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Ask HN: Has anyone managed to find enjoyment in their work after burnout?

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191–200 of 370 posts

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone managed to find enjoyment in their work after burnout?

#191
1. If you have the money take some time off and go somewhere. Bring the kids if you need to. At least two months.

2. While there, consider if burnout is partially your subconscious telling you something. A lot of people, myself included, have gone through phases where we later realized that the joy in learning how technology is made has faded and the mission that we're attached to doesn't actually align with what we actually want to do. Sometimes it's ok to quit a six digit position and take a five digit one if it means it fulfils some longing in our life, like help a friend, help the poor, or safeguard the world in some way.

3. See if there are aspects of your life that you may, deep down, want to change but that you're avoiding changing. For me, it was excitement. Note that these are different than mission in that they're self or at least family directed. Be clear eyed about the risks, because ultimately you are responsible for the choices you make, but don't be so cautious as to be cowardly. If you want to fire a gun at bad guys, first understand that they may fire back, but ultimately if you still think it is the best call, to not do so is cowardice.

4. If nothing above works, just start helping the least fortunate. It has a double effect of reminding yourself, viscerally, just how bad it can get[0] while also providing your mind with a sense of community and purpose.

[0] I met a former programmer at a soup kitchen who just had a run of bad health and life issues.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone managed to find enjoyment in their work after burnout?

#192

I did. I got really burnt out at the beginning of the pandemic. Ended up quitting my job and taking some time off. For a long while, just thinking of doing coding projects would fill me with disgust. After about 9 months, I decided to make an app for the workout program I was following (5/3/1) as I didn’t like the ones out there or using spreadsheets. Working on something where I was user 0 was tons of fun and remind…

Off topic but what's the app called for 5/3/1?

Because I hate shamelessly plugging my app, I'll do it for them:

https://fivethreeone.app/

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone managed to find enjoyment in their work after burnout?

#193
I suggest to try to remember what you once liked about coding. Then do this again, literally the same thing.

Maybe you enjoyed building a website with html? That's not really coding, but just do that. Build a small little website, only html for fun and see where it goes.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone managed to find enjoyment in their work after burnout?

#194

I found that just moving teams and dropping a load of baggage made a huge difference and a huge improvement. I also found that regular physical exercise outside (running for me) is a game changer and totally allows your brain to disconnect. Finally, don't guilt trip yourself on your free time. There is nothing you "should" be doing on your spare time. Want to code? Fine. But do you really? Want to just veg out and wa…

+1 Start doing Callisthenics. 100 pushups, 100 pullups, 100 squats and 6 miles of run every day will help you immensely. Eliminate excuse's.

As impressive as this regime is if you can do it, I'd recommend most people start a little slower and mix it up a little more - this kind of highly repetitive strain will burn out your body, just as the insane work schedule burnt you out.

Start slow, throw in some yoga or tai chi and build up those joints and tendons - they don't increase in strength as quickly as muscles do.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone managed to find enjoyment in their work after burnout?

#195
post #60

"What I learned is that burning out isn’t just about work load, it’s about work load being greater than the motivation to do work." https://thetech.com/2010/04/09/dubai-v130-n18 I recommend reading the whole section on burnout. Although burnout isn't really the topic of the article this is the most enlightening writing I have ever read on it. Hoping it might serve you.

I enjoyed the article a lot. Not only the burnout part but also to enlighten me why free marketeers true believers incorporate as their moral ground on it. This quote brought to me how naive that view can be: > I’m a free marketeer. I believe that voluntary exchange is not just a good method of incentivizing people to provide their labor and talents to society, but a robust moral system — goods and services represent…

In addition to the ubiquity of monopolies and negative externalities mentioned, public goods are also a way in which free markets don’t properly reward people’s contributions to society. The classic textbook example is a public park, whose price in the market will typically be far under the value it creates for the community it is in.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone managed to find enjoyment in their work after burnout?

#196
I burned out in 2016 and worked really hard to recover. But the honest truth is I never cared the same again. I burned out worse in 2021 after almost 4 years; my client denied multiple PTO requests and I worked 12 months straight with just a few fridays off and I had to pull the trigger on "Roll me off the client or I'm gone". I took a month off of work. I'm still not the same, and I never will be. There is lots of good advice in this thread, but I honestly love writing code and just want to do it for someone who will pay me to kick ass for them. It's hard to just care less about my art. But I'll never care in the same way again, I work really hard to set boundaries and I'm much less invested in the outcome - which is sad and I miss feeling invested in the outcome. I don't have any advice for you; it sucks but it is reality.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone managed to find enjoyment in their work after burnout?

#197
post #82
post #70

Burnout always happens, in every job. Solution? Well, first, not everyone has the privilege to do something about it, but you're in tech so: Vacations. Sabbaticals. Gap year. Change jobs. I've had 35+ years in tech and done all of the above. I routinely "burn out" (aka, get bored) after about 5 to 7 years and move to a new group or company. Still love coding, still love leading projects. Just need to change it up.

Getting bored is not a burnout.

Ya it's like calling depression "just being sad"

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone managed to find enjoyment in their work after burnout?

#198

This advice is going to be hated by a lot of people but.. care less. You’re in an industry that values your skills and seems to always have demand. Whether or not that’s true in the future, it certainly is today , so the best thing you can do is put yourself first and worry less about work as a whole. Especially if it’s not your own company. Spend more time on you, on activities with friends and family, on hobbies. I…

I can relate to all of this. One consequence for me has been lower visibility from my managers. I'm more productive by focusing on the work of my team and helping others, but by not participating in the politics I am perceived as a lower contributor than someone who does the opposite. It's still worth it for me, I've just given up on the goal of being perceived as the top contributor.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone managed to find enjoyment in their work after burnout?

#199

This advice is going to be hated by a lot of people but.. care less. You’re in an industry that values your skills and seems to always have demand. Whether or not that’s true in the future, it certainly is today , so the best thing you can do is put yourself first and worry less about work as a whole. Especially if it’s not your own company. Spend more time on you, on activities with friends and family, on hobbies. I…

Kind of this.

I don't think it's "care less" but I think it's "care appropriately for 40 hours a week."

The concept of "quiet quitting" is a shameful, panicky fraud perpetuated by the power holders in the industry that see their power slipping. "Quiet quitting" has been known as "work to rule" or "fulfilling a contract." My paystub says 40 hours. My original contract says nothing about overtime. I'm not quiet quitting, I'm doing my !@#$ing job.

By being STRICTLY limited to 40 hours, I can do my job at full strength, providing consistent results and quality. And then I'm not so burned out that I go home and do whatever I please with my life. Sometimes that's more coding for me!

My job is a side quest, not a main quest.

Re: Ask HN: Has anyone managed to find enjoyment in their work after burnout?

#200
About 14 years into my career I got stuck on one project, out of control, working sixty to seventy hours a week. Salaried, no overtime. That went on for about seven months, I was miserable. I had a one year old child, she was miserable, my wife was miserable. I was at my wits end. I spoke to my supervisor at the time, and he understood, but told me it was only going to get worse, so I found a new job.

I have made the commitment to myself, from that time, that I only work 40 hours a week. I'll occasionally work a little overtime if I am on a roll on something interesting, or if there is a short term panic at work, but very infrequently, and never, ever, more than fifty hours in a week.

I make that clear when I interview, and I will admit that on individual jobs that has been a deal breaker, but those were the small minority of interviews.

The twenty four years since then have all been good. Four different employers, all in embedded development, all interesting challenges.

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