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You might be depressed out burnt out. You might be at a job that is demoralizing. For a while, I used productivity as a replacement for fulfillment, and work as

You might be depressed out burnt out. You might be at a job that is demoralizing. For a while, I used productivity as a replacement for fulfillment, and work as a distraction from difficult parts of life. I eventually realized that I was miserable, and focusing on productivity just made me better at being miserable fast. Some people get joy out of optimizing their life - I don't. I get joy out of working with people I respect towards a shared goal. As long as it's not actively harmful, I don't care what that goal is. I found a team that I liked which scratches that itch. I spend my free time with friends and family, reading, and doing other activities that are just existing. It works well for me

undopamine 4y ago
OP here. You're right. I left my job last year, after 1.5 years of experience out of burnout. I'm highly frugal but still running out of money, so gotta work again. The problem is, I knew from the very beginning that I'm only doing software for the money. And now I have to do the same thing which I've always dreaded. I hope I get some fulfilment working from office, socializing after three whole years.
- randomopining 4y ago
  How much do you spend per month? If youre frugal dont you have at least 1-2 yuears saved?
  - undopamine 4y ago
    I quit my job in May 2022 with ~3y worth of savings given my burn rate. I contributed ~50% of that to my parents' retirement home, leaving me with ~1.5y worth of expenses. It's been 8-9 months since I left my job. So effectively I'm left with ~6mo. I'm living with my parents. I can easily survive for another couple years, but I want to contribute to the family's expenses. Plus, home is too comfortable to get things done.
- mind-blight 4y ago
  Yeah, I feel that. I just started full time work a couple weeks ago after avoiding it since December 2021. And I'm pretty happy with it so far. What worked for me was holding out until I found a team with people I connected with. And I know that will change as the company grows. I wanted people who were philosophically aligned about how to work and how work should relate to life.
trabant00 4y ago
> Some people get joy out of optimizing their life - I don't. Yes do, you just optimize for different things which you mentioned in the last paragraph. There is no escaping the need to optimize, so the chase is true for all of us even if the objectives differ.
- mind-blight 4y ago
  No, I actively avoid optimizing my personal life - specifically talking about productivity techniques used to maximize desired outcomes. I used to use those techniques for optimization. Now I don't.

undopamine 4y ago

OP here. You're right. I left my job last year, after 1.5 years of experience out of burnout. I'm highly frugal but still running out of money, so gotta work again. The problem is, I knew from the very beginning that I'm only doing software for the money. And now I have to do the same thing which I've always dreaded. I hope I get some fulfilment working from office, socializing after three whole years.

randomopining 4y ago
How much do you spend per month? If youre frugal dont you have at least 1-2 yuears saved?
- undopamine 4y ago
  I quit my job in May 2022 with ~3y worth of savings given my burn rate. I contributed ~50% of that to my parents' retirement home, leaving me with ~1.5y worth of expenses. It's been 8-9 months since I left my job. So effectively I'm left with ~6mo. I'm living with my parents. I can easily survive for another couple years, but I want to contribute to the family's expenses. Plus, home is too comfortable to get things done.
mind-blight 4y ago
Yeah, I feel that. I just started full time work a couple weeks ago after avoiding it since December 2021. And I'm pretty happy with it so far. What worked for me was holding out until I found a team with people I connected with. And I know that will change as the company grows. I wanted people who were philosophically aligned about how to work and how work should relate to life.

trabant00 4y ago

> Some people get joy out of optimizing their life - I don't. Yes do, you just optimize for different things which you mentioned in the last paragraph. There is no escaping the need to optimize, so the chase is true for all of us even if the objectives differ.

mind-blight 4y ago
No, I actively avoid optimizing my personal life - specifically talking about productivity techniques used to maximize desired outcomes. I used to use those techniques for optimization. Now I don't.