The Crunch: Mass Effect 2 (Part 2)

Part one: http://feltham.ca/the-crunch-mass-effect-2-part-1/

Long hours can be draining, but over the years I’ve learned a few tricks. Everyone has different methods, but these have always worked for me.

1. Eat dinner at my desk, or eat dinner later. The reason for this is because a break at 6 or 7pm the length of a dinner has a tendancy to make you not want to go back to work.  Keep the break small enough to get dinner and that’s it. Keep your focus on work.
2. Schedule what I’m working on and meet that goal. If you don’t have a list of things you want to accomplish, you’ll either go home feeling guilty for not accomplishing anything or you’ll work aimlessly on many things. Hit your goal, cross it off the list and go the fuck home.
3. Don’t work past 10pm. This number will vary depending on your length of commute. The idea is that I need to go home rested to come to work rested, and that involves detoxing work when I get home with a movie, book, tv show or a game. Of course I broke this rule most of last week.
4. Take a break when I need it, no questions asked. If I work long hours 3 days in a row and feel the soul drain, I take a break from crunching or my productivity goes down. Again broken last week.
5. Music. Loud with a high bpm or intense driving beat. This is more than just me having music wrapped in every aspect of my life, this actually increases your heartrate and if its music you love, helps you enjoy your time at the office during times you really wish you weren’t there. My choices of music really depend on what I’m doing. If I’m concentrating on atmosphere and the feel of the final product, I tend to revolve around the Movie Score genre. If I’m hitting bugs, it’s usually Opeth, Tool, Disturbed, White Zombie. If I have a list of tasks to concentrate on then I’m usually putting on Underworld, BT’s This Binary Universe or Haujobb. Rarely do I work without music on and this is reinforced during crunch, though usually the headphones are off and the speakers are cranked (as my office mates can usually attest to)
6. Pick my time to socialize. Sometimes crunch can be fun: you and your workmates are delierious with lack of sleep, excited because the end is in sight (the project or the deadline) and some of my most memorable moments in the last 12 years has been in the off hours. But sometimes you have to get shit done and if you work with good people they will understand that if you’re upfront. If they aren’t, or you feel you must socialize and you’re not getting what you want/need to get done then come in when nobody is at work. This is usually between midnight and 7am.
7. Caffeine. Be careful. This is where you need to pace yourself accordingly. Or least I do. Coffee is both a stimulant but also a relaxer, for me: the warm mug, the slow sipping, appreciating the fantastic tastes. But I’m also fucking old so coffee late at night keeps me up for hours. So for me, if I’m doing coffee, it’s right after dinner. If I need a last minute jolt I do Red Bull, but that’s usually a few hours before I’m leaving as the crash from a Red Bull is painful and long.
8. Come in early as well. I find I can squeeze a few extra hours in the morning before the rush comes in. 7am gives me a few hours before anyone else is in and I can spend the time prepping for my day or resolving bugs

I can say for certain that the week of Crunch was worth it: I brought some things to the table on my levels and hit some requirements that ensured that key things are in my levels. But for now, the Crunch is over and I can relax a bit.  Until the next deadline looms.