Having recently been through another, I thought it might be helpful to post a few tips on surviving a death march on a software project. If you haven’t heard the term before, it’s basically an insane working pace trying to make impossible deadlines. There are often various humorous aspects as well like changing requirements.
It’s best to avoid the Death March. Good project planning and processes will normally help you prevent that, but maybe not always. Here’s some ideas on dealing with it when you have to.
Tip 1: Whistle while you work
I don’t mean literally, but something to take the edge off during the day. Joke around with co-workers, listen to music, take a 5-15 minute break every 90 minutes. Continually stressing yourself out will drain your moral and productivity.
Tip 2: Check your identity
Do you identify yourself by your job? That’s a problem both in a death march and even when your not. I can be a bit of a workaholic by some standards, but I know it’s not all I am. If you feel like that’s basically who you are and the project/job isn’t going well, you could be beating yourself up emotionally.
Tip 3: Easy wins
I find it helpful to complete some easy wins from time to time during each week. Stuff like short, simple features or bug fixes. When things are going poorly, it helps to have some feeling of progress or the situation may feel worse than it really is.
Tip 4: Now for something completely different
If you are driven to do something, like me, then do something different. Don’t get burned out; write some code for a personal idea or utility or an open source project. Read. I like reading so this is an easy call for me although I don’t read as much as I would like. Don’t read work related stuff though as that uses the brain in the same way as your work.
Tip 5: Exercise
Exercise is a great way to release stress and revive yourself mentally and emotionally. It has to be something strenuous though. If you’re not trying, it’s not helping. I’d also recommend not over doing it though. Since you are already in a stressed condition, you are likely to be more prone to injury. Limiting the time is my favorite way to prevent over-exercising.
Tip 5: Looking forward
Plan something for after the project is over. This forces you to think of something different for a while and something to look forward to. Hope is a powerful thing and lack of it just makes any current stress seem much worse.
Tip 6: It’s all over but the crying
Knowing when it’s just not going to work can be a little hard, and then even harder when you know but management doesn’t think so. Express your thoughts to the right people but don’t whine. Then put in an healthy effort even if your warning isn’t heeded. At the end of it, you will know you made your case and gave it your best.
Wrap Up
Feel free to add your own tips in the comments. Everyone has their own experience, and will find some things work better for them than others.
-j