Q&A: How Do You Avoid Daygame Burnout?

You recently did 40k steps. How do you prevent feet blisters/hip/knee pain?!

I had this question and thought I’d turn it into a longer one on avoiding Daygame burnout and energy management; going from the most micro suggestions all the way up to the macro. I’ve been doing this for nearly seven years now and I’ve never had a serious period of burnout before. Of course, it wasn’t all peak vibe – sometimes far from it – but I’ve never had to step away from the sport because of Daygame revulsion.

At the micro level:

• Wear comfortable shoes which you’re happy to walk a lot in. Often I’ll wear trainers which are all black and so they can be mistaken for shoes anyway (brightly coloured trainers stick out as exactly what they are and make you seem a bit boyish). I get my boots from a British shoe retailer called Clark’s and they can be worn out of the shop without blisters or pain, unlike other boot brands which have to be worn in. Whatever you wear, make sure they have a thick enough sole that you don’t feel as if you’re walking directly on any cobbles; I’ve suffered from this before while wearing Converse style shoes.
• Look at what the weather will be like during your session and dress appropriately. Do you need to bring your jacket? Will a t-shirt suffice? How about shorts? This might sound like a “duhhh” suggestion but everyone’s fallen foul of it. It’s really annoying to have to carry your jacket with you on a sunny day, or to wish you’d have worn a shirt over your t-shirt on a sunny but windy one. I follow this rough procedure (degrees in celsius): <10: t-shirt, jacket, jeans, shirt/hoodie/cardigan; 10 – 15: t-shirt, jacket, jeans, potentially shirt if I need a little extra warmth; 15 – 20: t-shirt, jeans, shirt; 20 – 25: t-shirt/shirt, shorts; 25+: t-shirt, shorts.
• Following from that point: it’s okay to have temperature cut-offs. Okay, maybe not if you’re in your first 18 months of Daygame because you might use this as a weasel, but beyond that, it’s okay to say “it’s too cold/hot today to Daygame.” I personally don’t enjoy Daygaming much in 25+ degree weather as I sweat too much and I can’t focus on the girls or enjoy the walk. And anything under 10 degrees is a bit dodgy too since it’s just cold and the ROI of Daygaming in that temperature is much lower.
• Another one for when you’re beyond your first 18 months: it’s okay to phone the odd session in. Put on a podcast or some music, tell yourself you’re just going for a short walk, and only open the sets which you have a real draw towards. It’s okay to go easy on yourself now and then.
• Take regular breaks during your session – I like to go for 50 minutes to an hour then break for 10 and repeat – and always keep your mind on energy levels: Daygame is not the time to be ultra-healthy; if it’s a hot day then have an ice cream or iced coffee; if it’s a cold day then have a coffee or hot chocolate. Daygame is the time to treat yourself and keep yourself in good spirits: there’s no Daygame police who will punish you for taking breaks, nor some governing body which will give you a medal for grinding out hour after hour without pause. If you really are calorie conscious then you can remind yourself that you’ll be walking at least a couple of miles each hour which probably equate to at least 200 calories: enough for a treat. (A 155 lb person burns 100 calories walking one mile: you can scale up and down depending on your weight).
• This last one is a bit wooly, and also should be somewhat clear already, but try to make Daygame fun! Once you’re beyond the first 18 months you can start approaching only the girls you really want to. Don’t say the same thing in every set. Mix up the areas you go to. If you’re out with a wing, make the priority keeping each other’s vibes up (good sets will come off the back of this naturally). Related to that point, there’s no medal for going out solo and so if you want all your sessions to be winged then go for it.

At the meso level:

• Don’t do too much Daygame, even if you have the time and energy for more. A maximum of four sessions a week. If you’ve got nothing better to do, it shows you’ve got a bit of a boring life. You should have things outside of Daygame to do.
• Don’t do too many sets. It’s arbitrary but let’s say 30 per week is enough. There’s a point at which you’ll start spam approaching – going after girls who give you too little approach signal to justify approaching them – and then things can really take a turn for the worse: you’ll see girls as being on a conveyor belt and they can feel it; you’ll start looking for a cookie cutter approach to apply to each girl; you’ll put yourself at greater risk of negative momentum (way moreso than the chance of getting into positive momentum); you’ll drain yourself emotionally and start phoning in all of your sessions.

At the macro level:

• Program in scheduled hibernations each year from Daygame: usually two to three months off during the winter. Of course you can still Daygame during winter but there’ll be less girls out and it will be cold, and you’ll miss out on the anticipation of the new Daygame season and initial burst of excitement that comes with it.
• Plan trips to other countries and sometimes venture to new cities
• Treasure good wings and develop a little community of guys you can go out with. That’s more of a micro point, making the sessions more fun and therefore making Daygame more sustainable, but you’ll also have guys to share in the camaraderie of Daygame and to go on trips with, which keeps things fun. It’s important to keep up with the social side of this too!

Yours unfaithfully,

Thomas Crown

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