Coming Off the Code Binge

Posted by Manda(rific) on January 3, 2011 in Assorted Ramblings, Ramble | 0 comments

Somehow, I survived the past week.

I’ll be honest, I’m not entirely sure how. I usually spend several weeks bunkered down writing and coding and preparing new content for the Vault, and yet still manage to spend somewhere around 42 hours straight in front of my computer surrounded by the carnage of empty soda cans and crushed Junior Mints boxes. This year was no exception.

Somewhere in the middle of my delirium last night I asked Chuck Wendig how to deal with the brain goo that comes of working for too long without a break. His response? “Stop for the night.”

Mine? “Pppppbbhhhhh buh-buh-buh code?”

It always feels like a sort of feat of strength – see if I can finish six weeks of to-do list in one night. Unlike most projects, it’s not a matter of getting put off so much as it is a matter of having to shut the site down. I only ever shut the site down for upgrades and emergencies. I try to limit this to once or twice a year – the days following New Years being the most important. Once the site goes down, it’s do or die: get the content up. Get the people what they want. Get people back into the game as soon as possible. Do I pass the point of needing to stop for the night? Absolutely. Is it worth it to work through?

Maybe not every time, but sometimes you just gotta keep on keepin’ on. Yeah, okay, I am not going to treat every project with a two day caffeine high and a truck load of candy (well, okay, this is entirely possible – just with like, you know, sleep added.) …but once in awhile? It feels good just to get it done.

I stopped making resolutions years ago, hardly being able to keep them – but this is always so much more satisfying. Having a work-a-thon to kick off the year on a strong note always feels more productive. It’s like I’m looking at 2011 and going “Hey, you see this? This batshit crazy writing asskickery? THIS. ALL YEAR.”

I suppose if I had to set any kind of goal for this year, it’d be to keep up the momentum. Keep writing. Keep coding. Get these background projects out of the wings. I’m finally in the position I need to be, able to work freelance and with a ton of opportunities on the table – I’d like to keep it this way. I’d like to make this a “thing.”

So, 2011 – I guess there’s little else to say other than “bring it.” After all, I survived last year – what’s another 360-something days?