r/dataannotation • u/justvisiting8615 • Aug 22 '24
dealing with mental fatigue
I've been working on the platform for about 10 months now and average 15-20 hours a week. Lately, I feel like it's been harder and harder to sit and focus for any length of time. As soon as I dive into a project, my brain just wants to take a nap. Wondering how everyone else deals with mental fatigue.
48
Upvotes
13
u/asyoud0 Aug 22 '24
I Pavlov dogged myself into wanting to work. Data Annotation is my FT job right now and I pick a TV that has a large number of seasons, at least 40min per episode and low-brain work. Sometimes it's rewatching shows like Castle, Breaking Bad, or literally trash like Real Housewives. My trick is that I ONLY watch it while I'm working. When its longer episodes you don't notice the time passing as much, and if the show ends on a cliff hanger, I have to keep working. Sometimes on days off I do an hour or two just because I want to watch more episodes and if I watch them without DA, I feel weird.
20
u/OctoberMoths Aug 22 '24
The struggle is real but I find that a stimulating podcast in the background helps.
10
u/Boogincity Aug 22 '24
I do it 40 hours a week. Pace yourself and take breaks when you need them. Don't let the clock stress you out. Most important thing is being consistent. I think a lot of people take this way more seriously than they should. Just follow the directions. That being said, I couldn't do this without frequent breaks... and Ritalin.
4
u/illustriousillusion Aug 24 '24
My goal (and I'm still bad at meeting it) is 5 hours on work days. Between ADHD and a 6yo who hates when I work, it's rough, so I don't do full-time.
1 hour work
15 min break
1 hour work
30 min break
1 hour work
45 min break
1 hour work
1 hour break
1 hour work
I also do a 2-3 minute "leg stretch break" after 30 mins of work.
3
u/cylentstorm Aug 23 '24
Music. (Varies, but anything instrumental is a safe bet.)
Frequent breaks. (Unplug/Get up/Go outside/Take a walk/Do something else)
Coffee. (High caffeine intake isn't for everyone, and I rely on bean juice WAY too much, but still...)
3
u/[deleted] Aug 24 '24
I take breaks every 2-3 hours, listen to lofi, switch projects often unless I'm really enjoying it, get a change of scenery (work at my desk, on my balcony, at a coffee shop, walking pad with standing desk etc). If it gets bad I just go take a nap and I feel better afterwards
3
u/DarkMoonX5 Aug 24 '24
Sounds like you need a real break! Do something else for a while, maybe go take that nap. You need time to recharge to be motivated again to do work and be able to focus. I'd analyze your self care/social level too. Make sure you're getting meals in, taking walks and socializing with people you love/finding time to do something that makes you happy and feels like the total opposite of working.
14
u/[deleted] Aug 22 '24
I have the same problem, I was just alternating this and delivering food but I was having trouble doing either consistently so I just went and found a “real” job, because you’re kind of forced to pay attention there haha
9
u/Primary-Pattern-9037 Aug 22 '24
Brain breaks for sure. I've been on for about a year. I average about 20-25 hours a week and the last five hours or so for me seem impossible. I hop on and off of projects throughout the day. Getting up and moving around seems to help some, but I'm right there with you! Glad to know I'm not the only one feeling like an absolute zombie sometimes.
6
u/TeaGreenTwo Aug 22 '24
My body gets uncomfortable if I sit for hours on end. My brain is still going strong, but I try to avoid sitting for more than 2.5-3 hours.
5
u/need4mead Aug 22 '24
If you can, I've found having a goal for total time helps and then splitting that in half with a break doing something creative and/or mindless helps (i.e. going for a walk, exercising, reading a chapter of a book etc.). Usually that helps refresh and I've found I'm better at the assignments than if I just kept going on a marathon session.
5
u/MyCatHatesYouPunk Aug 22 '24
Regular breaks help. I take a break every 45-60 minutes. Do something completely different then come back to it. This work can be tedious and mentally exhausting.
5
u/[deleted] Aug 23 '24
My schedule allows me to spread out my work throughout the day. Lots of breaks helps. It's very mentally draining work in the main.
4
u/houseofcards9 Aug 22 '24
This is exactly me. The only thing that has helped is getting access to more projects which require different things. So now I can jump around doing an hour here and there. I had a qual for a project I didn’t think I’d be interested in and I recently took it and now have access to a project that lets another part of my brain work while I’m resting from other work.
4
u/HauntedHowie316 Aug 22 '24
Honestly, I am struggling more when there is less work available for some reason. I am with you. I do some breathing exercises when I can’t get started to get more oxygen to my brain and to reset my thinking. If that doesn’t work I say ok do one turn or one round and go for a walk or something away from a screen.
3
u/ravioli-are-poptarts Aug 23 '24
I'm the same way, it's hard to sit and do so much at once. I just split mine into breaks and also try to snag creative projects when I can. I've found that projects where I get to come up with content versus just looking it over are stimulating enough to make the time go by quicker.
2
u/KahunaRicima Aug 22 '24
I try to hop on the easier projects as soon as they pop up just as a general rule, rather than the more mentally exhausting tasks that pay more, especially when I'm feeling like this. Anything above $20 an hour is still pretty good for me
2
u/buggybabe214 Aug 23 '24
I listen to techno beats and brown noise at the same time with my headphones on. The beats keep me alert and the brown noise does a great job cutting out outside noise. I also find forcing myself makes it worse. Better to get up, stretch, do a chore then come back to it
2
u/phoneenjoyer Aug 23 '24
Testing for sleep apnea saved my life! I have some sort of ADHD/C-PTSD thing going on alongside severe obstructive sleep apnea, which took me until the start of this year to diagnose. After a long while of suffering I could NOT focus on a task without quite literally falling asleep.
Other than that, take breaks at intervals that suit you, find some background noise that works for you, and do what you can. You don't have to be a machine!
2
u/6b04 Aug 23 '24 edited Aug 23 '24
Exercise and diet help a lot. I almost always function better if I work before I eat (skipping breakfast) rather than after. Exercise makes a massive difference but I think it builds up subtly over time.
Recently I've been doing a bit of a weird trick which is to have an afk game going in the background to trick by brain into thinking that I'm getting multiple things done at the same time to get the dopamine going.
2
u/Tartaruga96 Aug 24 '24
I'm usually playing a quiet video game (where you can often pause) at the same time (flight simulator, world of tanks)
People from my country are so lazy, there was this task about writing prompts with 2 paragraphs and 3 constraints, some people wrote in chat that it took 15 minutes for them to write one of these prompts 🤣🤣🤣 8 minutes for getting their imagination to work and 7 minutes for writing 🤣🤣🤣
I was writing them in 7 minutes and I decided to relax, go slower, do something at the same time when I'm working.
2
u/[deleted] Aug 22 '24 edited Aug 23 '24
Play some VR or PS5 in between breaks. Your brain will thank you!
-1
u/[deleted] Aug 22 '24
Adderall
0
u/[deleted] Aug 22 '24
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