How do you avoid burnout?

[Daruko01]

I've been working on my game for a bit over two months, and I've been getting some pretty decent feedback. I've been going at it pretty much everyday, and while I'm not burnt out (yet), I can feel it coming if I keep going at this pace. How do you manage not burning out? How do you manage your time, and how do you fight off the guilt of not working on your game and not feeling productive when taking time off from game development?

 

[arnii]

Best advice I can give is set expectations with your followers. Under-promise and over deliver if possible. Unless your relying on the game to make a living, you should remember it’s not super-important to work on your game at the detriment of your own state-of-mind. If you have understanding supporters with realistic expectations then that will help.

Also, I sometimes plan a break (like over Xmas) and prepare some bonus material for my supported beforehand so that they are still getting something from supporting me even when I’m not actively working in the game.

 

[Niv-Mizzet the Firemind]

When it feels more like a chore (and I'm not talking about things you don't like doing), take a break from working on the game, forget about said game and do something else (it doesn't have to be productive), or do nothing. The duration of the break depends on you only, and it should be until you clear your head or just want to get back to working on it.

The thing with guilt is that it only adds to the burnout and therefore is totally counter productive. So figure that out for yourself and then forget about it.
Also, you'll never do your best work feeling guilty.

As for your followers/supporters/whatever, just tell them that you're feeling it and you're gonna take a break. Most will understand that.

 

[anne O'nymous]

Consider it as a job, even when it's a hobby you're doing on your free time. This mean that you've the right to take a day off, the right to be sick, and the right to have some holidays. It can be difficult since you generally do it when you've finally the time for this, but taking at least a couple days off after each update should be something mandatory. You did a good job, you then deserve a reward.
Talking about rewards, it's also a way to go. When I was still freelancer, and she was still alive, my wife used to make my favorite meal each time I finished a contract. It's not something big, but morally speaking it always did marvels. So, you can also just treat yourself time to time. You worked your ass out all the week, really advanced on the update, time for a movie, but not on your TV screen, a real one in a theater, the good old "movie time". It will be 3 hours during which you'll not works on your game, but also 3 hours during which you get back the energy spend during the week.

What's important to understand is that, as long as it's not too frequent, each hour that you'll not spend on your game will increase your productivity once the break will end. You haven't lost 3 hours in my movie example, you've gained the energy to do an effective week of works ; opposed to a week of works when half drained, where you'll advance slowly and do less than expected.