3 ms·

I have also worked physically demanding jobs but none of them phatigued me like writing software for eight hours.

jacksonkmarley 6y ago
I think there's some analogue between the sore body and physical tiredness after physical labour workdays, and the mental fatigue and dull brain after all-day intense coding. Both are quite unpleasant if they overwhelm you, but there are ways to mitigate both types of effects if you are in a position to manipulate your workday and/or your free time. Snapping yourself out of those states is pretty important IMO. I've had varying success with things like sport or general exercise, it really takes willpower to overcome sometimes though. Work in progress still for me.
- wildrhythms 6y ago
  Or perhaps the concept of the 8-hour work day lends itself neither to physical nor mental well-being?
tiew9Vii 6y ago
Similar I wouldn’t say specifically software, it’s more in an intense office environment / thought work under high pressure. Hard physical work I’d go home at the end of the day 10-12 hours, tired but could switch off mentally and relax. On the days off I was ready to take on the world and make the most of it. The tough software jobs like I’m currently in have left me mentally drained like a zombie at the end of the day then physically unable to go do some exercise to get out of the pattern with some mild depression. I found a greater sense of achievement in physical work. Working through a high number of pallets a night stacking shelves leaving in the morning with a shop isle looking pristine. Tipping one ton bags of sand or gravel with a spade and wheelbarrow, digging trenches, moving heavy materials etc etc. It’s easy to see the work you did, it’s clear, it’s simple, there’s no faff. Moving Jira tickets, sat in endless meetings feels like nothing gets done, you are working for the sake of work without doing work, people talk using the same management speak from a book answering questions without answering questions or taking ownership and instead grandstanding. As much as I love software, right now if labouring payed, I’d switch in a heartbeat.
- zikzak 6y ago
  I go for a 20ish minute walk every day as soon as I get off the work vpn. It's a game changer for getting out of work mode and into home mode. This isn't a power walk fitness thing where I come up with side hustle ideas. It's a leisurely stroll with my dog. I often pick up the mail (community mail box) and I let my dog smell everything, and so on. When I worked in an office, I would sometimes do this before I drove home. It takes no energy, so I thought I'd suggest it. I used to be a cook and, before that, a dishwasher. Many is the day that I look back on those simpler days, but yeah, the money. What can you do? :)
Baeocystin 6y ago
FWIW, I agree with you. After the first .com crash, I worked as a welder in a shipyard for a couple of years. (Yay fallback skills!) I actually enjoyed the work and my coworkers, but nothing gets around the fact that it was such a physically fatiguing job that I literally had no juice left for anything other than work, sleep, and work again. One long-term benefit is that the stresses of working in tech bother me a lot less than they did before I had my welding experience. No matter how tough the current sprint, at least I'm not covered in leathers in the belly of a ship, worried that someone will disconnect my exhaust manifold and I'll die of CO2 poisoning!

I think there's some analogue between the sore body and physical tiredness after physical labour workdays, and the mental fatigue and dull brain after all-day intense coding. Both are quite unpleasant if they overwhelm you, but there are ways to mitigate both types of effects if you are in a position to manipulate your workday and/or your free time. Snapping yourself out of those states is pretty important IMO. I've had varying success with things like sport or general exercise, it really takes willpower to overcome sometimes though. Work in progress still for me.

wildrhythms 6y ago
Or perhaps the concept of the 8-hour work day lends itself neither to physical nor mental well-being?

tiew9Vii 6y ago

Similar I wouldn’t say specifically software, it’s more in an intense office environment / thought work under high pressure. Hard physical work I’d go home at the end of the day 10-12 hours, tired but could switch off mentally and relax. On the days off I was ready to take on the world and make the most of it. The tough software jobs like I’m currently in have left me mentally drained like a zombie at the end of the day then physically unable to go do some exercise to get out of the pattern with some mild depression. I found a greater sense of achievement in physical work. Working through a high number of pallets a night stacking shelves leaving in the morning with a shop isle looking pristine. Tipping one ton bags of sand or gravel with a spade and wheelbarrow, digging trenches, moving heavy materials etc etc. It’s easy to see the work you did, it’s clear, it’s simple, there’s no faff. Moving Jira tickets, sat in endless meetings feels like nothing gets done, you are working for the sake of work without doing work, people talk using the same management speak from a book answering questions without answering questions or taking ownership and instead grandstanding. As much as I love software, right now if labouring payed, I’d switch in a heartbeat.

zikzak 6y ago
I go for a 20ish minute walk every day as soon as I get off the work vpn. It's a game changer for getting out of work mode and into home mode. This isn't a power walk fitness thing where I come up with side hustle ideas. It's a leisurely stroll with my dog. I often pick up the mail (community mail box) and I let my dog smell everything, and so on. When I worked in an office, I would sometimes do this before I drove home. It takes no energy, so I thought I'd suggest it. I used to be a cook and, before that, a dishwasher. Many is the day that I look back on those simpler days, but yeah, the money. What can you do? :)

Baeocystin 6y ago

FWIW, I agree with you. After the first .com crash, I worked as a welder in a shipyard for a couple of years. (Yay fallback skills!) I actually enjoyed the work and my coworkers, but nothing gets around the fact that it was such a physically fatiguing job that I literally had no juice left for anything other than work, sleep, and work again. One long-term benefit is that the stresses of working in tech bother me a lot less than they did before I had my welding experience. No matter how tough the current sprint, at least I'm not covered in leathers in the belly of a ship, worried that someone will disconnect my exhaust manifold and I'll die of CO2 poisoning!