Ask HN: Burned Out. What Now?

As far as should you tell your boss and/or team: my highly sophisticated algorithm for this is, if you were the boss, would you want to be notified? It's not smart to tell the team: it would percolate to the boss in a distorted form anyway, but also it's up to your boss to deal with the issue properly.

I have a todo list of about 6 million things to do before I die so I can't empathize very well with the boredom thing. My instinct though is that it's very good for you to be challenging yourself somehow. If not with a hobby, then maybe something like sports/self defense/meditation would do the trick.

I think you're going through something bigger than it may seem at the moment. Good luck on your journey.

It really depends. If your boss is generally a good person he'll be glad to know and try to help you. If he's a shitty person he might use it against you or think less of you. You should know or at least be able to guess which way he should be leaning. Not sure I'd tell the team though, this should be between you and your boss for now, it shouldn't become the company's gossip.

> I'm hesitant because I don't have many hobbies (if any) and in the middle of the pandemic there isn't much to do anyway.

To me that is telling something. It's quite possible you also have a mild depression going on (and could be that the burnout is exacerbated by it). What I mean is it might be that things aren't as you'd like them to be in other areas of life, which can eventually hurt your job performance since your mental well being isn't great. Keep getting the support you need, be willing to make some changes. Rooting for you.

I'd start by seeing a therapist.

It's nice to have someone to speak with about your issues that can help provide guidance.

I spent better part of a decade working every day I was awake. Started seeing a therapist after working with some truly horrible people who now face serious repercussions for their actions.

Recently, I splurged on some retro game stuff. I spent years ignoring retro gaming. I thought these were relics for immature man children who lived in their parents basement. My wife also hates the look so I had spent years not only turning a blind eye toward them but also putting what I did own since childhood into storage for when we started a family. Once I went down the rabbit hole of some retro games I don't think I'll be looking back. I found that not only are they fun to play but I have a passion for restoring them. I started by re-learning how to repair integrated circuits (I hadn't used a soldering iron in 20 years before this). Now I plan to save as many as I can.

All I'm saying, start by talking to someone who will listen and you can feel comfortable talking with. A therapist was good for me because you pay them to be your confidant. Mental health is like any other part of your body you care for.

I would however absolutely not let any co-workers or representatives of your employer know what you are going through. There is a terrible stigma around mental health and it will be perceived as a disability/weakness by some in a manner that could impact your livelihood.