Exercise.

This one is obvious, but it makes such a dramatic difference to stress levels, motivation and energy, it’s truly amazing. Start small, but make a regular habit of doing what can at least two or three times a week. Swimming is one of the most effective ways of exercise, so do that if you can.

I’m not going to harp on about this anyway, we all know we should do it, it’s just a matter of forcing ourselves into the habit.

Do something different.

This I can’t stress enough, it’s incredibly easy to get stuck in a routine; go to work, do the same tasks each day, come home, eat something, watch a movie or read something, then off to sleep. Where the hell is the inspiration in that? When are we actually pushing our boundaries? The answer is nowhere.

The solution to this is to do something new and try to be as spontaneous as possible with it. This year I’m learning photography and that’s inspiring me, I’m looking at new things, reading new authors and talking to people I normally wouldn’t. It’s win, win, you’re learning a new skill and being inspired at the same time which leads to being motivated!

Cook.

This is hypocritical as I’m far from being a decent cook, but it’s on my list of things to do/learn and it should be on yours too, here’s why: Cooking is a mixture of technical skills, logical thinking, and lots of creativity. Can you think of many things that offer all that? Plus it so happens it saves you money, makes you healthier and tastes damn good! Here’s someone who can inspire you to cook far more than I can:

And that’s a wrap! What do you do to motivated yourself?

Thankfully one of our clients actually paid on the 24th so everything was fine but it’s not a great feeling being strapped for cash and Pitch happened to be at a stage where we were young enough to be living off each months invoices. I want to help you avoid a similar scenario so below you’ll find some tips on a very important part of business or freelancing: getting paid, on time.

Get a deposit upfront.

There’s numerous reasons why getting a deposit before starting work on a project is a good idea, but the biggest is that you’re proactively screening clients. The vast majority of clients will have absolutely no problem paying a 30% (or more) deposit up front and when a one does push back on this your first alarm bell should go off. If they’re already having problems committing money to the project what’s going to happen later on?

The other big reason to get a deposit upfront is cash-flow. Nothing in business is more important than cash-flow and having this extra cash in the bank allows you to focus on the job at hand, rather than stressing about your outstanding invoices. The last thing you want to be doing is putting off your current client work to chase up the client from last month who hasn’t paid!

Relationships require communication.

Make no mistake, if you’ve received the deposit for a project you’re now in a relationship with that client and for it to be a mutually beneficial one you’re going to have to communicate — lots. Here’s a list of things you should have already discussed and written down before starting a project:

• If the original cost is a fixed price or an estimate.
• How scope creep is handled.
• The projects ongoing costs, if any.
• A clear payment schedule.
• How unforeseen costs are handled.
• The interest rate you charge on overdue invoices.
• What happens if you start running out of budget.
• How change requests are handled.

If you’ve covered off all these things before starting the project you’re in for a much smoother ride, but you still need to communicate, especially if you start running out of budget. Letting a client know that you need extra budget to achieve a certain result is going to get you a much better result than just doing the work and slapping the extra cost on the invoice at the end of the project.

Always be friendly but firm.

You’re running a business and the client needs to understand this. Speaking from experience if you’re just the young guy they’ve got helping out they’re going to think they can walk all over you. You need to ensure that while you’re always friendly and helpful, that you’re also firm and stand your ground when you need to. This will not only earn you the respect that you deserve but you’ll find they’re also a lot more responsive when it comes to things like paying your invoices on time.

This also applies if a client has missed a payment, simply send them a polite but firm email that states the invoice is now overdue and that you require prompt payment. You’ll find this will be enough to get most clients back on track.

The last resort leverage.

Unfortunately even if you’ve gone above and beyond the points I’ve mentioned above some clients will just be plain difficult. This is where having leverage is helpful. How you approach this is completely up to you but the general idea is to have a way of withholding the work you’ve completed for the client until you’ve been paid in full.
For example at Pitch we host/manage a lot of our clients projects, which means if they’re being particularly difficult we can simply ‘turn off’ the project until we’ve been paid. Thankfully we’ve never had to do this and it’s only something we would consider as an absolute last resort but it’s comforting to know that option is there.

Wrap up.

Hopefully these tips have been helpful and have given you something to think about. It’s also worth mentioning that 95% of the time clients are perfectly reasonable and will have no problem paying on time, it’s just that you only need to be burnt once to realise it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Finally a quick thank you to Ludwig for suggesting this topic, it’s always good to get feedback and suggestions, so if you have something you’d like me to cover, leave a comment or shoot me an email.

It’s the new family computer.

This is the key for me right here, I believe this is the device most families should have in their home; it’s simple, there’s barely any maintenance involved, it has great parental controls built in, can do everything most families need it to and it has something for everyone. Mum can play Sudoku (Hi Mum) or look at recipes in the Jamie Oliver app, Dad can keep up with the sports using the ESPN app and the kids can be playing games or using education apps — all from a device that can be used in bed or on the couch and easily passed around the room.

Even I’m going to be buying one for around the house because of one simple reason; I use my iPhone more than my laptop during the weekend. To me, my laptop is a work tool, not something I use for pleasure. When I simply want to browse the web, watch youtube, update twitter or check facebook my iPhone simply offers me a better experience than my laptop so that’s what I use. It’s not uncommon for my laptop to stay in my bag all weekend unless I have some coding to do.

If I can get the same polished experience and outstanding apps on a faster and larger device than my iPhone I’m going to be a very happy guy.

It’s the new portfolio.

I can’t wait for the first time I go to a client meeting and hand over the iPad to show some of our work off. The experience of browsing websites and viewing images on this device is going to be far greater than any computer can currently offer.

Imagine sitting down as a photographer and handing a potential client the iPad. There’s no distractions, just a beautiful screen focused on your work, with a swipe of their finger they can browse all your photos, zoom in and out of shots, start a simple slideshow and easily view different albums. It’s going to be a beautiful thing.

It’s not perfect.

As with any first generation Apple device it has its issues, the biggest being the lack of Flash. This is tricky for Apple, I believe they want to encourage rapid adoption of HTML5 for video and offering any sort of Flash support (even optional) is simply going to stunt this growth, but by not supporting it they’re alienating a lot of users. It’s a gamble and it will be interesting to see how it plays out. As for no 3rd party multi-tasking I’m predicting this will change with iPhone OS 4.0 hopefully coming out in June, which leaves the lack of camera for video chatting etc. Unfortunately I think we’re going to have to wait for the next version of the iPad to get the camera.

Overall I think the iPad is a solid product and I can see it being a great device to have around the home, however I think it’s going to take some time for general users to see it that way. What do you think? Will you be buying an iPad?

Learn to listen.

How often do we genuinely listen when we ask “How’s it going?” or “How was your day?” to someone we work with? I’m willing to bet it’s rarely, and I admit, I’m just as guilty as the next person, but this needs to change. When you’re browsing the net as someone is talking to you, or checking your messages on your phone you’re not really listening, and we all know it. We all get frustrated when we know someone isn’t listening properly, so why do we do it when the roles are reversed?

Next time someone you work with walks in on Monday morning and you ask “How was your weekend?” try to really listen and show them that you care. If you’re feeling really nice ask them a question about something they did, you’ll be amazed at the difference it makes.

80/20

The 80/20 system is where employees are allowed to spend 80% of their time on core work and 20% of their time on innovation and learning about something that interests them.

In my mind this system has many benefits including encouraging people to produce great products, generate awesome ideas and most importantly (in my mind) learn new skills — or in other words; it encourages personal growth. This growth is important as when we grow mentally we alter our perception of everything around us and having a unique angle or thought process can be the point of difference a business needs to succeed. For an example I do know of a little company that utilise the 80/20 system. They’re called Google and they seem to do alright for themselves.

Have some god damn fun.

If you’re producing good work and your customers are happy why not have some fun? Take the afternoon off to have a beer at the local pub, get everyone around a computer to watch the video of a cat falling in a box, no matter what you do, just make sure everyone has a laugh! There’s plenty of time for serious business so make sure when you get the chance to do something fun, you do it, nothing makes people feel better than a good laugh and a smile on their face.

As The Joker so eloquently put it; why so serious?

What you mean we can’t play?

Get working! (8.00am – 6.00pm)

Pretty self explanatory, these are the hours that I try to do every day at Pitch. I don’t subscribe to the theory that you need to be pulling 12-14 hour work days consistently to build a successful business. I believe having a happy balanced life and maintaining your motivation is far more important in the long run than pulling ridiculous hours which burn you out within 6 months. Marco Arment has similar thoughts.

The holiday. (6.00pm – 9.30pm)

This is my time to do whatever I want. I might end up going to soccer, relaxing with a movie, going out to dinner with friends or blowing something up on Xbox Live, it doesn’t really matter as long as I’m enjoying myself, I’m relaxed and I’m not thinking about work.

As I mentioned in my post that covered my new goals for the year; I want to maintain my hobbies and ensure that I don’t desolve into someone who can’t talk about anything but work and this period of the day helps me get that balance.

School time. (9.30pm – 11.30pm)

Everyone loves to learn, we might not have realised it when we were are at school (I know I didn’t), but we crave new knowledge and ideas constantly. However when we join the workforce it becomes increasingly easy to let this part of our lives slip by as we do the same job each and every day, so this part of my day is devoted to preventing what I call ‘brain rot’. It doesn’t matter what I’m learning about as long I’m absorbing new and fresh information.

It’s worth noting that two hours seems to be a good balance of behing able to make good progress on whatever you’re learning about without over doing it each night.

That’s it…

So that’s my average weekday, weekends don’t have a routine, I just generally go with the flow without worrying about what I’m doing with my time. I’m also aware having a routine such as this can seem a bit OCD but I can honestly say that it helps me feel productive whilst maintaining my hobbies and social life. Each to their own right?

Do you have any sort of routine that you try to follow? If so leave a comment as I’d love to know what other people do.

Don’t be cheap.

The most common crime I see businesses committing is giving their staff cheap computer setups, especially when it comes to the LCD screens. Why companies still insist on providing 15” – 19” screens is beyond me, especially when a decent 24” screen can be picked up for as little as $350 (NZD) and large screens provide dramatic gains in productivity.

A decent setup will go a suprisingly long way to helping your staff enjoy their work days. It’s pretty simple too, a nice big (or dual) screen setup, a computer with a bunch of RAM in it and finally a nice comfortable chair with good back support. Bonus points if you provide a nice pair of headphones.

So businesses, here’s a winning formula for you; don’t be cheap, buy the best setup you can afford for your team and they’ll repay you with their quality of work and productivity. Spending more up-front might be harsh on the bank balance but I promise you’ll get better results in the long term.

My screen with Sackboy on it.

Break down the walls.

Everyone loves to feel like they’re important and valued at their job and there’s a really simple way to achieve this; get the whole team involved in some business decisions.

Obviously this is easier with a small team and some decisions will be too sensitive to share but overall a lot of important decisions are better out it the open where they can be discussed. The business will also benefit from getting feedback from the people who understand the business the best; the people that do the work to keep it running.

So I think we should break down the barriers that exist between management and the the rest of the team. Everyone will be better off for it and after all, the staff have a vested interest in helping the business grow and improve.

Food!

I love food and recently I’ve made the startling discovery that the majority of people do too! The concept is pretty simple then; feed your team.

Whilst some companies do this on a completely awesome level by catering full lunches every day it’s quite possible a similar setup wouldn’t be sustainable for a small business, so be smart about it. At Pitch we head to a local cafe and have a team lunch covered by the business every Wednesday. It allows us all to get out of the office away from the computers, relax and most importantly have a good catch up about topics other than work.

Just make sure that everyone is eating healthy and nothing fatty otherwise they will feel tired when they get back to the office.

Mmm, steak. Taken on a Pitch team outing.

To be continued.

That’s all for Part 1, hopefully this has given you some things to think about and possible changes you can make at your work place, I know that we’re constantly trying out new things at Pitch, not all of them work, but you learn a lot along the way so give it a try.

If you have any thoughts or ideas that you think improve the workplace let me know in the comments.

So this isn’t a review, if you’re looking for that there’s plenty out there, don’t worry though, they will all tell you the same thing; the game is hard, the controls are tight, the combat is satisfying and the game is extremely deep. What I want to share with you are two of my favourite aspects of the game; the difficulty and the online integration.

Oh shit, this won’t end well.

The difficulty aspect.

When I was asked to describe the difficulty of Demon’s Souls to a friend I said “it will rip you limb from limb and then have its way with your girlfriend”. Thankfully, I was kidding, Demon’s Souls isn’t hard as everyone makes out, it is however, completely unforgiving. There’s no checkpoints to save you, no learning curve and no easy setting. When you die you go back to the start of the level you’ve spent the last 30 minutes working through, all those nasty Demon’s are back, you’ll lose all the souls (the games only currency) you’ve been collecting and finally, just to kick you while you’re down, all those Demon’s are now a little bit stronger.

At this point the game might not sound like much fun but that is where you’d be wrong. Demon’s Souls is never cheap and never unfair, it just expects you to learn from your mistakes. If you die during the game (which you will) there’s a 99% chance it was completely your fault. Maybe you healed at the wrong time, maybe you blocked with your shield instead of rolling out of the way, maybe you timed your attack wrong, or maybe you were just rushing. These are all mistakes I made but I quickly learnt not to make them again. When I learnt to stay focused, learnt my opponents attack patterns and learnt to walk/run away from a battle I couldn’t win the game suddenly made a lot more sense.

This isn’t a game like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare where you can just run and gun through a level, this is a game that demands you plan carefully and approach with care otherwise you’re going to lose. Above all though Demon’s Souls offers a sense of pride and accomplishment few games can match. When you do finally beat the level that’s been kicking your ass you’ll get up and jump around your lounge feeling like a million dollars, at least I did anyway.

The online aspect.

Demon’s Souls is the most innovative use of online gaming that I’ve seen in years. There’s no traditional modes and no voice or text communication, mostly it’s just hints that you’re not alone. While exploring a level you’ll see ghosts of other players who are also battling their way through the level on their own game, you can’t interact at all, it’s just a little reminder that you’re not completely alone. You’ll also see bloodstains on the ground where another player has met their end, but if you touch this bloodstain you can watch the last few seconds of their life. These final few seconds might save your life by showing you that a Demon is ahead or that there’s a nasty fall around the corner.

Players can also leave messages for each other on the ground of each level. These messages must be constructed using a selection of words that the game provides meaning they’re never too specific or long winded. Most players use these messages to inform you of an upcoming battle, a certain weapon type to use or valuable treasure hidden ahead, but be warned, some players will use these messages to lure you to your death.

Finally players can interact in a much more tangible way by joining each others worlds. However this ability can be used for both good and evil. Blue Phantoms are players of the friendly variety but Red Phantoms are their much more vicious cousins.

Blue Phantoms can only join your game by invitation. For example if you’re stuck on a particularly tricky level you can summon a Blue Phantom to your world for help. You can’t communicate at all (except some minor gestures such as a bow), you just both understand that you’re trying to beat the level and you need help. When you beat the level (or die trying) the Blue Phantom will fade back to their own world, and most likely you’ll never see them again. While this process might sound rather distant and cold it’s actually a very rewarding experience and I’ve received many thankful messages through the PlayStation Network after helping someone clear a stage.

Never forget to use your shield. Or run.

Black Phantoms aren’t so helpful however, these players invade your world with the single goal of killing you and stealing your souls (the games only currency). While the game does allow you to prevent these invasions I found myself looking forward to them as the rush you get from someone suddenly and violently invading your world is akin to beating a large boss. Demon’s Souls also cleverly makes sure that any player that invades your world is of a similar skill level so every fight is a fair fight.

All these uses of online integration are extremely well thought out and the game wouldn’t be the same without them. I hope that other developers pay attention to Demon’s Souls and start using online integration in even more imaginative and unique ways.

Wrap up.

Read some proper reviews of the game, but put simply Demon’s Souls goes down as one of the best games of 2009, if not the best. If you have a PlayStation 3, like Action RPG’s and enjoy a challenge, you simply can’t look any further than Demon’s Souls. No game will suck you in like Demon’s Souls does and when it finally lets you go, you’ll go crawling back for more.

Thanks, Obama.

This year I’m going to change that and this very site is the beginning of that change.

I’m going to set myself six goals (here’s why six) this year. I prefer to set goals over resolutions as I feel goals focus on the future rather than dwelling on the past. So without further ado here are my six personal goals:

1) Complete Project52.

The whole reason for starting this site was Project52. I’ve always enjoyed writing but I seem to burn out after a couple months of consistent posting. Hopefully Project52 can be the push I need to make writing a part of my life.

2) Keep Gaming

Yes this is one of my goals. Over the last couple of years a lot of my hobbies seem to have fallen by the way side. Gaming is one that has stuck with me and I plan to keep it that way, nothing beats coming home after work and unwinding with a great game.

3) Weekly Sport

I go through spurts where I’m in fitness mode and then I fall back into my lazy routine of doing something ‘when I can’. This needs to change.

4) Take 20 Photos I’m Proud Of

I used to love photography, I would take my camera everywhere and I’d continuously try to improve. What happened? Recently I bought myself a Canon 350D, in 2010 I will actually use it for photography, rather than a paperweight.

5) Save More

Working towards a house I’m happy with will take time, but in 2010 I’m going to accelerate towards that target a bit faster and save what I hope will be around 1/3 of the deposit I require.

6) Read At Least 8 Books

I’m terrible at reading books, as I write this I have five unfinished books on my desk (clearly buying books isn’t a problem). I know 8 might seem like a soft target but with everything else I’m planning on doing I’d rather be realistic.

Well those are my major personal goals for the New Year. I’ll let you know how I get on and you should share yours in the comments.