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crunch time stress relief

polycounter lvl 19
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MikeF polycounter lvl 19
so i know a lot of you are in crunch rite now, what do you do to stay sane?
i'm 40 days in without a day off, averaging 10-14 hr work days

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  • blamblam
  • Slum
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    Slum polycounter lvl 18
  • JasonLavoie
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    JasonLavoie polycounter lvl 18
    A couple things that I generally do whenever we hit crunch is find the time to go out with co-workers for a quick dinner every now and again to help unwind a bit... It's surprising how much stress you can relieve just by chilling and talking "shit" with your buddies, who are also going through the same grind.

    I know we have guys here that do workout and then come back, and I'm sure that does wonders to work off some of the stress, and most likely give you a bit of energy boost which is always nice :)

    We are very fortunate to have a "play" space in our studio, and I've become super addicted to ping pong. So that offers opportunities for me and some buddies to go and work off some steam, and I know when we hit crunch again, it'll be my way to clear the head :)
  • Adam L. Gray
    Me, I'm only in a mini-crunch. So it's still the regular 8 hours per day, though I'm still working weekends. It does get a bit rough when you're running a full-time education at uni on the side though! Oh, and the baby is coming in a couple of weeks! o.o

    Still, I try to take it as easy as possible, it's not worth fucking yourself up and getting a stroke over!
  • MikeF
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    MikeF polycounter lvl 19
    A couple things that I generally do whenever we hit crunch is find the time to go out with co-workers for a quick dinner every now and again to help unwind a bit... It's surprising how much stress you can relieve just by chilling and talking "shit" with your buddies, who are also going through the same grind.

    I know we have guys here that do workout and then come back, and I'm sure that does wonders to work off some of the stress, and most likely give you a bit of energy boost which is always nice :)

    We are very fortunate to have a "play" space in our studio, and I've become super addicted to ping pong. So that offers opportunities for me and some buddies to go and work off some steam, and I know when we hit crunch again, it'll be my way to clear the head :)

    see thats what i used to do when i was still in school, but unfortunately since i'm a remote contractor my co-workers are scattered across 3 time zones... That used to make the day worth it, but man this is rough going at it without any team to bounce stuff off of
  • skankerzero
  • Kwramm
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    Kwramm interpolator
    increase the felt time that you're off work. When you take breaks, leave the office. take a short walk. Get fresh air and some sunshine and move your bones a little bit.
    I also hate eating at the office. I rather have a snack and a nice meal at home later - it makes everything feel less "crunchy". If the meal is nice it also feels more of a reward than the usual crunch food you get at the office that you eat in front of the PC.
    Stay away from the computer at home. Have a drink with friends or co-workers and share the pain. Really helps to feel better about it.
  • Joshua Stubbles
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    Joshua Stubbles polycounter lvl 19
    That's partly why I come home for lunch each day as well, instead of eating at the office. I like having a break from everything work-related.

    Try to eat healthy throughout (studios often cater crap food during crunch - go grab a salad or something instead). Take a 5min break every hour, walk around the office and grab a water or something.

    Try to get as much sleep as possible. Forget about having free time to do what you want, just sleep if you can. That rest is going to make the crunch far more tolerable.
  • JacqueChoi
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    JacqueChoi polycounter
    MikeF wrote: »
    so i know a lot of you are in crunch rite now, what do you do to stay sane?
    i'm 40 days in without a day off, averaging 10-14 hr work days


    Wow? You don't get weekends off?


    I guaruntee you'll be much more productive if you take your weekends off.



    BTW why are you crunching? If it's because you're ubercharged on the project, have ample buy-in, and want to release the best product ever, then some crunch is cool.


    But if management if making you come in, because of their shitty decision making, and being underbudget, then I would seriously consider telling them outright you ARE taking your weekends off. I can't see anywhere in the western world where that could be considered legal.
  • Next
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    Next polycounter lvl 12
    ^^ This /sign!
  • Kwramm
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    Kwramm interpolator
    JacqueChoi wrote: »
    But if management if making you come in, because of their shitty decision making, and being underbudget, then I would seriously consider telling them outright you ARE taking your weekends off. I can't see anywhere in the western world where that could be considered legal.

    Germany :( I just read this a few days ago based on a court decision. Especially when the company is doing badly - for whatever reasons, but bad planning can be among them - the employer has a right to demand overtime for a limited period in order to keep the company in business. Only if the company is doing well and there's no reason whatsoever to demand overtime, only then they cannot ask for it.
    Case was that they asked overtime and one guy decided to now show up 1 hour early. He did this 2 times, he got 2 warning. Then it all went to court.

    Before making any one sided decisions which could net you warnings and eventually cost you your job, you should consult a lawyer. But it's okay to bring it up with superiors.
  • ambershee
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    ambershee polycounter lvl 17
    40 days on without a day off is excessive overtime, and that's not considering the additional day hours being put in. As for EU working hour directives - you cannot work more than 65 hours a week, daily rest periods must be a minimum of 11 hours and over any 17 week-period, you cannot work an average of more than 48 hours a week. There are exemptions but they do not apply to the games industry (they're for extreme situations such as staff working in emergency conditions).

    This means the following:
    1) You can work a maximum of 13 hours per day, since you must have 11 hours resting time between working days.
    2) You can work a maximum of six days a week at ten hours per day (you're actually supposed to be able to 48 hour rests between working weeks too).
    3) If you've been working normally (say 35 hours a week) prior to two and a half weeks of crunch like this, you're already over your 17 week reference limit.

    Edit: I'm not a lawyer so take the above with a pinch of salt.
  • Tigerfeet
    In the US you're entitled to one day off in seven, I believe. There's a lot of factory and nursing work around here and that's usually the schedule they run.

    I'm not in games but in publishing, and every fall we enter crunch. For me it's weird, when things get tough I want to work more, so when I'm crunching I usually come home and jump right into working on 3D things. I'll usually treat myself to a lunch outside of the office too, just to get out and about. And yes, exercise helps!
  • skylebones
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    skylebones polycounter lvl 10
    I haven't had crunch time in years, but when I did I liked to go the the firing range after work. As strange as it sounds, I find it extremely relaxing.
  • Andreas
  • Xenobond
  • slipsius
  • Stromberg90
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    Stromberg90 polycounter lvl 11
    slipsius: Is it a good idea to do that in front of your desk at work?
    Always thought it would be frowned upon, I might just be a gentleman tough :)

    And that is just to slow of a movement you as a animator should know that.
  • MikeF
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    MikeF polycounter lvl 19
    thanks for the ideas guys, even though the most popular one was to rub one out ;)

    JacqueChoi wrote: »
    Wow? You don't get weekends off?


    BTW why are you crunching? If it's because you're ubercharged on the project, have ample buy-in, and want to release the best product ever, then some crunch is cool.


    just a massive project in a very small time frame with barebone staff unfortunately
  • Paradan
    have everyone bring their dog to work.
  • skankerzero
    I'm actually a little disappointed with the small number of masturbation suggestions.

    come on PC. >\
  • r_fletch_r
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    r_fletch_r polycounter lvl 9
  • Isaiah Sherman
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    Isaiah Sherman polycounter lvl 14
    You know, I just posted this in another thread (probably because 50% of the threads in general are about stress / layoffs / worry / depression / suicide / bunnies), but perhaps some good ol' fashioned nature could help!

    thebihar_ganja.jpg
  • imyj
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    imyj polycounter lvl 8
    Paradan wrote: »
    have everyone bring their dog to work.

    Hahaha, this! <3
  • Andreas
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    Andreas polycounter lvl 11
    Paradan wrote: »
    have everyone bring their dog to work.

    That could make masturbating quite awkward I would imagine.
  • Rurouni Strife
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    Rurouni Strife polycounter lvl 10
    I second working out. I lifted 4-5 days a week during crunch, would take a longer lunch hour to hit the gym. I was usually more productive after that actually.
  • SouthpawSid
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    SouthpawSid polycounter lvl 7
    Haiasi wrote: »
    You know, I just posted this in another thread (probably because 50% of the threads in general are about stress / layoffs / worry / depression / suicide / bunnies), but perhaps some good ol' fashioned nature could help!

    thebihar_ganja.jpg

    THIS :thumbup:
  • Chimp
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    Chimp interpolator
    THIS :thumbup:


    :thumbup:lol.
  • vcortis
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    vcortis polycounter lvl 9
    In my case it's working out. I know if I take a hour and a half lunch break (1 hour at the gym, or playing sports, and 30 minute food time) I'll not only be more productive the rest of the day, but I'll be staying in good health.

    Beyond that, I usually take periodic 15 minute breaks every few hours to get up and walk around. We also started a little team trivia thing we do mid-day where the losers of the week have to buy beer for everyone.

    Finaly making sure I get enough sleep, at least 7 hours. I used to try to sneak by with 6, but ended up less productive at work and kind of grouchy.
  • Rick_D
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    Rick_D polycounter lvl 12
    vcortis wrote: »
    In my case it's working out. I know if I take a hour and a half lunch break (1 hour at the gym, or playing sports, and 30 minute food time) I'll not only be more productive the rest of the day, but I'll be staying in good health.

    Beyond that, I usually take periodic 15 minute breaks every few hours to get up and walk around. We also started a little team trivia thing we do mid-day where the losers of the week have to buy beer for everyone.

    Finaly making sure I get enough sleep, at least 7 hours. I used to try to sneak by with 6, but ended up less productive at work and kind of grouchy.

    more details on the trivia please.
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