There is a different way to interpret these events. I've been through exactly the same thing, so I've thought about this issue a lot. What I've noticed is that

There is a different way to interpret these events. I've been through exactly the same thing, so I've thought about this issue a lot. What I've noticed is that this happens to me in the winter but not in the summer. I have started to think that I have some very mild version of SAD (seasonal affective disorder), such that I don't suffer depression but I do suffer a loss of energy. 2 things in his account jump out at me: >The fall of 2011.... By December, I felt anxiety when thinking about work. So, this happened to him as the days got shorter. > Low productivity caused me to try to compensate by > working longer hours, routinely 10-12 hours a day, > with the occasional saturday thrown in. He doesn't say if he's worked 10-12 hours a day in the past, so we have no idea if this is unusual for him. But for me, 10-12 hours a day is no problem, during the summer. It is murder for me during the winter. Some hours I've worked in the summer: 1.) Worked 20 hours, slept for 3 hours on the couch in the office, and then worked for 20 more hours. And these were highly productive debugging sessions in which myself and my co-worker felt we made huge progress. 2.) Worked 26 hours straight to get a project ready to show a client. Felt great about being so productive. 3.) Worked 16 hours every day for 2 weeks. In retrospect, I've realized that I never have these amazing bouts of hyper-work during the winter. Only during the summer. And I suspect the problem is getting more intense as I get older, because I don't recall this pattern when I was younger, or somehow I am so stupid that I went many years without seeing it. But I see it now. And I am reshaping my work life to account for it. I now know that I can work 60 hour weeks during the summer, but even 40 hours is difficult for me in the winter.