Ask HN: How many days do you take off to recover from burnout? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: How many days do you take off to recover from burnout?

#21

Post by temp234 » Thu, Oct 21, 2021, 6:00 PM UTC

softwaredoug wrote: post #18

Depends what you mean. I believe burnout comes from forgetting who you were before you learned your professional vocation. For me the little kid that likes legos and video games, where “computers” are some weird abstract thing in the lab at school. Putting my work-self before that kid leads to disaster. I’m a human being before I’m a programmer. I can allow myself to change: to even dislike programming, to explore ot…

I like this answer a lot, particularly the point about hobbies... options are power, OP, if you're feeling burnt out try to frame this much broader than just needing time off. Things that can be part of feeling better are: self care, fixing your sleep, eating well, drinking water, thinking about the substances you use, different habits, change of place, time with people you love, going to your doctor for a check up, maybe considering therapy. If it feels cringe it may be particularly worth investigating. For the longest time I thought being really disciplined about sleep was just a meme for uncool people but no, it's the best

Re: Ask HN: How many days do you take off to recover from burnout?

#22

Post by lnwlebjel » Thu, Oct 21, 2021, 8:11 PM UTC

Proabably 20 days, scattered over 6 months. For me it was more about distributing the work load, so that I wasn't coming back to the same forces that induced the burnout. Improving stress management also helped a lot, which mostly amounts to regular, weight-bearing exercise (leading to a calmer mind, better sleep, better eating ... etc).

I'm about 5 months out of it now and feel like a normal human being for the first time in years.

Re: Ask HN: How many days do you take off to recover from burnout?

#23

Post by literallyaduck » Thu, Oct 21, 2021, 10:32 PM UTC

Recovery is a long road. First you need to break ties with your abuser. Stop working 40+ weeks and set limits on "on call" work. Don't check your phone on down time. A day measurement will be different for everyone, but I'd recommend going camping for two weeks without a phone, bring it but don't turn it on.

Don't bring anyone else and take time to figure you how you got there and where you want to go in life.

Remember most code is meaningless, and unless you happen to work where people's lives depend on you getting it right, relax.

Re: Ask HN: How many days do you take off to recover from burnout?

#24

Post by trilinearnz » Fri, Oct 22, 2021, 2:15 AM UTC

For me, a week off work combined with the following:

1. Seeing my GP and going back on antidepressant medication (burnout may be a symptom of an underlying condition).

2. Taking up the offer of set of six free counselling sessions offered by my state.

3. Continuing to apply my own personal coping mechanisms (e.g. mild exercise, adequate sleep).

4. Recognising that burnout / depressive feelings / anxiety can sometimes re-occur for a while despite your best efforts and the above practices, and that is OK.

In my opinion, it's important to acknowledge that relying on just one of these points exclusively may not be enough for you to stave off burnout. My mistake was thinking there was a silver bullet, and tackling that would be enough to 'fix' myself. Instead, a multi-pronged, long-term plan was necessary for me.

I wish you all the best :)