burnout? · Developer Pro

burnout?

hey all,

I was on a 1-1 coaching call this morning with a coach I've hired.

The topic of burnout came up and I thought y'all might be encouraged to hear what he said, and it might be a good topic for discussion here.

Do you sometimes feel burnout regarding your coding? I imagine some feel it more than others.

No shame in feeling it -- this is hard work!

The trick is....burnout is a perspective.

A perspective that YOU can easily shift. Yes, you. Even if you've felt it for a long time.

Remember that time you were in high school and you fell in love and you stayed up late at night on the phone with that person, but you still got up early because you wanted to see them again? You were tired. You spent long hours awake. But you weren't burnt out. Because you were passionate about something.

Or that time you were first passionate about coding, or playing that instrument, or pursuing any hobby....you were up late doing it. But then the next night you didn't care about being tired -- you stayed up late again the next night doing it.

And the next day you had a smile on your face because you GOT to do this incredible thing that filled you with enjoyment.

We get burnt out because what we're doing is draining, there's no light at the end of the tunnel, we don't see the purpose in it. It's not about how "tired" we are. It's about how much passion we have or don't have for the thing.

So what do you do if you're not feeling that energy? I'll share one thought but I know many of you have posted similar things in the past and what you do -- would love to hear your thoughts!

For me it's force myself to carve out time and consider: what do I want? What do I really want? And WHY....why do I want it? How will I feel once I achieve that? OK...and am I currently doing the right things to move the needle toward where it is that I know I want to be? And...if not....then what do I need to do to change? Get rid of the activities that don't propel me toward my goal. Add in things that I know will move me in the right direction.

And then the key is: Look at your trajectory. How far have you come? Celebrate that!

And when you know WHAT you want and WHY you want it (and what life will be like if you don't put in the right effort to get there), you'll be motivated to actually take the action you need because it'll give you that passion and that FIRE to get there!

what are your thoughts, tips, stories, etc? would love to hear!

don't give up. keep that fire strong!

let's GOOOOOO!!!

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