How can you balance work and life when working on a tight deadline in game development?

Absolutely, having a clear final goal, well-defined timelines, and transparent day-by-day progress visualization are crucial in managing tight deadlines in game development. Regular communication within the team, addressing areas for improvement, and considering scope reduction when necessary can contribute significantly to meeting project objectives efficiently

In addition to the right tactics, don't forget about strategy - create a roadmap and make sure you have a vision for the product, its customer, and market niche, as well as the tools to communicate the vision to your teams. Strategic mistakes are usually the most costly

Setting boundaries ensures you’re in the best frame of mind to continue to produce high quality work. These boundaries will also ensure your basic self care needs are met which will make you a better performaning employee. Recognize that not all boundaries are the same and some people will have different work styles than you to ensure they meet their deadline.

If your studio has core working hours and you know when you are most productive, set a schedule and be disciplined with it. Take it one step at a time if you have never used a planner, set your start and finish times and adjust your break's. It is quite interesting to have rituals for clocking in and out of work, once you complete your clocking out ritual, remember not to go back to work until the next day.

While it might seem counter-intuitive, use your outlook/gsuite calendar beyond work. Calendar in strict times for what you're doing and when, then use the same calendar for non-work activities, block out the time and treat non-work with the same level of importance. This helps you to plan more meaningful downtime activities which can help you to destress and get back to where you need to be for the next time you're working. Make the calendar serve you, not the other way around.

When facing such tight deadlines, trade-offs are inevitable. It often involves sacrificing either the well-being of the team or the quality of the product. Finding a balance is challenging, and open communication about the potential consequences is crucial. Managing expectations and considering the long-term impact on both the team and the project is essential in navigating these situations.

Particularly focused at those working in art, but not solely: Understand that final tweaks and adjustments are an exercise in diminishing returns, the difference you get for the time you spent needs to make sense. This is particularly difficult because it's almost impossible to do alone. Discuss exactly this with someone willing to partner with you in this exercise, and have frank conversations about what's done and when it's done to avoid endless tweaking with little improvement and a lot of time consumed. Those second honest opinions both ways are gold.

Music is powerful. I have a variety of different playlists depending on what I'm trying to accomplish. For instance, I have lo-fi instrumental playlists (think movie and video game soundtracks) for when I'm editing/reviewing a text heavy document, and more fast pace electronic sounding songs when I'm going through spreadsheets. I also have playlists to match the mood I'm in like one I listen to when I'm frustrated, another with my favorite songs that always cheers me up, and one full of disco and Depeche Mode for when I'm missing my mom and dad, and so on... When it comes to hydration, I tend to have a cup of coffee and a water bottle nearby at all times.

Brighter ideas.. Greater goals.. Bigger vision.. All of them need every day progress! If we aim to make progress every day, we have to stay healthy. Both physical and mental. The way to do this is to ensure work and life balance. If we are not healthy, we cannot develop any product. It's nice to be software developers or game developers. We have to be fit and strong to be able to develop any product, any feature, any screen. Persistence is everything! Self-care is also important to develop within a persistent work pace. Exercising, paying attention to what we eat, and paying attention to our sleep are not a luxury for us, but a necessity. The important thing is to be able to apply it decisively and permanently throughout the life.

Taking care of your well-being is paramount during challenging times. Staying hydrated, incorporating physical activity, taking short breaks, and maintaining open communication with your team can help manage stress and foster a healthier work environment, even in the midst of tight deadlines.

In these times of greater stress, commit to doing one thing new and one thing which isn't new but you really like each day. Exercise and creative activities are best for the things you like, but for the new thing, it could be anything from a podcast on a subject you like but know nothing about, through learning to sew or play piano. There's self-reward in the chosen activity you know, and a proven benefit mentally in how doing new things develops your neural pathways, these are great ways to help yourself when work is tough.