Getting into heavy work mode

One of the projects that frustrated me so much last week came back to bite us in the ass today. Long story short, we were left with 30 hours to fix it (about 48 hours worth of work), when we were 10 hours away from completing the whole thing as it was. It was a mistake, and in the nature of mistakes with an unmovable and tight deadline, many voices and heart rates were raised on both sides of the client/printer border. After it was decided that we would have to correct the problem in record time, the client brought us some kick-ass homemade brownies for our troubles. Great. Now we've gotta give them twice as many brownies to make up for the mistake.

Before I got to work this morning, there apparently was a major confrontation between my boss and a regular client. I don't know many details, but from what I can tell, it was pretty fucking bad. It wasn't neccessarily a problem the client had with us, but rather this client making even more of a problem than normal, which is quite a lot. It was decided that it would be best to divorce ourselves from the client, much like an abused spouse. And to further this analogy, the client did come back later to have a much calmer break-up talk even though it was too late. We're moving on (sniff, sob) and there's no going back.

As for me, I'm getting through everything quite well, but the pressure is mounting. This is nothing new to me. This is my sixth year dealing with this, and as crazy as my methods sound, it works.

Step 1, before things start to get bad (namely NOW), I'm not going to bed before midnight, even if I'm off work before then. The trick is to let my body adjust early to the lack of sleep.

Step 2, get all the ducks in a row. I've raided the supply cabinet for manilla folders for every possible stage of production on the big project: In question, to do, in progress, easy to do when I need to look like I'm getting a lot more done, ready to proof, proof with client, changes to be made, approved with changes, approved, approved with the possibility of last minute changes, done, return info to client, please burn, save for competency hearing, use for murder defense, and miscellaneous.

Step 3, frequent eye-stress breaks. Every couple hours, I put in some eye drops and go outside and focus on something far away. I do this every day, and it's the reason my vision prescription hasn't changed in four years. However, with the amount of extra time I spend in front of the computer this time of year, This is needed much more often.

Step 4, controlled supply of caffeine and sugar. I tend to monitor my input much more during this time of year. Too much soda or coffee and I get too jittery and can't focus too well. Too little and I'm staring blankly at the same computer screen for God knows how long. The trick is to keep my work focus sharp. I used to have Ritalin for this stuff.

Step 5, audio/visual reinforcement. I tend to have movies playing in the background while I work. Low volume, at postage stamp size in the bottom corner of the screen. The rules are that it has to be something I've seen a million times before so I'm not distracted, and it has to be something that pumps me up. I've been trying several different flicks out, and the best movies to work to in my collection are Casino Royale, Batman Begins, Apollo 13, Braveheart, Gladiator, The Godfather, Spider-Man and any of the Star Wars movies. Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes are good for those wee hours of the night.

Step 6, manditory personal stuff. No IOUs will be written to myself for showers, laundry, bills, feeding the cat, etc.

Step 7, monitoring progress. Keeping track of everything I've done and everything left to do, and figuring out percentages of each. This comes in handy when an impatient boss asks how we're doing, and it's easier to say "25% left to go" than give every little detail.

Step 8, apologize to friends and family in advance for neglecting them.

Step 9, minimal internet use. And on the note, I'm logging off for the night.