Pre kickoff stress relief

With the days leading up to kickoff I’ve been researching old robot designs, reading the forums and getting familiar with the new product lineup of manufacturers. Organizing the tool box, cleaning my computer and prepping the CAD software. With all this prep I’ve been overwhelmed with stress. A stress built robot is a bad robot. So i promised myself to not do anything FRC related 48 hours prior to kickoff. Hopefully I can get 10 hours of sleep to spend the least amount of time being caffeine fueled. And finally wake up early to watch the sunrise on lake.

I’m interested if anyone else is feeling a lot of stress. Tell me your stress relief below.

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My stress relief is embrace it and I find that vitamin B12 supplements really help with energy levels to make up for sleep loss. It’s not a permanent solution, but I function on it

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My method is to graduate, become a mentor and volunteer, and organize a kickoff event.

That way I’m too busy worrying about dotting i’s and crossing t’s for the event to get stressed about the game release and upcoming build :wink:

(Also taking New Years off to go bicycling in the day, have dinner and cuddle with my friends, and do no FIRST work until tomorrow)

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Hey, we’re hosting our first kickoff, following in your footsteps!

On topic, my recommendation is exercise. I’ve picked up running over the last few years, and try to do 12-20 miles a week. I have a nice 4 mile loop from my house that goes through some farm fields. It’s a great way to decompress.

Sleep, exercise and healthy eating will serve you well all season!

-Mike

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Advice from someone who has a GPA a full point higher in college than I did in high school:

Take this time to organize your life. I know it’s winter break for most but if there is anything you can do now to prepare yourself to do better in school next semester, do it. Some suggestions:

  • Organize your files
  • Organize your bedroom
  • Clean out your backpack
  • Do any assignments you already have which are due within a week of Kickoff

Also, spend some time right now with family. You won’t see nearly as much of them during build season as I’m sure they would like. Slow down, relax, and rack up those brownie points.

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I just play some minecraft

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  • Sleep
  • Watching a movie
  • Playing video games
  • Playing CD mafia games
  • Doing nothing productive
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I play Minecraft and CAD, but they’re pretty close to the same thing.
I also see family for the last time for 2-3 months lol.

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Final exams right after kickoff, so I can get busy being stressed by non-FRC stuff instead

I just came back from a New Years vacation in the mountains. That’s what I called stress relief.

yeah rip family time

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This is great advice! I absolutely love running outside in the morning before breakfast, and can confirm that it’s amazing at stress relief.

Besides the fact that exercise and being outdoors surrounded by nature are good for your mental health and well-being, I find it uniquely satisfying to realize that almost nothing I’ll encounter on any given day is more difficult that the last kilometer of a hard pre-breakfast run.

I was running 200 km per month last fall, drifted back a to around 100 km per month in Nov and Dec, but am aiming to get back to 200 km a month for 2020 (gotta get those monthly Strava badges!)

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