Ask HN: I can't work anymore. Burnout? I have no idea. What can I do?

But if you're still into the niche, then maybe the answer is to stop writing code and and focus on business development & QA. You don't need to be always working at the coal face yourself. Perhaps get the freelancers to start maintianing your code base and switch your attentions to product and busines development, plucking the most promising contracters to become employees?

Whichever, don't beat yourself up. It's Thursday now, so I suggest clearing your urgent emails and then taking the rest of today, tomorrow, and the weekend off (ie away from the computer and preferably from your home) to think about what you'd like to be doing each day of the week. Lots of luck!

1) Eliminate distractions. I don't know if it's ADHD or what but I'm very easily distracted. As much as I love programming, I often find that reading HN or checking my email, browsing Amazon or any number of other things seem more interesting. It's often even just doing things I need to get done, but at a time when I should be focusing on writing code.

For me the solution is to push all my browser windows to another desktop, open only the one I need for testing/research and absolutely ban myself from doing anything else for a period of time.

2) Manage expectations. The other problem I have is that my mind doesn't like to switch focus very easily. I may have been really laser focused on a problem for a while, but then after I finish or something else comes up and it's time to focus on a new problem, my brain rebels and refuses to change focus.

The solution for me has been to manage my expectations, in a sense. I have to close my eyes and clear my mind of everything and just relax for 5 minutes, with the expectation that after that I'm going to open my eyes and focus on the new task. It helps calm my mind and since I'm now expecting to focus on the new task in 5 minutes, but I'm not forcing it immediately, my mind warms up to the idea of doing it in a bit.

3) Have a plan. I've found that when I'm faced with a difficult and vague task my brain wants to avoid focusing just because it seems hard or something.

For this I've found that if I first pause and plan out exactly where I'm going to jump in, exactly what I'm going to do to try and tackle the problem, then it's easier to focus on it. Maybe that means I'm going to sit down with a white-board and draw out the system architecture to tackle a problem or whatever else.

4) Sleep and caffeine. I've found that when I'm too tired, I really just can't focus. Often just taking a 20 minute nap (keep it to 20 minutes, set an alarm) makes a world of difference. Also, I've found that getting some caffeine helps me focus a lot. Of course, it might not be as effective if you use it all the time.

In any case, it seems that you're financially successful, love what you do, and right now may be looking for the new challenge.

I would definitely recommend you take some time to think about what are new challenges you'd like to tackle. Brainstorm and don't let reason hold you back from making big and daring goals. Then review your resources and see what you need to work on to start on another path.

Hope this helps. Obviously a lot of other great recommendations in this thread, so I definitely recommend you start writing down your thoughts and how you're thinking through things. It'll help you keep track of your progress.