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what if the 'recommended time off to recover' is wrong? I believe that burnout comes from a missing a reward that is expected after protracted and intense labo

what if the 'recommended time off to recover' is wrong? I believe that burnout comes from a missing a reward that is expected after protracted and intense labor, thereby training your brain that labor = bad. Maybe the right thing to do is to retrain your brain that labor = good, with primary stimuli. Making green dots appear is definitely one very effective way to get over burnout. I haven't had a major burnout incident in years, don't know if it's because I'm getting older and wiser, or if it's because I'm learning how to do little bits of work that are 1) guaranteed to succeed and 2) nearly guaranteed to reward me, at least in ways that matter to me, if not financially or socially (those are the types of reward you can't control and often lead to the hardest burnout).

deleted 7y ago
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eitland 7y ago
As someone who hit the brick wall pretty hard at the end of last millennium this is the best most relatable description I've seen. Does anyone know if there has been any research into this explanation and, if so any pointers to where I can read more?
- odyssey7 7y ago
  Sources like the book “Tiny Habits” say that feeling successful often builds momentum and gets you to perform better. I’d guess that the opposite is also true. Feeling unsuccessful too much would erode and destroy whatever it is you’re bringing to the table.
- dnautics 7y ago
  Yeah. My contrarian opinion on burnout cones from about 10 years of observation as an academic track researcher in the physical sciences (typical 80+, occasional 100h+ workweeks in sometimes physically dangerous environments - carcinogens, implosion and explosion risks, one time a Dewar imploded in my face at 2am). The two leading triggers for burnout were "literally the universe" causing your experiment to repeatedly fail, and possibly more pernicious, "your boss switches tracks on you", due to funding or political concerns. Of course the management class (PIs) has zero empathy because the funnel is so selective that almost all of them had it easy, and anything less is merely a dumb or incompetent employee. One of my buddies went into a burnout phase where he would use his pipette tips in a geometrical pattern and play flash Gameboy Tetris, or sometimes go to the casino and play poker (all of which he got really good at). By contrast, programming is a cakewalk.
SketchySeaBeast 7y ago
> I believe that burnout comes from a missing a reward that is expected after protracted and intense labor, thereby training your brain that labor = bad. I personally think the problem is we don't really see much of a reward. Weeks of living in flight or fight mode and then a "good job" from the boss isn't a reward. Knowledge workers don't get real tangible rewards. And even if I had $100,000 dropped in my lap today, that wouldn't even be tangible, it'd just disappear in to the mortgage. I'd never actually enjoy it, no part of my monkey brain would think it did a good job. It's hard for our profession to provide obvious, immediate rewards.

deleted 7y ago

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eitland 7y ago

As someone who hit the brick wall pretty hard at the end of last millennium this is the best most relatable description I've seen. Does anyone know if there has been any research into this explanation and, if so any pointers to where I can read more?

odyssey7 7y ago
Sources like the book “Tiny Habits” say that feeling successful often builds momentum and gets you to perform better. I’d guess that the opposite is also true. Feeling unsuccessful too much would erode and destroy whatever it is you’re bringing to the table.
dnautics 7y ago
Yeah. My contrarian opinion on burnout cones from about 10 years of observation as an academic track researcher in the physical sciences (typical 80+, occasional 100h+ workweeks in sometimes physically dangerous environments - carcinogens, implosion and explosion risks, one time a Dewar imploded in my face at 2am). The two leading triggers for burnout were "literally the universe" causing your experiment to repeatedly fail, and possibly more pernicious, "your boss switches tracks on you", due to funding or political concerns. Of course the management class (PIs) has zero empathy because the funnel is so selective that almost all of them had it easy, and anything less is merely a dumb or incompetent employee. One of my buddies went into a burnout phase where he would use his pipette tips in a geometrical pattern and play flash Gameboy Tetris, or sometimes go to the casino and play poker (all of which he got really good at). By contrast, programming is a cakewalk.

SketchySeaBeast 7y ago

> I believe that burnout comes from a missing a reward that is expected after protracted and intense labor, thereby training your brain that labor = bad. I personally think the problem is we don't really see much of a reward. Weeks of living in flight or fight mode and then a "good job" from the boss isn't a reward. Knowledge workers don't get real tangible rewards. And even if I had $100,000 dropped in my lap today, that wouldn't even be tangible, it'd just disappear in to the mortgage. I'd never actually enjoy it, no part of my monkey brain would think it did a good job. It's hard for our profession to provide obvious, immediate rewards.