuting, sitting in an office for 8 hours, and trying my best to get a few hours of work in during the work week to compete in game jams and teach myself game development. I loved my life in a lot of ways, but it wasn’t giving me the flexibility to do what I love.
I since have taken a job that pays less, but only requires me in office once a week and is otherwise much more flexible, lower stress and generally easier. For several reasons, I also moved out of the Bay area to somewhere with lower cost of living. I still have homesick dreams about the Bay, but it really is just too damn expensive.
I’m saving 3 hours a day on average at my new job, and this new free time gives me plenty of time to schedule in game development during the week. I know this is a very sensitive topic and I am coming from a very privileged place. Not everyone can leave their current job to make less, some people have kids, the job market is rough right now, the list goes on. This is just an example of how I adjusted my life to fit around having more time to freelance. Unfortunately, I can’t help you find your own adjustments, but I encourage you to take the risks you can to go after what you love.
Make your goals clear
Be clear about what you want to accomplish. Set SMART goals. I set goals for each season, including things like participating in a game jam, courses I want to take, and what sort of organizations I want to involve myself in. Set some direction for yourself.
Here’s a look at my Summer 2024 goals I’ve set for myself:
How much time are you going to spend?
I highly recommend having an hour goal to work towards. That way, you can ensure you are making even progress towards you goals. My current goal is 21 hours a week, adding one hour a month to slowly increase my amount of time spent. Because of my more flexible job, I can manage to work about 50 hours cumulatively a week if I manage my time well and am effective. This amount of hours may be way too much for you if you have kids, a more intense job, or other obligations, or if you simply don’t want to work this much in a week.
I think a week is a good block of time to set your hours by. A day is too strict but a month leaves too much room to procrastinate. The goal isn’t to hit as many hours as possible, it’s to find a schedule that works for you and that you can be consistent with.
Use time blocking to plan your days
My Google calendar is slight unhinged (see an example below). But this level of organization is the only way I get my hours in, get through work, and still have time for hobbies and socializing. If you are not a type A person, this level of organization may not be necessary for you. But planning around TIME instead of just a checklist is so important to ensure you have the space you need to get everything on your list done.
This article is a part of an ongoing project of daily video game mini essays. If you like the idea of getting these mini essays dropped directly into your inbox, I am cross-posting on Substack. You can subscribe here for free: https://howtogrowroses.substack.com/
If you want to learn more about me or my games, you can find my website here: https://www.heyitsamanda.com/
