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Tell HN: Burnout is bad to your brain, take care

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Re: Tell HN: Burnout is bad to your brain, take care

#91

Post by parpfish »

swatcoder wrote: post #72
senectus1 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You missed one of the most important things they may not be doing, excersize. This has an incredible "freeing" effect on the mind and "soul". You dont need to be a HIT or cross fit fanatic. just get out and active reguarly. This will also help with sleep and eating better. Get into regular tiring excersize. It will help with so much.

Indeed! I had it there, then revised as "being active" as I think a lot of people get distracted and discouraged by the the contrived, abstract thing that is modern "exercise". I personally enjoy exercise as a hobby, but doing some productive labor, commuting or running errands by foot/bicycle, engaging with active kids, etc, can all hit the same mark in terms of ongoing wellness.

People on HN either hate exercise because they associate it with the old nerd vs jock battles OR they are absolutely obsessed because it’s just hacking on a big blob of meat

Re: Tell HN: Burnout is bad to your brain, take care

#92

Post by paxys »

Also important to note – a lot of people correlate burnout strictly with overwork. You could be burned out due to overwork, sure, but you could also be burned out due to not having enough work. Or doing an average amount of work but not finding real meaning in it. Or another reason not directly related to work at all.

If you aren't 100% happy with your situation, and not getting out of bed every morning with a smile on your face, do your best to address it before things get really bad.

Re: Tell HN: Burnout is bad to your brain, take care

#93

Post by strken »

swatcoder wrote: post #27

Many of us have experienced what you describe and it sucks. I hope you're able to sort it out and feel better about things sooner than later. That's generally the case. But you and others should keep on mind that "burnout" is not a very precise or actionable word and thinking of your current challenges as being products of burnout doesn't give you much traction on what you can do about not feeling well or what extern…

You can get burnt out while not neglecting any of those things. Going to bed at 10pm with fresh sheets after a nice healthy dinner with friends is not able to offset an unlimited amount of workplace stress, although it's surprisingly effective.

Once you're in a slump you'll probably start neglecting things, but that's getting the causation the wrong way around.

Re: Tell HN: Burnout is bad to your brain, take care

#95

Post by JasserInicide »

I feel like I have the opposite problem. I started my new job at the tail end of the pandemic in mid-2021. It's been fully remote and I have never worked more than 20 hours in a week. Most weeks I can get everything I need to do in an average week in 2 days tops. Co-workers are great and the company's doing great but I have such little to do that it's kind of ruined my work ethic. I'm partially scared of leaving/going to a new job because I don't know if I can handle doing 40 hours again.

Re: Tell HN: Burnout is bad to your brain, take care

#96

Post by MathMonkeyMan »

patrickhogan1 wrote: post #20

Interestingly, while chronic sleep deprivation is harmful, studies show that a single night of sleep deprivation can have a rapid, temporary antidepressant effect in 40-60% of people with depression. I tried this after burning out on my third startup, and it helped me short-term when I needed it most. You can read more about the research Penn Medicine ( https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-releases/2017/septemb...…

A psychiatrist told me that sleep deprivation does have a proven anti-depressant effect, but that the side effects are very severe. Makes sense. He preferred the SSRIs.

There is a moment, when I've been up all night and am engaging with the world, that I feel a lack of anxiety and a mental clarity. It's like I've finally "sobered up." I think it's my body telling me "we need to sleep, none of this shit matters."

Sleep deprivation is very bad for you, though, so try something else instead.

Re: Tell HN: Burnout is bad to your brain, take care

#97

Post by azemetre »

JasserInicide wrote: post #95

I feel like I have the opposite problem. I started my new job at the tail end of the pandemic in mid-2021. It's been fully remote and I have never worked more than 20 hours in a week. Most weeks I can get everything I need to do in an average week in 2 days tops. Co-workers are great and the company's doing great but I have such little to do that it's kind of ruined my work ethic. I'm partially scared of leaving/goin…

How do you feel about up skilling, contribute to open source, or even launch your own side projects? Or do you use your free time to enjoy life more?

I’d like to think I’d use the time to write a book but I’d probably just to chores around my home instead.

Re: Tell HN: Burnout is bad to your brain, take care

#99

Post by giantg2 »

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #59
Bayko wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately when it comes to preparing for interview leetcode is pretty much required at all stages. For that the way that works for me is to never let go of it. I will solve 2 3 problems over a week even when I have a job. That downtime at work when you are at home or waiting for the next meeting...just leetcode. I absolutely hate LC and hate the fact that it is omnipresent but now no longer fear it. Except Dynami…

> Unfortunately when it comes to preparing for interview leetcode is pretty much required at all stages. I have never had a leetcode-style interview in 40 years. (I may have had one such question , maybe - hard to remember for sure.) So, no, it is not required at all stages. Disclaimer: I'm in embedded systems, which is very different from FAANG.

Funny enough, I just had my first LeetCode question ever... for an internal job posting. Wtf

Re: Tell HN: Burnout is bad to your brain, take care

#100

Post by kody »

Bayko wrote: post #55
kody wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm really curious, how do you factor in time to learn ("up skill")? I'm a self taught dev with 2 young kids. I've always had a healthy approach to work, but now I'm feeling quite a lot of pressure to learn new things on my own time, whether to make sure I'm prepared for the interview circuit if I get laid off, or to patch my skills that are needed at work. I'm starting to feel burnout creep in, getting an hour of st…

Unfortunately when it comes to preparing for interview leetcode is pretty much required at all stages. For that the way that works for me is to never let go of it. I will solve 2 3 problems over a week even when I have a job. That downtime at work when you are at home or waiting for the next meeting...just leetcode. I absolutely hate LC and hate the fact that it is omnipresent but now no longer fear it. Except Dynami…

Funny enough I had an interview today with a dynamic programming whiteboard problem. I feel like if I hadn't been putting in my leetcode hours I would have totally bombed
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