A list of Steam video games.

Getting Organised to Beat the Backlog

I’m an adult gamer with a shameful secret: I can’t resist buying cheap games.  Steam sales, Humble Bundles, random special offers… they have me putting in my Paypal details the moment I see a game that was £40+ going for less than £10.  I literally just bought No Man’s Sky, in part because the VR mode is coming, and in part, because it was just £20.

The result is a backlog that could take me a lifetime to complete—and that’s without me continuing to add more and more titles to my library in sales and via Epic’s free games.  It’s turning into a bit of a problem.

I’ve decided to beat the backlog once and for all.  How?  By getting organised.  Hear me out.

My 9-5 requires me to be exceptionally well-organised.  I provide executive support to a Director, Deputy Director and senior management team at a prestigious university.  No two days are the same and I’ve got to be at least two steps ahead to react to the things that will inevitably come up day-to-day.  To deliver, I use Trello, a free workflow management system.

Until recently, I was using Trello wrong.  I had one list of actions for each person and project and I’d cherry-pick what I would do next.  Then I saw the Epic Games Store Trello and realised how wrong I’d been using the darn thing.  I now have my work and personal life organised into things to complete today, this week, next week, this month, next month, and beyond.

Yes, I’m a bit sad.  I’m also getting shit done.

Recently, I started adding video games to my list of things to complete.  I started easy with a game called Home, a 1-2 hour game that I’ll write about soon.  It felt good to complete a game so quickly and get it off of my list.  Next up, I’m going to finally finish the Last of Us, then move onto completing Metal Gear Solid V.  I might also throw some shorter games into the mix at intervals to get some real traction.  And, that’s around my current Final Fantasy 14 addiction, playing No Man’s Sky with my brother, and chipping away at Divinity Original Sin 2 with my cousin.  (Can you see why I don’t complete games?)

Not everyone will have a backlog like mine.  Some people are more sensible with their finances and more realistic with their time.  For those who are like me, I highly recommend trying to add a bit of organisation to your game time.  Knowing that you will complete X then Y then Z means you’ll waste less time trying to figure out what you will play and more time playing and completing games.

I’ll share updates of where I am with this mission as I go on.  Wish me luck!