Hey everyone! Hope you're all resting well after the long Game Jam week!
Everyone should be really proud of what they've produced within that week! 

What do you guys think is the most important thing to do to make sure you don't get burnt out when attending gamejams? 

Sleep, don't over-scope your project and try to do something new which you've never / rarely done before if it doesn't end up hurting your game's quality. Also better to have at least 2 roles if you're in a team to prevent having only one kind of thing to do (might sound more efficient but the mind is pretty bad at concentrating on the same thing constantly, we need some diversity !). 

Also don't forget to eat and drink so that you don't just run out of energy after a day or two when your body is done energizing from your last pre-jam day's meals. When concentrating the brain can switch to a mode where it sort of "forgets" the sensations of hunger and thirst but it doesn't mean you don't need the energy anymore (the brain is the biggest consumer of nutrients in the body !)

I think the main thing would be to not get over competitive about the jam. With so many developers it's  easy to get lost in scoring and ranking, but more than a competition, it is an opportunity to be expressive with your games and that should come first.

PACING. Even though I was enjoying the grind, so to speak, it would definitely beneficial for us to stop and just go outside for a quick walk everyone once in a while. Quite frankly, many of our ideas came from our breaks, rather than from sitting and actively brainstorming.

planing and having a schedule of things still needed to be done. 

Usually after a full days work at my actual job, I come home full of ideas and inspiration and spend as much time as possible working on my games. 

I also write down my thoughts before I go to bed which helps me refresh my memory then next day, as it helps get you back into that inspiration and ideal flow state you were in at the start of the project. It's good to see where you are and if your meeting your self set deadlines, it also helps to have a list of what things are necessary to the game. That way you can check them off and it gives you a sense of progression

 nothing kills motivation quite like feeling that you couldn't get it finished by the submission time.

will check out your game soon!

and for dont get burnouts I just do many pauses lol

hope you will mine too!

https://itch.io/jam/cgj/rate/477017

I really don't get burned out that easily, but I made an idea that I really liked, and didn't make my project too complex! I also used an art style that I feel comfortable with,  so as not to be frustrated!

Starting with a good long brainstorming session helped me. The first day of the jam, I was meant to go out with friends - I thought about cancelling, but instead, took the time driving there and back to think up ideas. I used a Trello board to write everything down in two lists - must haves, and things to do if I have time. I concentrated on the must-haves first and made sure I had a playable game within the first couple days. Everything else was adding as much fun fluff as I had time for! This is all juggling my normal job, as I'm sure many of us were.

I also kept a timer on the desk and made sure to stand up and move around or get on the treadmill for a few minutes every half hour or so. Plenty of sleep, no skipping meals.