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• Other methods to help staying focused.Monster-ToysAs somebody who deals a lot with impaired stimulus filtering i highly recommend (and not only for people with the same problem) to listen to some kind of noise (e.g. white or brown noise) - preferably through closed headphones - while working. It helps a ton to stay focused. Youtube has a lot of good 12h videos for that. 10 19 Feb. 22, 2024
• How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time...KiwiPete As a 53 year old who has never touched code previously I found this section's advice makes perfect sense. I drive a delivery truck for a living and don't have any higher education beyond high school - I am excited to prove to myself that I can do this. I found this section a timely reminder to eliminate distractions and set myself up for success rather than finding distractions to avoid my fear of failure and or procrastination! Remove distractions, short but focused bursts of study, followed by even shorter but all important fun-filled breaks. I suspect my dog will appreciate the massive increase in fetch games :). As a suggestion do make sure your work environment is not only devoid of distractions, but that it is also comfortable and fit for purpose. Lighting, ventilation and temperature will make a huge difference. Pen and paper at the ready. PS - no elephants were eaten in the creation of this post. 13 15 Feb. 18, 2024
• Being a woman is hard (staying motivated during your period)smart-wolfThis isn't a big talk about gender inequality or anything, but it's a problem I always find myself in when I try to do something daily because I am a woman and I am sure many can relate. When that time comes, once a month, I am not motivated to do anything. I just want to roll up in my bed and stare at the wall for at least one, but maybe up to three days. It always leads to me being thrown out of my daily rhythm. Either I force myself to still do it, but without any joy - or I leave it and then feel guilty. Both leads to procrastination. And if I manage to somehow deal with it during one month, it happens the next. Maybe someone has found a good way to deal with that they would like to share with me? Advise from men is appreciated as well, of course. XD While not being the victim of this specific situation, you might experience similar ones. 6 5 Mar. 18, 2024
• Really appreciate your approachMrEkShunRecently learned that I'm ADHD and autistic, which explains so much of why I struggled with school - especially college where I dropped out (and came back to try again) multiple times. So far I'm really digging your approach and the tips you give. So much of it lines up perfectly with things I've learned over the past year when trying to figure out how to approach life differently now that I understand myself better. 1 3 Jun. 21, 2024
• Bonus Level 🕹️+ Lesson Thoughts 🙏 snowm8n**Bonus Level 🕹️** It would be amazing to have grand finale lesson, where we combine all the mini-games into a single game. Even though the mini-games won't be a cohesive body of work (thematically), the act of forming Code Voltron would be big for us beginners. *(Marketing Brain: That video on YT would drive traffic to the course and without the full lesson, the freebie video is just a teaser.)* **Thank You** 🙏 The exercise of writing my learning plan turned into a meaningful diary entry that I'll look forward to reading down the road. I added it on the first page of fresh notebook for Godot Code notes. I plan to start with that page each day like the Pledge of Allegiance (haha)! **Ready Player Piano 🎹** If you like video game music, the artist "Ready Player Piano" released hella cover albums of old school game soundtracks. While coding, it has replaced my lo-fi hip hop for study music. 2 3 May. 21, 2024
• Notes on Staying productiveHam## Key Principle: Aim for Daily Improvement - Focus on becoming 1% better each day through consistent, focused practice. ## 1. Declutter Your Workspace - **Clear your desk**: Remove unnecessary items like papers and devices. - **Organise everything**: Assign fixed places for essentials like notebooks and mugs. - **Streamline your computer**: Hide desktop icons and keep only work-related programs easily accessible. ## 2. Block Distractions - **Turn off notifications**: On both computer and phone. - **Close time-wasting apps**: Disable email, social media, etc. - **Activate focus modes**: Use Do Not Disturb or airplane mode to limit distractions. - **Prepare shortcuts**: Create quick access to work projects to avoid temptation. ## 3. Set a Fixed Place and Time to Learn - **Build a routine**: Consistency is key. Try to study at the same time and place daily. - **Start small**: Begin with 5 minutes if necessary, working up to 30 minutes or more. - **Hydrate and rest**: Take breaks every 20 minutes to stay fresh. Consider using the Pomodoro method. ## 4. Clear Your Mind After Practicing - **Summarize**: After each session, write down what you learned and accomplished. - **Plan Ahead**: Note what you will focus on in the next session. - This helps reinforce your memory while decluttering your mind. ## 5. Engage with the Community and Stay Accountable - **Join a challenge**: Consider participating in something like "#100DaysOfGamedev" to stay motivated. - **Share your progress**: Showcase what you’ve done after each session and reflect on what you learned. - **Feedback and routine**: This keeps you engaged and helps you stick with your learning habit. ## 6. Write Your Learning Plan - **Why learn?**: Identify your motivation and goal. - **Visualize the reward**: Picture what achieving the goal will give you. - **Schedule**: Define when and where you’ll practice, and for how long. - **Minimize distractions**: List the actions you’ll take to block distractions. - **Accountability**: Decide how you will hold yourself accountable, such as by sharing progress with a friend. ### Example Learning Plan Template - **Why learn to code?** - I want to make a game like Monument Valley. - **What will I get?** - Sharing the game with my friends and making them proud. - **Where/when will I practice?** - At my desk in the bedroom at 18:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and weekends. - **How long?** - Fifteen minutes per session. - **How will I avoid distractions?** - Uninstalling Steam, setting devices to airplane mode before practice. - **How will I stay accountable?** - Sharing progress with my best friend each week over coffee. - **Reminder**: Keep the plan visible—print it or make it your wallpaper for daily reinforcement. 1 2 Aug. 26, 2024
• Appreciate the learning techniquesbunshinesoyThe Marty Lobdell video is fantastic, thanks for sharing! I like that you approach the philosophy of learning and encourage good practices. Fantastic tips and look forward to putting it into practice. 1 1 Oct. 10, 2024
• List of Small game conceptssurprised-stinkbugDo you have a list of small game concepts that us students can try to build as we work our way through the course? Example: draw a circle when the x key is pressed, bounce a ball across the screen at x pixel speed, create an interactive dialogue between a player character and an npc, etc. 3 1 May. 10, 2024
• Write your plan: The studying time and its lenght - AccountabilityPurpleSunriseSorry for the very wide range (and maybe banal) question, but do you have to have specific studying hours during the day? Is the amount of time you put into study enough to be written in the plan? For example: *I will put a minimum of **30 minutes** a day into this course and into coding.* I really like having a goal, having a deadline, having gradual progress milestones (eg. I will finish the first run of the course within the end of the year). I also love to have a precise method of studying which is consistent and automatize your brain to enter in that focus mode. But I can't be sure that I am able to create a constant time schedule. I might be free at 4pm this week on Monday, but next week I might have to work at that time. I am sure I can put a certain amount of time into studying **everyday** (as it's written in the lesson, I would start low and see if it can be sustainable over the first weeks and if so, raise it gradually until I reach the best efficency). Same thing goes with **accountability**. Is the casual chat with coworkers or friends enough? Do I have to actually make an effort to post something on internet (and since I am not into socials too much, it's a quite big effort)? If I will get benefits for doing that, there's always time to change habits and learn, but if it's something that I can skip to dedicate more time to the actual learning, I would rather focus on that. Am I focussing too much on futilities? Sorry if this is confusing, I hope I can hear your feedback! 5 0 Oct. 06, 2024
• How long is too longaeishabadFor me, im the type of person to work a really long time on a piece of code or project than get burnt out the next day. Like maybe one day ill work 5 hours on a project, and the next day ill work on the project for like 20 minutes and call it quits. So i'd like to ask, how long is too long? I really do enjoy coding but I also realize I get burnt out because I get so invested. Coding is one of my hobbies and something I like to do in my free time. 1 0 Oct. 04, 2024
• Typo catchparched-cockroach"The ideal basline study session I'd recommend would be at least thirty minutes, as it gives enough time to get into it and get results. If you can find a timeframe like this, great!" basline should be baseline. Just trying to help catch typos! 😅 By the way, I'm really enjoying this content so far! 1 0 Apr. 26, 2024
• Willpower depletion is most likely not realvibrant-reindeerI appreciate a lot of the advice here. Starting really small. Focused sessions, breaks, removing distractions, that's all great stuff! But "ego depletion" (or willpower depletion) is a concept that has come under fire in recent years. More recent studies than the ones cited in the linked video have had stronger controls for confirmation bias (the tendency to ignore or explain away negative results) and have found that there was no ego depletion effect. Here is a longer explanation: [https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-do-you-know/202011/how-willpower-wasnt-the-truth-about-ego-depletion](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-do-you-know/202011/how-willpower-wasnt-the-truth-about-ego-depletion) 8 0 Feb. 06, 2024