This was mentioned as a note in another thread, but I feel that it is worthy of its own thread.
Where do you draw the line between working hard and being stressed?

I feel that when you begin to lose sleep consistently, while also working all day, you're over working yourself.


*NOTE: This thread also applies to your opinion on influencing others to work harder/ to relax.

I am usually unable to draw the line where I am working too hard, so I end up having some kind of breakdown and then the people who love me will point out to me how stressed out I am, and that I should relax a little more.

What line?

Custard Trout
What line?

For some of us, there just isn't a line. Stress and working hard go hand in hand and there isn't really an option for some of us. If I want to pay my bills, do the things I love and maybe bank a little money at the end of the month, that means a lot of 16 hour days. And sometimes, when I look at my bank account or pageviews, ( It does concern me a bit that I'm this far in and haven't seen very much significant growth or recognition like a feature, interview, etc., but that's more related to loving my comic and wanting to see it do well, than my work ethic. ) I still feel like I'm not working hard enough. I used to constantly feel like I was going to burn out, but after the last six months of doing it I've become used to it and my stress level has gone down a little bit.

Now, does that mean I'm not over-working myself? Probably not. Chances are good I am, but I don't really get much of a choice if I want to stay in school and make a career.

Where do I draw the line?

When I start thinking of my comic in a negative manner - to me, it's a sign that I've been working too hard at it and that I need to step away for a moment and do something else. Better to miss one week's update than push myself too hard and give up completely.

For me, it isn't really a stress thing - I cope well with deadlines, as long as they are somewhat reasonable, and I work better because of them - but rather a matter of keeping up my enthusiasm. If I can't look at a project and feel "Wow, I really want to work on this!" then it's all pretty pointless.

Frostflowers
Where do I draw the line?

When I start thinking of my comic in a negative manner - to me, it's a sign that I've been working too hard at it and that I need to step away for a moment and do something else. Better to miss one week's update than push myself too hard and give up completely.

For me, it isn't really a stress thing - I cope well with deadlines, as long as they are somewhat reasonable, and I work better because of them - but rather a matter of keeping up my enthusiasm. If I can't look at a project and feel "Wow, I really want to work on this!" then it's all pretty pointless.

Yeah, I'm going to have to agree with you here. If you start out a project because it's fun and then it stops, you need to look at what you're doing wrong and then try to correct it. Taking a break every so often helps out as well

I third that, my good man. I draw for fun, as I'm sure do most of the people here, so it's never really a question of whether or not I want to do it, but if I start burning myself out on it or something then I just take a short break and come back to it in a week or two. I've got a lot of other things going on in my life, and most of the time I wish I did have more time to work on my comic.

CoyoteLongshot
I third that, my good man. I draw for fun, as I'm sure do most of the people here, so it's never really a question of whether or not I want to do it, but if I start burning myself out on it or something then I just take a short break and come back to it in a week or two. I've got a lot of other things going on in my life, and most of the time I wish I did have more time to work on my comic.

Yeah, comicing is a hobby for me.


(This was originally about school/work and in general discussion, but whatever.)

If I get more than 5 to 6 hours' sleep in any given night, I'm doing very well! Considering I have medical issues, that's really terrible but what can you do? I have a wife, two children, a full-time job, I try to be active with church (which includes being an electric bass player and backing vocalist, which means rehearsals and performances) and I do webcomics.

The only particularly bad thing about not getting enough sleep is the cumulative aggravation to my body, which tends to include daily pain. I could do without that. I balance the lack of sleep with a strong sense of accomplishment at the end of most days, though. Also, my art has always been therapeutic and probably always will be.

I also agree with the others concerning if you start feeling negative about your comic. I haven't gotten to that point but I have hit snags where I know I should not force the comic pages. If it's not enjoyable, you're not doing things right. :)

Bocaj
This was mentioned as a note in another thread, but I feel that it is worthy of its own thread.
Where do you draw the line between working hard and being stressed?

I feel that when you begin to lose sleep consistently, while also working all day, you're over working yourself.


*NOTE: This thread also applies to your opinion on influencing others to work harder/ to relax.

It's a strange line because I think it shows up in so many different ways depending on the person. I work myself to death because I enjoy it. Comicking is a job for me. I have to sleep because of my medical condition so luckily I can't work 24hrs a day.

But I noticed other things with my overworking - my art became so structured. If it wasn't for the comic, I didn't do it. And I think that's bad juju waiting to happen. Overworking quickly leads to burnouts which take way longer to recoup from than just taking an hour a day to just do something else for yourself or your family.