2004/12/09

Ian's rules of crunch time

1. Don't do it. HAR.

I've been working hard. As in, 16-18 hours of nonstop movement, every single day, for the past month and a half.

Things to bear in mind:
  1. Exhaustion drastically affects quality of work, and mistakes are made when people get tired.
  2. Good food and coffee are essential to maintaining energy levels. Breakfast especially.
  3. Exercise is also absolutely essential. You cannot push yourself to your limits in anything if you don't stay healthy, and excercise regularly.
  4. Water. Lots and lots of fridge-cold water. Keeps you alert, good for the brain.
  5. No matter how you try, cutting back on sleep, even by one hour, will have repercussions. Sleep deficits can accumulate over weeks. Pulling all-nighters is not something that should be done more than once a quarter, and only when you know you'll not be called on to do heavy brainwork in the next two to four days, and only if absolutely necessary.
  6. I'm tired, but I'm happy. I couldn't work this hard by myself.
  7. The rest of the stuff is personal. Like it or not, humans have spiritual and emotional sides, and if your belief systems, support mechanisms, etc. aren't there, then things will be much harder than they need to be. If you believe in God, try getting Him involved. He might help you with debugging.