It’s the end of week 3, robot is in the works and nerves are fried already. How does your team handle the stress?
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After shop cleanup, we end each meeting with a 10-15 minute debrief for the day. Each group discusses their progress for the day and any issues they are facing. Our captains (and mentors) take this data and decide if people need to be reallocated for the next day. A lot of our stress was from spreading our team too thin working on too many subprojects. While it wasn’t easy, our captains decided to drop some subprojects and reallocate the team members to other projects that needed help solving their issues.
Be realistic about your teams capabilities, and don’t try to do more than you can get done in 6 (err, 3 more) weeks.
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Students have Fitness Fridays, (some) Mentors have spa days.
I don’t know about the rest of our team, but I’m freaking out about how far behind we are. ugh.
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Everyone is tired and we are pretty far behind our schedule, its time to make some hard choices about what to do and what not do. The best way I have found to deal with this, is by having regular meetings where everyone can give their opinion, that way we still feel stressed but at least we are stressed as a team.
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I took the CAD team out to IHOP after our meeting yesterday, to tell them thanks for all their hard work. CAD is at 95%, with the only missing pieces being in our intake. Right now it’s just down to timely part orders, lots of hours on the CNC, and assembly time. Everybody seems alright.
Lots of jokes. The kids have created a joke jar (like a swear jar, but jokes) with my name on it. Someone subtitled it “steak fund”.
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I wasn’t stressed until you told me it’s mid-build season.
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Sarcasm and cynicism.
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Taco Bell Nacho Fries
Too bad theyre like $1.30 now like what the heck
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I got the nacho fries box a few days ago and barely got any fries! Shouldn’t the fries be like the features item. Dangit Taco Bell, this is why I’m starting to prefer Del Taco!
Get the Chalupa box if you actually want a deal. You only save like 7 cents on the fries box (or so this post claims and if you somehow find a 5 layer that cheap)
Either way, I usually just asked for them stuffed into whatever burritos I get. Usually cheaper than doing the potatoes (rip potatorito)
Robot is behind, CAD has missing pieces, and things are in the process of machining. Lots of 1AM CAD nights for me personally. Oh well! I know the process will sort itself out in the end. Only a few more weeks left to go.
You should come down to Fort Collins and take us out! Just kidding (unless you really wanna), sounds fun though!
Just gotta deal and accept that it comes with time constraints. That’s what makes it the hardest fun you’ll ever have. Embrace this stress because it is good stress. Don’t try and get rid of it, as it teaches you how to cope with real world problems.
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oh my god it’s mid build season.
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Best way to handle Build Season Stress? Work to a plan layed out at the beginning of the season, along with a risk assessment, review progress periodically against those and adjust as needed…
That… and drink plenty of water… 
That’s my secret, Slever. I’m always stressed.
But for real, I’ve learned that behind doesn’t mean that we’re going to fail, or even likely to. We’ve been behind to degrees that should be anxiety-inducing most years, but I’ve learned that the bot still tends to get done.
Except in 2016. But we don’t talk about that.
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Drivetrain one is welded, getting start on number two. It’s been fun balancing getting enough CAD done where we can keep a constant rate of part fabrication, while not rushing areas where they will be thrown away before put on the robot. CAD is about 75% done, bellypan got emailed tonight so the drivetrain can be assembled in the next couple days, last of elevator parts should be made towards the end of the week (still waiting on aluminum), and manipulators and intake are still being refined before fabrication gets too deep into them.
Still many days of welding at meetings then coming home to CAD most of the night, and somehow creating a time machine, we are currently one day behind schedule compared to last year with our design definitely not as refined as it was last year.
Gonna need a lot of caffeine in the next coming weeks.