I have a good friend that went from Google Software Reliability Engineer (SRE) to manager of an SRE team, but for him it's less of a problem because he's always

I have a good friend that went from Google Software Reliability Engineer (SRE) to manager of an SRE team, but for him it's less of a problem because he's always focused on helping others (and to hear him, he gets a good amount of time to help steer juniors towards solutions and around problems). I believe he does make sure to set aside a good amount of time every week to code on whatever side project is his current fancy (usually Perl 6 related). I don't think he would handle it nearly as well if he didn't have that to fall back on. So it sounds like maybe you've stumbled on something that might help (designated time for side projects). The question is whether the rest of the job is (or will become) gratifying enough to hit a good equilibrium. I assume you're being paid a salary at the position you're at. An important facet of salaried positions I've drawn upon is that unless outlined clearly otherwise in a contract, I'm judged on what I deliver. If that means to keep my sanity I take an hour out of the work day to read HN, or code a side project, or any other thing, so be it. That's a requirement for me keeping my sanity at the job I'm at, and if I'm not delivering, then I'll be judged on that by my superiors. My suggestion is to do whatever it takes to make the job palatable to you. If that means putting less than 100% in, then put less than 100% in. I assume they would rather have you at 80% indefinitely than 100% for another 3-6 months before you burn out. It sure sounds like your co-workers would.