pouët.net

Nice idea for a game! However,. I don't know if I found the big monster slug. I reached a point where I was falling endlessly and thought that's the end.

Plenty of salmiakki in the weekends

Yep, cool little game :) I had the same issue as Optimus though.

i've never done full-on crunch at work (plenty for demos though) and i don't intend to. :) i will go up from my regular 40h week up to 50h close to deadlines (or if I really enjoy the work) but that's it. any extra time i spend beyond that just isn't productive, and luckily i'm good enough at delivering on time that it's never been a real issue (not yet, anyway).

i have my spare-time coding projects, which are a great way to wind down. not any demos for the past few years though, because mid-2009 (after 10 years active in the scene) i finally realized that i really don't enjoy the actual demo-coding part. i've always been rubbish at coding effects and despite the nice feedback-loop, i find actually working on visuals more tedious than anything else. so i just don't do that so much anymore :)

farbrausch is so dead!

wysiwtf: Thank you for your valuable contribution to this thread.

oh, and of course: i enjoy technical writing so i'm doing more of that now. :)

A strong cup of coffee tends to help me wake up in the morning.

Here is the magic formula :

at awekening:

- pee
- Nauli kriya (see on youtube, it's not so hard you can do it in few weeks)
- 15-20 mn yoga
- light breakfast (fruits, bread, water, NO COFEE)
- go on code... (make some breaks, drink, made stretching)

and the most important part, after coding, take awaerness of own you body, it helps to disconnect from thoughts and your mental, you are not your thoughts and your mental, your are just the silent consciousness behind. leave this instrument when you don't need it or your became it.

have a good day :)

Not that I agree with wzman about the yoga - haven't done any in about 3 yrs. & apart from the lack of flexibility I haven't noticed any real downfall.

When you wake up - have a large drink of water before you do anything else.
Apparently it helps clear the liver & kidneys from any toxins you may have ingested last night.

Keeps my bladder working during the day.

Supposedly.

I usually take a 15 minute nap after dinner. I feel very energized for about 4-5 hours after that. Sometimes I kickstart myself with an espresso after the nap to have an extra boost.

A 15 minute nap always leaves me with a headache and horrible throat, it's a bit like waking up with a hangover.. lesson there is what works for one doesn't work for another, and you have to experiment a bit to find your solution :)

"nap breath"

psonice: it takes a bit of getting used to and a couple weeks of training. The hard thing is, that you HAVE TO get up - otherwise you're wasted for the rest of the evening :)

fucking hippies. don't bitch like a pussy. code like a man!
takes perhaps a couple weeks of training, but soon you'll be tough as chuck norris!

Nice to read your suggestions. Morning exercise is a good idea.


PS: About the game, if you keep flying into space, try keep walking right until you get into the planet, then it should all make more sense :)

What gooby_pls said

+1 for what Preacher and Smash said.

@Lord Graga et al: Do not make the mistake to live thru your workday in overdrive mode, then, at the end of the day, step on the brakes by means of alcohol, drugs, and fast food.

been there, done that. worked for me for ~10 years, then I experienced my first "burn out". very seriously not funny.

my resolution: cut down my working day to 4x6h instead of 5x8+h (day five is truly reserved for "my" projects, hey Google :D).

sure, it hurts pay-wise but I would not want to miss it.

and yea, I cut down on the intoxicating influences (at least during the week but not right now and hey, a guy's gotta unwind sometimes and my weekend just started :-))

My employer, and, most importantly, my clients have not ever complained about any performance issues. (on the contrary!)

There have been studies about that which support the idea of a 6h day. IMHO, an 8h work day is just too much and hurts productivity.
(as far as I am concerned, having more room to "breath" actually boosted it!)

Don't get me wrong: When the situation ("crunch time") requires it I'll be there for "the project" all day but I feel that the 9-5 8h routine
just sucks me dry for no noticably increase in productivity.

p.s.: I also use a bike to get from one place to another. that should cover the exercise ;) (~1400 km per year)

p.p.s.: especially in our line of business (software engineering), "thinking" does not really stop when you leave the office / clock out, anyway.
(nah, where I work we fortunately do not have to clock out, just saying :-))

I gave work preference and I took Maali's advice: cocaine. When cocaine stopped working I stopped making demos, which was 2003.

Lord Graga; there just is no meditation tricks that will solve your problem. If the management can't fix human hours for you, you have to beat them with sticks or quit. Joining a union might work also, but only if you are willing to fight for your cause.

Yeah OK so I brought the issue up for my project manager today. I told him that I had a hard time being productive when I had to show up every day at 9 and leave at 17, and that it bothered me especially because I couldn't perform at my best, at all.

Apparently (and it is sad), it is more important for the education/whatever that we can show attendance than it is for us that we can show pristine results. It absolutely sucks, and he agreed, and he told me to deal with it by chilling as much as I need, when I need it, and that he does not expect me to perform at my best.

It's not especially great, but hey, 2 weeks to go.

WHAT?

Seriously dude, what the fuck? Crunch is when you show up at 9 and leave at 22 and do that week after week. Your nine to five is just the regular working day. Did you ever have a job before?

Man up.

I drink coffee.

Preacher, he never claimed he was working more than normal working hours... Read the opening post / thread title.

And when I started programming full time as a regular Joe at a company I also had trouble adjusting from the life of freedom when you study. But eventually you get used to it. (never completely though, not me at least.)

For the rest, all the advice about sports and healthy food are good advice.

Maybe his problem is that he HAD TO leave at 17.