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How to Survive as a Solo Dev for Like a Decade or So

sizefivegames.com

71–80 of 171 posts

Re: How to Survive as a Solo Dev for Like a Decade or So

#71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work from home. Here's how I get around this: after waking up and having breakfast, I go for a short (~10 minute) walk or bike ride around the block. When I get back, I start working. That kind of "fake commute" is sufficient to trick my brain into separating work from everything else I do in the same space.

When you end the day, do you have a second fake commute home?

Makes more sense to just sleep at the office and commute home in the morning.

Re: How to Survive as a Solo Dev for Like a Decade or So

#72
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I kill two birds with one stone: my apartment is actually two in disguise. I have two front doors, one leading to a third of the apartment (it's a rather large 4-bed) which is quite literally closed off from the rest by simply locking the internal door that connects the two. It may sound silly to have to literally exit the apartment to enter the office when it's literally next door, but it does have some value. Also…

Was it built as an inlaw suite or something? That sounds like a sweet setup.

A sweet suite if you will.

Re: How to Survive as a Solo Dev for Like a Decade or So

#73
post #8

> I find it astonishing that startup indie devs pay out for an office, with all the extra bills that entails. Work from home, keep your overheads as close to zero as possible. I've been a solo dev for nearly a decade (8 years) and I found that sometimes it makes complete sense to pay for an office. Before my daughter was born, I was able to work from almost anywhere: noisy cafes, at home, the library, etc. But after…

$350/mo seems _extremely_ reasonable for a quiet studio. I don't think that's the kind of office expense the poster was talking about. For instance, in NYC, $350/month would barely get you a "hot desk" (i.e. chair at a table) in a coworking space.

[deleted]

Re: How to Survive as a Solo Dev for Like a Decade or So

#74
post #8

> I find it astonishing that startup indie devs pay out for an office, with all the extra bills that entails. Work from home, keep your overheads as close to zero as possible. I've been a solo dev for nearly a decade (8 years) and I found that sometimes it makes complete sense to pay for an office. Before my daughter was born, I was able to work from almost anywhere: noisy cafes, at home, the library, etc. But after…

You can get shared space in a WeWork for about $350/month. Includes coffee, water, great internet, and if you're like me and enjoy interacting with humans, it does the trick. This is my preferred situation these days. Plus, when you travel, you can use WeWorks around the world (for a nominal fee).

I even made a video about it: https://youtu.be/912WN4gUBCs

Edit: I'm not affiliated with WeWork (aside from being a customer). I just like their business.

Re: How to Survive as a Solo Dev for Like a Decade or So

#75
post #53
post #41

Now that I've experienced the start-up world twice I have to say: What's the big deal about working full time in big corp? Not all of them have cubicles and ask their devs to wear suits. T-Shirt, free coffee, huge desk, free hardware, other smart people who are just like me, reliable income, some level of attractiveness to the other gender due to stable life. Honestly I don't know why I didn't do that from the start…

I don't think it's possible to work as a software engineer full time and have enough mental energy to do meaningful work on your own projects in your spare time.

Agreed, I just moved to Product Management as I want to have the mental energy to work on my own stuff. While I was a full time Software Engineer I'd get some done but would be way to fried to get any real progress going.

Re: How to Survive as a Solo Dev for Like a Decade or So

#76
post #65
post #8

> I find it astonishing that startup indie devs pay out for an office, with all the extra bills that entails. Work from home, keep your overheads as close to zero as possible. I've been a solo dev for nearly a decade (8 years) and I found that sometimes it makes complete sense to pay for an office. Before my daughter was born, I was able to work from almost anywhere: noisy cafes, at home, the library, etc. But after…

I kill two birds with one stone: my apartment is actually two in disguise. I have two front doors, one leading to a third of the apartment (it's a rather large 4-bed) which is quite literally closed off from the rest by simply locking the internal door that connects the two. It may sound silly to have to literally exit the apartment to enter the office when it's literally next door, but it does have some value. Also…

This isn't really different than renting an office, just that your office is REALLY close to your apartment.

Re: How to Survive as a Solo Dev for Like a Decade or So

#78
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I kill two birds with one stone: my apartment is actually two in disguise. I have two front doors, one leading to a third of the apartment (it's a rather large 4-bed) which is quite literally closed off from the rest by simply locking the internal door that connects the two. It may sound silly to have to literally exit the apartment to enter the office when it's literally next door, but it does have some value. Also…

Was it built as an inlaw suite or something? That sounds like a sweet setup.

I have no idea. It was built quite recently, in 2005 I think, and on the lease it just says "space available to let" or something like that. I've lived here since 2006 or so, but only recently started using the apartment like this. It's perfect!

Re: How to Survive as a Solo Dev for Like a Decade or So

#79
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I kill two birds with one stone: my apartment is actually two in disguise. I have two front doors, one leading to a third of the apartment (it's a rather large 4-bed) which is quite literally closed off from the rest by simply locking the internal door that connects the two. It may sound silly to have to literally exit the apartment to enter the office when it's literally next door, but it does have some value. Also…

This isn't really different than renting an office, just that your office is REALLY close to your apartment.

Exactly, which is why it's also 100% legit.
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