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Getting rid of burnout permanently

kentnguyen.com

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Re: Getting rid of burnout permanently

#131

Post by boobsbr »

noir_lord wrote: post #34

Fantastic Article. Three weeks ago I hit absolute rock bottom with exhaustion from working hard for the last 2 years (I worked out I've been working 70-80 hour weeks since Dev 2010 with 8 days off in 4 years). I resolved to get my life sorted out, I cut back work hours drastically, started riding my bike more and went to the Doctors to get help with sleeping tablets and pain management (the last 3 months I've been wa…

> Later that week I found in a fairly horrible way that my partner of 7 years had cheated on me and I threw her out.

Really sorry to hear that. My relationship is on its last legs and that messes with my ability to work, which in turns messes with my relationship. For me, it's a downard spiral.

Re: Getting rid of burnout permanently

#132

Post by noir_lord »

boobsbr wrote: post #131
noir_lord wrote: post #34

Fantastic Article. Three weeks ago I hit absolute rock bottom with exhaustion from working hard for the last 2 years (I worked out I've been working 70-80 hour weeks since Dev 2010 with 8 days off in 4 years). I resolved to get my life sorted out, I cut back work hours drastically, started riding my bike more and went to the Doctors to get help with sleeping tablets and pain management (the last 3 months I've been wa…

> Later that week I found in a fairly horrible way that my partner of 7 years had cheated on me and I threw her out. Really sorry to hear that. My relationship is on its last legs and that messes with my ability to work, which in turns messes with my relationship. For me, it's a downard spiral.

It sucks but it gets better :).

Re: Getting rid of burnout permanently

#133

Post by cben »

seivan wrote: post #114
sergiosgc wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is another view. Programmers commonly have two characteristics that make them talk a lot about burnout: a) They are analytical people. It comes with the job. You can't program if you don't think analytically, and this characteristic can't possibly be confined to work activities, so it gets ingrained into personality. b) They like what they do. Naturally, this is not true for every individual, but is true for mo…

Funny how people assume long hours for software engineers is self-inflicted. I take it you guys don't have non engineering managers.

For over a year I've been working at home (with a kid), on an open source thing with little prospect of financial return. I have many of burnout symptoms the article lists. I tell myself various reasons why I frequently work into the night, but one thing is certain: it's self-inflicted.

Re: Getting rid of burnout permanently

#134

Post by AnonJ »

Personally I think he exactly hit the spot. A few years ago I regularly did things that I loved so I was achieving in various aspects and feeling happy although doing a lot. But later some interpersonal relationships went awry, the habit was broken and my life descended into a mess, without myself really realizing it. These two years I’ve been doing much less yet feeling much more burnt out and ineffective than I previously was, indeed because I have been kept from those regular things that I love for too long. Unfortunately I didn’t realize it in the beginning and probably even have already forgotten about it gradually. His wording of “epiphany” is exact.

Also, I think many of you here are simply misinterpreting what he means.

Why something you love and is important to you have to be something in your work?

Just as he himself says, he sets multiple rewards for himself, daily, weekly, monthly.

Where does he say that they are work-related at all?

Re: Getting rid of burnout permanently

#135

Post by AnonJ »

onion2k wrote: post #6

I agree with the majority of the article, but one thing leapt out - the first question that the author suggests might 'help you to pinpoint your resentment'; Why do you want to take a break, go on holiday? What are you really running away from? Taking a break and going on holiday is not running away from things. Even if you're working on something that you absolutely love , with an amazing team of people, doing somet…

Very often it really is. It's just that people don't admit it. It's not the regular annual vacation break. You know what I mean.

Re: Getting rid of burnout permanently

#136

Post by AnonJ »

noir_lord wrote: post #34

Fantastic Article. Three weeks ago I hit absolute rock bottom with exhaustion from working hard for the last 2 years (I worked out I've been working 70-80 hour weeks since Dev 2010 with 8 days off in 4 years). I resolved to get my life sorted out, I cut back work hours drastically, started riding my bike more and went to the Doctors to get help with sleeping tablets and pain management (the last 3 months I've been wa…

Ugh... What does your experience have to do with this article exactly, though?

Re: Getting rid of burnout permanently

#137

Post by AnonJ »

FiatLuxDave wrote: post #55
normloman wrote: post #22

Um... Not work so hard? I'm not a programmer, so I'm viewing the stuff on hacker news from outside the bubble, so to speak. And from here, y'all look crazy. To the average person, spending extra hours at work with no overtime pay is absurd, but you all discuss it like it's no big deal. Your industry needs a huge cultural overhaul. People must be trained not to accept burnout as normal.

I'm also coming from outside the bubble. From a different viewpoint, though, programmers aren't so bad about this. Try hanging out with some medical doctors and nurses, instead. I might think my 60 hour weeks are bad, but i just can't complain about it to my wife when she gets home from her 80 hour weeks. Burnout is a completely accepted part of nursing, and many nurses take it into account in career planning. Not sa…

Also ask Investment Banking people. From what I hear, they lead a life at least as busy as ours, and what's worse is that they often cannot control what urgent tasks are shoved into their faces.

I call the talk on "programmer working long hours" stereotype and myopia.

Re: Getting rid of burnout permanently

#139

Post by AnonJ »

hcarvalhoalves wrote: post #30
danatkinson wrote: post #24

It's odd but sex is not mentioned even once as a legitimate release.

It's common sense between many cultures and philosophies that sex drains energy, at least for males.

What kind of pervert, anti-human-nature "culture" and "philosophy" you are talking about? Haven't they victimized and taken the happiness away from enough people already? Not to mention that being a Brazilian I suppose you should appreciate the positive value of sex very well?

Re: Getting rid of burnout permanently

#140

Post by AnonJ »

cookiecaper wrote: post #8

I don't think this article really says anything that isn't obvious. We all know that serious cases of burnout happen because you don't like what you're doing. We all only have so much patience and tolerance for things we dislike. The answer is to stop doing things you don't like doing so much, and do things you do like doing more, and make this a permanent change, not just a two week break before you jump back into t…

Not exactly. Many people don't realize the situation at all. And also, there are many ways to find and reserve time for things you love, which are not necessarily related with/constrained by your work at all. People just fall into a vicious cycle so that they gradually forget to do those things altogether, and let things continue deteriorating.
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