"More about that transformation and the results in the next post."
Seriously? It's just needlessly split up. There's barely any substance to this post. You know what you're doing, so quit it.
Part 2: How I dealt with a burnout
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Re: Part 2: How I dealt with a burnout
#12The most notable part of this post for me was this quote: > I went through a major transformation during my burnout: I now see programming as a means, not an end. People, which is more typically a fallacy of youth, waste a lot of time arguing about pointless crap like Python vs Ruby (which are so similar technically that it's basically an argument about idioms). Part of this I can understand: people often argue about…
> go get a non-programming job if you've never had one
I would add: go get a non-programming job demanding physical labor where (one way or another) you are building something or tear something down. It can be incredibly satisfying to just do some simple but physically demanding work and see actual results at the end of the day, results you can actually touch. And it will also show you how much worse things could be if you are doing the same kind of repetitive tasks every day for the rest of your life.
Or it might end up showing you a new love for a completely different kind of job; a smart and handy craftsman can easily keep up with good IT salaries and can do just as interesting work including all sorts of hacks and interesting problem solving.
I wish I could find it but there was a long article in the NYT I believe about a dude who moved from complicated analysis to repairing vintage motorcycles and he could demonstrate very well how the skills he developed there are easily comparable to PhD degree problem-solving in an office job and he got a lot of satisfaction and freedom out of fixing broken bikes and seeing how happy his customers were when their much beloved bikes would suddenly run again.
So, it doesn't always have to be web startups - there are a lot of interesting and satisfying jobs out there outside of IT, if one is brave enough to explore and push to see just how deep the rabbit hole can go.
Re: Part 2: How I dealt with a burnout
#13"More about that transformation and the results in the next post." Seriously? It's just needlessly split up. There's barely any substance to this post. You know what you're doing, so quit it.
Yeah somebody is getting off on watching their analytics numbers go up.
Re: Part 2: How I dealt with a burnout
#14The most notable part of this post for me was this quote: > I went through a major transformation during my burnout: I now see programming as a means, not an end. People, which is more typically a fallacy of youth, waste a lot of time arguing about pointless crap like Python vs Ruby (which are so similar technically that it's basically an argument about idioms). Part of this I can understand: people often argue about…
> go get a non-programming job if you've never had one I would add: go get a non-programming job demanding physical labor where (one way or another) you are building something or tear something down. It can be incredibly satisfying to just do some simple but physically demanding work and see actual results at the end of the day, results you can actually touch. And it will also show you how much worse things could be…
> I would add: go get a non-programming job demanding physical labor where (one way or another) you are building something or tear something down. It can be incredibly satisfying to just do some simple but physically demanding work and see actual results at the end of the day, results you can actually touch.
I totally agree with you on this. It is one of the reasons that I program. I get to build and fix stuff. I have had the physical jobs like that before. What I do now is work around the house doing things like gardening and other general yard work. It is nice to put some music on and just zone out for a couple of hours while I work with my hands and not my mind.
Re: Part 2: How I dealt with a burnout
#15Yeah, a month of 100 hours work weeks can be bad. Three months are much, much worse. It's not just hours, though; what's worse is that "no time to stop for gas, we're already late" mentality of all deathmarches. So you end up working from unrealistic specs implementing architecturally unsound decisions using wrong tools and digging through a mess of unreadable ad-hoc code along the way. For 100 hours a week, no less.…
Interesting, another poster argued the opposite -- to do manual labor without much mental demands, as a way of getting over burnout. :-)
(For the record, I have friends that use both methods and it seems to work for them. Personally, I read literature (-: ok, an exaggeration -- sf&f :-) and just take time off.)
Re: Part 2: How I dealt with a burnout
#16The most notable part of this post for me was this quote: > I went through a major transformation during my burnout: I now see programming as a means, not an end. People, which is more typically a fallacy of youth, waste a lot of time arguing about pointless crap like Python vs Ruby (which are so similar technically that it's basically an argument about idioms). Part of this I can understand: people often argue about…
> go get a non-programming job if you've never had one I would add: go get a non-programming job demanding physical labor where (one way or another) you are building something or tear something down. It can be incredibly satisfying to just do some simple but physically demanding work and see actual results at the end of the day, results you can actually touch. And it will also show you how much worse things could be…
Is this the article you're thinking of?
The Case for Working With Your Hands http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/magazine/24labor-t.html?pa...
Re: Part 2: How I dealt with a burnout
#17The most notable part of this post for me was this quote: > I went through a major transformation during my burnout: I now see programming as a means, not an end. People, which is more typically a fallacy of youth, waste a lot of time arguing about pointless crap like Python vs Ruby (which are so similar technically that it's basically an argument about idioms). Part of this I can understand: people often argue about…
> go get a non-programming job if you've never had one I would add: go get a non-programming job demanding physical labor where (one way or another) you are building something or tear something down. It can be incredibly satisfying to just do some simple but physically demanding work and see actual results at the end of the day, results you can actually touch. And it will also show you how much worse things could be…
Yes. Working with your body feels good, whether it's exercise or work. Another thing I really liked is helping friends with moving or home improvements.
I did consider taking a job as a craftsman. However, I did not need a lot of money to survive but had savings, so it wasn't urgent and I didn't do it. Too bad, I think it would have been a really useful experience. Maybe sometime later.
Re: Part 2: How I dealt with a burnout
#18Earlier quoted context omitted.
> go get a non-programming job if you've never had one I would add: go get a non-programming job demanding physical labor where (one way or another) you are building something or tear something down. It can be incredibly satisfying to just do some simple but physically demanding work and see actual results at the end of the day, results you can actually touch. And it will also show you how much worse things could be…
Is this the article you're thinking of? The Case for Working With Your Hands http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/magazine/24labor-t.html?pa...
YES! Exactly that one, thank you for linking it!!
Re: Part 2: How I dealt with a burnout
#19The most notable part of this post for me was this quote: > I went through a major transformation during my burnout: I now see programming as a means, not an end. People, which is more typically a fallacy of youth, waste a lot of time arguing about pointless crap like Python vs Ruby (which are so similar technically that it's basically an argument about idioms). Part of this I can understand: people often argue about…
> go get a non-programming job if you've never had one I would add: go get a non-programming job demanding physical labor where (one way or another) you are building something or tear something down. It can be incredibly satisfying to just do some simple but physically demanding work and see actual results at the end of the day, results you can actually touch. And it will also show you how much worse things could be…
You should also consider teaching. Talking about interesting stuff to interested young people is very satisfying.
Re: Part 2: How I dealt with a burnout
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
> go get a non-programming job if you've never had one I would add: go get a non-programming job demanding physical labor where (one way or another) you are building something or tear something down. It can be incredibly satisfying to just do some simple but physically demanding work and see actual results at the end of the day, results you can actually touch. And it will also show you how much worse things could be…
You should also consider teaching. Talking about interesting stuff to interested young people is very satisfying.
> You should also consider teaching.
This is another excellent idea! You can never know enough about a topic, there is always going to be an interesting or surprising question from one of your students and then you can learn something new along with them!