How To Balance a Passion Project and Your Family/Personal Life

Posted on November 8, 2012 by aussiegeekdad

I read an article today on Gizmodo Australia with a similar headline to this one. I was a little disappointed with the substance of the article though, as there was only one sentence which related in any way:

I’m a broadcast graphic designer by day and an indie game developer by night. Or should I say after midnight, once I have sorted out all my family commitments.

I started writing a comment about the fact that the headline was misleading, then thought that I should address the problem in my comment by adding some useful information.

So here’s what I wrote about balancing a passion project and your personal life:

If at all possible, work on your passion project first thing in the morning. The motivation to work on side projects is really low after doing everything else you need to do in a day like your job, dinner, bath-time and putting kids to bed.

Further to that, make sure you’re getting enough sleep. It’s hard enough keeping your energy levels up without skipping sleep to work on your project at 1-3am.

And finally if you don’t feel motivated to work on your side project don’t. As soon as it becomes a burden, take a break and come back to it in a day or two. Side projects are about enjoying your craft and furthering your skills. The more it feels like your day job with obligations, the more you’re going to start resenting it.

These were just a few quick thoughts on the topic, and I’d be interested in your thoughts on the matter. What steps do you take to allow you to be competent at your day-job, attentive partner and parent, and also allow you time to work on pet projects?

Let me know in the comments

Lemon Melting Moments

Posted on October 1, 2012 by aussiegeekdad

My wife sometimes has an urge to bake. It’s probably not the best for my waist line, but I do enjoy the taste.

Last night I came home from a late game if indoor cricket to find her finishing off a batch of Lemon Melting Moments. Ok so they weren’t really for my benefit (she was off to a morning tea with friends today), but I did get to put a couple in my lunch box.

I must say, the they were devine. I’d say just like a bought one, but they were better

I can’t wait to see what’s next, and thanks Aussie Geek Mum!

Diamond Forest Cottages – First Family Holiday

Posted on August 16, 2012 by aussiegeekdad

It has been a bit quiet here on Aussie Geek Dad recently, and for good reason! We have just been away on our first family holiday with our 1 year old son.

We decided to take a holiday “Down South” and spend a few days at a farm-stay. We figured that this would be the best of both worlds: a nice relaxing holiday for us parents and a fun place for an excitable little boy.

We chose Diamond Forest Cottages mainly because of its rating and reviews on TripAdvisor.com which are basically all 4 or 5 stars (over 100 of them).

The cottage we rented was the closest to the main house, right in front of the close paddocks. It is reasonably secluded, with none of the other cottages in view. First impressions were that the decor was a little dated, with wood panelling on the lower half of all walls and slate floors.

The decor soon fell away into the background though once you appreciate the view from the front balcony. It’s not meant to be a 6 star luxury getaway, more like a simple place to base yourself for lots of outdoor activities.

I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t a log fire anywhere in the cabin. It suited us on this trip because our son is just starting to walk around and likely to burn himself on a fire, but as he gets older it would be nice to have that fire at a winter getaway.

The real winner for us was the animals. Our son was absolutely beside himself with glee every time he saw any. And the opportunity to feed them at any time was fantastic. The squeals could be heard right across the farm as he discovered every new animal.

Diamond Forest Cottages is also really well located for local attractions around the south of WA. It’s halfway between Pemberton and Manjimup, close to the magnificent Karri Forests, wineries, a micro-brewery and countless other attractions.

The only disappointment with our trip was that it was too short! We will definitely be going back and staying longer next time.

Giggle And Hoot Cake

Posted on July 23, 2012 by aussiegeekdad

Our son turned 1 yesterday, and my wonderful wife made a fantastic cake for his party.

Hoot from Giggle and Hoot on ABC 4 Kids, made out of chocolate cake and lots of marshmellow fondant. It wasn’t too difficult in the end and the result was amazing. A couple of large rectangle cakes, a bit of cutting out shapes and lots of rolling out fontant and this is the result.

I can’t wait to see what she’ll come up with next year!

Happy 1st Birthday Ethan!

The Value of a Dad

Posted on June 19, 2012 by aussiegeekdad

Last Sunday was Father’s Day in some parts of the world. The guys at MoneySupermarket.com were chatting about this in the office the other day, when a bit an argument broke out over just how much our dads do at home, and just what they’re worth (in purely monetary terms).

They asked their life insurance guys to look into this, and they used some data sourced by their partners at Legal and General to produce an infographic containing this data – and it turns out that dads do about £24k ($37,150 AUD) worth of household work a year, as well as their day jobs!

Facebook, Keep Your Hands Off My Kids!

Posted on June 9, 2012 by aussiegeekdad

Currently, children under 13 are not allowed to have Facebook accounts. The reason for this is that websites are not allowed to keep information about children by law (in the US where Facebook is based).

This could all be about to change according to the Wall Street Journal. Facebook is apparently testing technology that would allow children to participate in the site with an account attached to their parent/guardian.

I cannot think of a worse thing for Facebook to be spending their time on.

Children under 13 years old should be left to be children, not posting about what they like online and who their friends are. How many people that you were friends with at 12 are you still Friends with? If you’re lucky 1 or 2. Most friends at that age are a coincidence of proximity (school, sports team, neighbours and family friends).

Kids shouldn’t be worrying about labels, or comparing themselves with others. They should be living in the moment without a care and just being kids. Playing outside and with other (actually present) kids.

So what’s Facebook’s angle?

Advertising of course! Advertising to kids and “tweens” is a hot market. Just look at the commercial TV channels when kids shows are on. They are bombarding kids with ads for toys, food, drinks and activities. And do you know the sad thing? It works!

I’m sure you all know that if your kids begs enough you eventually give in to what they’re asking for at least some of the time, and advertisers know this.

So why is Facebook chasing this market? They’re getting closer to saturation of the teen/adult internet population with purported numbers close to 1 billion active accounts. This doesn’t sit well for growth, which is what a public company is all about. They know that if they can get children on their site and can target ads at them, then their growth number can continue to rise for a while longer.

Now I know that young kids are probably all over Facebook by simply lying about their age. The benefit of knowing the exact age of the kids though is that they can target the ads more effectively. Targeting a 4 year old is very different to targeting a 10 year old.

Facebook would very much prefer to know to the day how old your kids are, especially when their account is linked to yours. Then they can target those same ads at you too.

Manage Your Family On Time and On Budget

Posted on May 29, 2012 by aussiegeekdad

Do you have a plan when managing the day to day running of your family? Have you ever though you’d make a good project manager? If you have, then maybe you should think about a career (I hear it pays well!), otherwise the following book might be a good read if you’re in need of some guidance.

Agile Kids is a book about adapting the ideas of Agile Software Development to managing your family.

A practical way of getting daily tasks done and enhancing family communication. Agile Kids is the book every modern family needs, with both parents with full time jobs, and children who need their attention.

An essential part of your child’s development is his ability to choose, be independent and control what happens in his life, and parents need to encourage that independence.

Agile Kids will show you how to empower your children without losing your parental authority, through a collection of practical actions. Each chapter can stand alone, and offers practical advice you can act on straight away. The methods described in the book are effective at teaching values and respect to others, and applies to public and home schooled children alike.

With any luck you’ll be able to do what most Software Projects can’t: Run on time, and on budget!

What methods do you use to keep your household running smoothly?

Aussie Geek Dad

Keeping One Step Ahead of Your Kids

Category Archives: Family