Organising Work

Haybie

Hello, So i got get these defence walls down and ask for help. I am dyslexic and struggle to organise things and find it hard to read emails in the working environment. I lose concentration a lot unless it is something i really enjoy doing.
does anyone any good links, tips, techniques or routines I maybe able to do to get better at this??  

Mary_Marinez

Hi there. I'm glad you got those walls down and asked for help. A very close first cousin of mine is dyslexic too and she used to have too many issues regarding how to organize work, stay concentrated on a particular thing for considerable durations of time and so on. But today, she's doing just fine. Here's how she says she did it, and i know it's true because I've seen her transformation happening right in front of my eyes.

• Initially, ask yourself some very frank questions - What works for you? What needs to change? What distracts you? WHat helps you concentrate?
• Try and determine what would be the most conducive study space/work atmosphere for you - Are you a morning bird or a night owl? Do you feel more comfortable sitting for work in a corner of a quiet library or does the atmosphere of a coffee shop enable you to concentrate on the task at hand better?
• Make sure you use a day-planner or to-do list on a daily basis. This will help you to keep track of projects and deadlines looming in the near future, in addition to deciding what assignments you need to tackle in a particular time frame.

It may be a bit difficult in the beginning - the cousin I was talking about did not get everything right in the first place but she tried and tried again and eventually found her way around - but ultimately, it will be for the greater good.
All the best! Nothing is impossible.

Kwramm

Good advice, not just for dyslexic people, but also for the "but I am an artist!" type of people, who need to survive in a production environment. Writing down things is definitely something that most people will find useful, together with to-do lists. Using a calendar to remind of deadlines is also very useful. And don't be afraid to ask your producer for help - I used to work with a great producer who reminded people of deadlines, checked progress and made sure everyone had their priorities straight. She was a real help and let us artists focus on our work.

Haybie

Yeah, I think I struggle actually looking at Emails and I have tried to write notes on my desktop but it doesnt work. becasue either I have something on the screen or it is filled and merges into one. All I know is that the best time I can organise is having a whiteboard or paper on a wall so I can read them off to the side. However how can I do that in a working office. I am guessing indie companies maybe alright with it but big studios might not be. I also was working in a big studio that was dead quiet and I so prefer noise, I also try to move around every hour or so just to reset my concentration. However I just felt I couldnt do that because no one else did it. That the big thing do I admit to companies first that I am dyslexic. I am just concerned I will never get hired again. 

Kwramm

It's all about your art - At my first job we had a texture artist without arms (I kid you not!) and she was awesome, as person and as an artist! I would definitely not hold a medical condition or disability against anyone if they deliver. But yes, HR drones might be scared off hiring someone with a condition. Still, don't let it get you down or hold you back. Also, stand up - walking around is healthy. It's the people who don't get up who're wrong

Joost

Google Keep has helped me organize my life. Trello can be very useful as well specifically for work.

Haybie

Great that sounds good, I will have a look at it. I guess I need to start a routine and be persist.

Kevin Albers

The concept of a scrum-style backlog has gradually infiltrated my mind, and now, while doing Indie stuff more-or-less full time, I use a simple backlog as a major tool for organization. It's helpful to have a list of everything you eventually need to do (including tons of minor things that you certainly don't need to do right away), prioritized so that every day you know what the heck you should be focusing on, and what will come next after you finish that task etc.

Mary_Marinez

Haybie said:

Yeah, I think I struggle actually looking at Emails and I have tried to write notes on my desktop but it doesnt work. becasue either I have something on the screen or it is filled and merges into one. All I know is that the best time I can organise is having a whiteboard or paper on a wall so I can read them off to the side. However how can I do that in a working office. I am guessing indie companies maybe alright with it but big studios might not be. I also was working in a big studio that was dead quiet and I so prefer noise, I also try to move around every hour or so just to reset my concentration. However I just felt I couldnt do that because no one else did it. That the big thing do I admit to companies first that I am dyslexic. I am just concerned I will never get hired again. 

Why do you think you will never get hired again? True professionals are not judged by their weaknesses or something they are struggling with; if their work is good, hiring is bound to happen. It is a known fact that dyslexia has nothing to do with general intelligence, so there. It is admirable that you accept wher eyou are faltering and are trying to find solutions to your issues. Appreciable.

Mary_Marinez

Kwramm said:

It's all about your art - At my first job we had a texture artist without arms (I kid you not!) and she was awesome, as person and as an artist! I would definitely not hold a medical condition or disability against anyone if they deliver. But yes, HR drones might be scared off hiring someone with a condition. Still, don't let it get you down or hold you back. Also, stand up - walking around is healthy. It's the people who don't get up who're wrong

Loved your suggestion.

Haybie

These are awesome suggestions. Thank you one and all. It just lost job because of this and I should just of told them near the beginning and it might of helped. It was simple mistakes such as reading emails with certain things I should of done but never read. Also I never communicated because I felt I never to prove I can do it on my own. Which is stupid. So childish. And it cost me. 

Gaurav Mathur

Haybie, it might be hard to let go of the disappointment if you lost your job recently, but it looks like you're finding the motivation to get back in there!  That's a good next step.  I think you've learned that regular communication with the rest of your team is very important.  More often than not in my experience, your teammates will be supportive. 

Many of us have issues we deal with.  Some are more visible than others.  I have a speech impediment that I'm up front with.  I can have periods of fluency and times when I just get stuck.  I do a mix of art and production work: my job requires me to talk to artists and designers and get into the details of how functional requirements for in-game props need to be realized in concept art and game art.  I sometimes get frustrated during my periods of disfluency, but have always been grateful for my coworkers' patience.  I've been very fortunate in my twenty years in games to have worked with wonderful people on some great projects, and I wish the same for you.

My recommendation is to go into future interviews and be up front about the dyslexia, but also share with your interviewer a few of the strategies you've developed and practiced to stay on top of things.  It's okay to keep things light and get into details if asked about specifics.  You might be surprised at how this might help people connect with you, and some folks you share this with may turn out to have some useful suggestions.  I'm sure many of us have friends and family who have some form of dyslexia and have developed strategies that help them lead normal lives. 

Haybie

gauravcm said:

Haybie, it might be hard to let go of the disappointment if you lost your job recently, but it looks like you're finding the motivation to get back in there!  That's a good next step.  I think you've learned that regular communication with the rest of your team is very important.  More often than not in my experience, your teammates will be supportive. 

Many of us have issues we deal with.  Some are more visible than others.  I have a speech impediment that I'm up front with.  I can have periods of fluency and times when I just get stuck.  I do a mix of art and production work: my job requires me to talk to artists and designers and get into the details of how functional requirements for in-game props need to be realized in concept art and game art.  I sometimes get frustrated during my periods of disfluency, but have always been grateful for my coworkers' patience.  I've been very fortunate in my twenty years in games to have worked with wonderful people on some great projects, and I wish the same for you.

My recommendation is to go into future interviews and be up front about the dyslexia, but also share with your interviewer a few of the strategies you've developed and practiced to stay on top of things.  It's okay to keep things light and get into details if asked about specifics.  You might be surprised at how this might help people connect with you, and some folks you share this with may turn out to have some useful suggestions.  I'm sure many of us have friends and family who have some form of dyslexia and have developed strategies that help them lead normal lives. 

Thanks for this, I for sure always tried and do everything myself and i think telling next time will be better because then we can figure out how to get the potential out of me. Thanks for the advice it really help motivate me.