Posted July 30, 2025 by David Made This
#power network tycoon #dev log
I’ve been given the unique opportunity to work on my projects while doing some travelling. To say I dedicated 100% of my time to developing Power Network Tycoon would be a lie. I’ve been working on a bunch of new projects as well as spending time with my wife, and enjoying my travelling. It's been an interesting experience, and I thought I would document my daily routine for anyone who is interested in learning about what it’s like.
I wake up at about 8:30am, have my breakfast and then hit the PC. I work on various projects simultaneously, using my PC for one project and my Mac for another. I find switching between projects to be more interesting, it keeps things fresh, and prevents me from getting burnout from any singular project. If I get stuck on one thing, I’ll switch tasks and work on something else until I feel ready to tackle the problem again, or I’ve figured out a solution (you might call it a less formal pomodoro technique) .
In the midst of all this I take many mini breaks to make myself copious amounts of tea. I’m not a big caffeine drinker, I don’t like the way it makes me feel. Tea is both delicious, and has less caffeine and it’s nice having something warm to drink. It gives me just what I need to think through what I’m working on. Recently I’ve been playing an idle game on my phone (Idle Planet Miner if you’re interested). It’s replaced doom scrolling on social media, so I’ll incorporate this into my mini breaks. The mini-breaks allow me to stop for a second, let my mind go blank, and take a few moments for myself.
Lunch isn’t too long of an affair, usually while it’s cooking (I like a good toasted cheese/tomato sandwich), I’ll work on my projects. I’ll stop to eat it and watch whatever my wife is watching on YouTube and we’ll have a chat. Then it’s back to the grind.
I work through to the evening, usually around 6-7:30pm. Then my wife and I go for a walk, if we haven’t gone at lunch or in the mid afternoon. It’s usually to the grocery store to pick up whatever it is we need, but sometimes it’s just to take in the scenery and chat. I’ll chat with my wife about the things I’ve been working on during the day, or things I’m thinking about doing in the future for the game, and for other projects. It’s great to have a sounding board, she doesn’t have a background in engineering or programming (even though she was the president of the electrical engineering society in uni, but that’s another story for another time), but she understands what I'm talking about for the most part. And if she doesn’t, she’ll let me know.
After the walk I’ll hit the computers again and do a bit more work if I’m not feeling fried. Otherwise I indulge in some time playing video games by myself or with my wife or get some exercise. I’m not much of a runner but I enjoy a long walk. I do really struggle to stop working on bug fixes and solving problems, particularly if it’s something a user brought up, but I try to set my stop-time at midnight regardless as I find myself making mistakes pushing beyond it.
And that’s it! Eat. Sleep. Program. Repeat. The motivation is there for many reasons, 1) I want to make the game and the other projects as successful as possible, 2) It’s a rare opportunity to have this much time to work on my personal projects so I want to make the most of it while not at full time work, and 3) I find this genuinely interesting, fulfilling and rewarding.
Being able to produce something that others engage with, enjoy, and take time to give their feedback to help me make improvements is a privilege. Thanks to everyone who has interacted with Power Network Tycoon so far. Together we can make this the best game it can be!