The holidays are upon us like sweet hellfire from above. During this time, many of you will be taking breaks from work or academics to relax and spend time with your families. And while you may find this extra time perfect for hashing out code or graphics, I would like to suggest another option for your holiday game development. Relax.

A lot of the time we like to think that if we aren’t making anything tangible, we’re not being productive. Sometimes we focus too hard on the tasks that we want to get done that our mind goes into a sort of “tunnel vision” mode. This mode is nice when we want to get things done, but it doesn’t do well at promoting creativity.

The mind requires time to rest and sort itself out. When we aren’t seemingly focused, thoughts will dance in the background and trap concepts and ideas like a sponge. This is the realm of problem solving and creativity. In the area we tend to think of fabulous things and are more prepared for the executional stages that we so richly desire.

This holiday season provides us with so much work time, but also a lot of thinking time. Take time to sharpen your mental axe before you start swinging with one that has dulled over the past year. I’m going to get into the zone by reading some classics, how do you relax yourself into a contemplative state? Give us your tips and tactics in the comments or on our facebook page. While you’re doing that, Happy Holidays my friends!

-Adam Meredith