Crunch as a Feeling - neglecting human needs
Crunch is not just an hour count over 40. Hour counts are a useful metric, but for me, crunch is an emotional state that arises when my human needs are being neglected in service of a deadline or arbitrary goal.
Sure, creative expression is a human need, but there are deeper human needs (lower down on Maslow's Hierarchy) that need to be respected.
If we are in tune with our needs, we can recognize when we are worn out, and give our mind and body what they are craving (rest, human connection, a wander down the street, time in nature, physical activity, intimacy, food, etc).
If we are in tune with our needs, we can start to look out for opportunities to implement strategies to minimize the crunch feeling, but still make progress on our long-term projects.
Five Ways I've been Avoiding the Crunch Feeling
1. Avoiding the Crunch Feeling by dropping some plates
I put this one first because it is the first thing you should think to do when you are feeling overwhelmed. If you’re starting to feel like you’re spinning too many plates with your creative pursuits, it’s perfectly okay to drop some of them! Lots of creatives do this, and it is a perfectly normal rhythm of work. Stop working on your long term project! Give up on a self-imposed deadline! Stop with the insane content-marketing strategy and just take care of yourself for a bit!
I took a whole 3 months off TENDY development in 2021 to just paint with acrylics and water color. I knew I would return to my project eventually, so I engaged in some guilt-free time away to just have fun again. It was awesome. I painted a picture of a Common Grackle (a bird) as a Kraken. I call it the Gracken.
Unfortunately, most of us live in a system that doesn’t value our wellbeing as workers and will punish us for dropping the “work” plate. So, there will be plates that we need to keep spinning to survive, or plates that involve taking care of our most precious relationships. We have to acknowledge these plate-priorities when we are figuring out what to drop, but the number one priority should be your health and wellbeing.
2. Avoiding the Crunch Feeling by Doodling and Noodling
During TENDY’s development, If I felt worn out at the end of the day, I would not force myself to work on difficult tasks like programming or bugfixing. If I don't feel pulled to work hard on my project, I'll typically find what I call a DOODLING or NOODLING aspect of the project to work on that continues forward momentum, but does not wear me out or contribute to the Crunch Feeling.
For example: editing particle effects is always fun. It feels like playing with playdoh or legos to me. Editing particles is an activity that is full of joyful play and instantaneous feedback. This kind of thing feels like a short brisk jog that keeps me motivated and energetic about my project.
I also have taken to streaming my doodling on my twitch channel when I don't FEEL like working that much. I'll tell myself to just go do a low-stakes stream with the project open and I usually find something to noodle on and have fun with it.
Of course, as the project nears the finish line, I need to schedule out the work that is NOT doodling and noodling. So that's where this next part comes in.
3. Avoiding the Crunch Feeling through Playful Project Management
For me, being overwhelmed by the huge number of tasks is one of the biggest ingredients of the Crunch Feeling. Huge spreadsheets full of tasks have a tendency to make me feel like absolute poop.
So I've tried injecting some fun into my project and task management. I've laid out my project plan like a linear tabletop adventure where the hero marches across sticky notes, rolling dice to apply time to tasks, aiming to take down Milestones (see photo below). This approach carried me through December 2021 with really great results.
You don’t have to get this nerdy with it. But if you’re reading this, you might be a fairly creative person - so get creative with your task management and have fun!
4. Avoiding the Crunch Feeling through Honest Evaluation, Commitment, and Rest
Another factor that leads me to have the Crunch Feeling is tied in with the nature of deadlines. Deadlines cause stress, but they also help us complete our work.
Personal project deadlines should be carefully evaluated before being committed to - having a deadline, but not connecting with the core idea of the project, or feeling like the work will not be worth it can lead to Crunch Feeling, big time.
I typically will sit down and have some deep and honest self-reflection time, asking myself:
Am I okay with the risks of crunch in the service of hitting this deadline for my side project?
Often times, examining and then defining my intentions clearly can help me put a deadline into context. I know that this is not going to be forever. This is not crunch for my employer, it’s for a project that I get to own, that is of deep importance to me. I then can agree to the terms of allowing myself to chase a deadline, knowing that Dropping Plates is always an option.
This commitment to a short period of hard work reminds me a lot of running long distances. At mile 20 it is sometimes painful and often sucks in a way you could never imagine, but since you committed to running a full marathon, there is often a wellspring of energy that carries you through to 26.2. I try to remember why I set out in the first place and that there is rest and food waiting at the finish line. Not committing to work hard forever, but setting the terms of the work and more importantly when you will stop to rest.
5. Avoiding the Crunch Feeling through Scheduled Dumb Fun, guilt-free time away, or other Animal Needs
There are lots of mind-numbing things that I love to do to unwind. Bad TV, grindy games, youtube binging. Even on nights where I know I want to work on my project, I typically will schedule an hour of this dumb fun to happen after I complete a chunk of work on my project. Recently I've been playing a few matches of Halo Infinite every night to unwind after a long workday + project work. I’m not going pro anytime soon, but I sure love driving around in that warthog.
Just like you might do for your work sessions, set a timer for your unwinding time - you deserve it. Dive in.
To summarize, here are some things to do to avoid the Crunch Feeling
- Dropping Plates
- Noodling and Doodling
- Playful Project Management
- Evaluation > Commitment > Rest
- Scheduled Dumb Fun