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How to Burn Out Programming

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51–60 of 119 posts

Re: How to Burn Out Programming

#51

Now how about an article on how to recover from burn out, doing nothing all day for a couple months doesn't seem to be working out.

Whenever I'm feeling a bit burned out I travel. It does wonders.

I just moved out to Vancouver from Toronto about a month ago and I'm still mixed on that, I still have a lot more time here though so I'm trying to make the best of it. I'm really enjoying the mountains and the Pacific Ocean, I still love Toronto though.

Re: How to Burn Out Programming

#52
post #34
post #19

Where's "Don't exercise?" That'd be pretty close to the top of my list. A quick 2-3 mile jog around the neighborhood can help get me out of work-related funks. (I work at a home office, though, so it's easier for me to say "fuck it" and go do something sweaty in the middle of the day...) My theory is that, since the only real item on your jogging to-do list is to put one foot in front of the other, your brain is free…

Moderate exercise not only treats, but prevents depression http://media.utoronto.ca/media-releases/moderate-exercise-no... I don't like jogging, so I go for a walk everyday, which includes a lot of hills and stairs. Not only do I meet my 10,000 steps on my step counter, but it's when I come up with my best ideas. Also being grossly overweight does no favors to keeping depression away.

For me, exercise (running, surfing, and lately doing weights -- I've never done the latter before by I'm enjoying it), coupled with my thinking therapy coping mechanisms (CBT works wonders for me) has completely placed my depression into remission for the past year and a half.

That's the longest time I've gone without an episode since I was 15, and I'm 23 now. I use antidepressants when I feel an episode starting -- but I only stay on them for a maximum of 3 months and come off them; I use them as a mental bandaid of sorts. I've not needed them since I started exercising (and working on my thought processes), and it's quite literally changed my life.

It also helps with motivation, thinking through hard problems (though I'm still yet to find a way to capture those thoughts while I'm riding a wave!). The girlfriend appreciates it too. I highly recommend doing some form of exercise for anyone who is struggling with their own head, it'll help, I promise.

The one thing I had to do to make the habit stick was doing multiple forms of exercise. Running is great, but just doing that alone was too much of a "To-do item" -- adding surfing and weight training to it made it stick finally.

Re: How to Burn Out Programming

#54

> " 4. Switch jobs often " This is true, but the other extreme is also true - being too loyal, stuck in a soul sucking boring job dominated by internal fights and politics, can also lead to burnout. Sometimes it gets tough to find work you enjoy doing. > " 5. Work long hours, ignore your life " This should be the number one reason for burnout. I think it happens most often with young developers in their twenties that…

Being honest is something I highly recommend. Of course, there will be friction: a lot of people seem to be intimidated by it, but it's worth it. You'll find those people who appreciate and practice up unconditional honesty, and you'll be a lot happier in your work, home, and love life. Great tip.

Re: How to Burn Out Programming

#55
Also worthy to note, some neurologists believe that burn out may be a result of effort and reward imbalance, more so than physical drain. I believe this is known as effort reward imbalance theory.

Re: How to Burn Out Programming

#56

Now how about an article on how to recover from burn out, doing nothing all day for a couple months doesn't seem to be working out.

Strenuous exercise under conditions of intellectual engagement works wonders. Try rock climbing, whitewater kayaking, or any other strenuous activity with enough danger associated to keep you focused.

I like working on the trapese/aerial silks for that. Massive work out, a shame I let it slide for over a year now (in my defence, last year I helped run a successful software project, and built a house - with week long stretches of heavy labouring required.

Re: How to Burn Out Programming

#57

I also think you can fall into a kind of reverse burnout. If you work in a slow beauacratic environment with no stress, no accountability, no change and no challenge then you really do start to notice all of the same symptoms.

> reverse burnout

This is also known as "boreout".

(However, I can't find evidence that "boreout" is a well-known word outside Germany. So maybe it's just one of our many German inventions of pseudo-english words.)

Re: How to Burn Out Programming

#58
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Earlier quoted context omitted.

The most relatable way I've found to describe it as that after burning out it takes 100% of your current effort to achieve 10% of your previous output. That's ignoring the random bouts of crying for no particular reason and things like that, because I'm pretty sure they're unique to each individual.

Seconded. What I notice most when I'm on the verge of burnout is a lack of capacity for stress. Say when something breaks first thing in the morning - under normal circumstances, it's cause for some grumbling and maybe frustration at the time taken out of your day. When burnout is at hand, I'm just out of my mind. I don't have the tolerance for even the minor stressors, and nowhere close to my normal patience for the…

Apparently blaming other people (in my case for 'not pulling their weight') is actually one of the clinical symptoms of (upcoming) burnout.

Re: How to Burn Out Programming

#59

My list would be more like -- How to Burn Out Programming: 1) Do it too much for too long while being under stress. The same way you burn out doing anything. 2) See #1 I do agree with some of the points laid out in the post, but disagree with #2 and #4. #2 ("Have a negative attitude toward everything") is a bad thing for team morale and should be avoided but I don't believe it has anything to do with burnout. #4 ("Sw…

If you have no option but to keep the same job and maintain the same old code base, try moderately working on something at home. I say moderately because you don't want to abandon your family or a balanced life, but it helps you learn new technologies and remain interested in the industry. This way, you can keep the dull job that is paying you but still get to stretch the programming muscles. (Having said that, the dull job might be soul destroying! But it's an option...)

Re: How to Burn Out Programming

#60

Now how about an article on how to recover from burn out, doing nothing all day for a couple months doesn't seem to be working out.

Strenuous exercise under conditions of intellectual engagement works wonders. Try rock climbing, whitewater kayaking, or any other strenuous activity with enough danger associated to keep you focused.

Or just going for a bike ride. With the UK's road, that should be stressful enough!
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