When to Know You Need a Break

Some days you just need a break.

If you find yourself needing a break, ask yourself these questions:

. Why do you feel you need a break? What is the source of your problems?

. What changes can you make in your life while on break that will make your life more sustainable?

. When will your break end?

Its important to realize that you are human and you need to give your mind and body some care and love that it deserves. I think the biggest thing with breaks, is to be intentional. Taking a break willy-nilly may cause more problems in time, for it could break habits you’ve spent a long time working on. Take time to think about your situation and acknowledge that your break needs an end and figure out a way to improve your habits so you can use your energy more efficiently once you return to work.

Right now I’m in this transition period between two jobs, starting a relationship, and catching up on household chores that I’ve been putting off for a while. Not to mention I have responsibilities to my 10 1/2 month old puppy, who needs attention, exercise, and training. Everything is adding up and when I finally have a break my mind turns to mush.

I open up Unity and instead of getting excited all I can think about is that I just need to do a little before I can close it and go to bed or unwind with something mindless. Because of this, I don’t think I’m retaining as much information that I’m taking in. And this is why I’m deciding to take a break from game dev.

But I think the key into giving myself a worthwhile break is making sure that my break is intentional and I analyze my time and schedule so I know when to resume my progress.

July 1st will be the first day I will no longer be working at a job that since I started, has been eating up most of my time and energy. My work schedule has been all over the place, from working 12pm–9pm some days, 4pm–11pm, and 9am-4pm on others. Some weeks I would work 6–7 days in a row before getting a day off to then be working another 5 or more days after. You would think that working part-time I would have more free time and energy than I do. But as someone who thrives on routine, the inconsistency of my work has drained my energy to enjoy myself and what I want to do. Thus, until it ends, I need to focus on just getting through it and making sure my health doesn’t take a nosedive.

So July 1st is when I’ll be setting a plan to resume gamedev and create a routine that will help me thrive and make the best of it.

My next job will be settling into a consistent schedule after the first week of July. So with the combination of quitting my other job, and finally having consistency, I’ll be able to develop a routine that will give me time to focus on gamedev, and put more time into it than I have been since I started.

This blog post might be more diary-like than what I’ve been posting in the past, but I think its important to document thoughts and share experiences. Hopefully anyone who reads this will find encouragement and validation when they too, find themselves in a rut.

It’s okay to take breaks and put yourself first. Just don’t dig yourself a deeper hole.