Now that's a good point - I've noticed a tendency to use side projects as a buffer for frustrations being experienced at work. Maybe there is a fundamental amou

Now that's a good point - I've noticed a tendency to use side projects as a buffer for frustrations being experienced at work. Maybe there is a fundamental amount of true engineering I need to do on a weekly basis; if I'm not getting my fix at work it'll spill over to hobbies. Lately I'm pulling back from technical deep diving at work. A lot. My role as an enterprise architect (bleh, don't judge too much plz) means I necessarily have to shift to big picture guff and stop spending time on the details pieces. In short, I don't really get to engineer as much as before. Of course, I'm an engineer at heart so the idea of ignoring the details is anathema and it frustrates me. When I'm deep in whiteboards, board meetings and shitty powerpoint at work, the side projects and home lab become my release valve. It's a coping mechanism, I think. Likewise, when I'm sucked into low-level grind at work which happens from time to time, side projects stagnate. I don't need them for a while.