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Work is named "work" for a reason. Its a lot not fun. I've been slinging code for 35 years. It pays the bills, sends my kids to college etc. Of course i'm burne

by eweise 2y ago

Work is named "work" for a reason. Its a lot not fun. I've been slinging code for 35 years. It pays the bills, sends my kids to college etc. Of course i'm burned out but I would be tired of anything after this long. Trick for me is to not to make work my purpose. Instead I bike, hike, make music, raise my kids, etc. I also don't work overtime or weekends even though almost everyone else on my team does. They will not make it for the long run like that.

parpfish 2y ago
in addition to not doing overtime/weekends, when you're doing work during the day you should monotask as much as possible. just focus on one thing at a time, preferrable until you're done with it. the cost of constantly shifting attention to multitask made everything seem frantic and you never got the sense to appreciate that a thing was 'done' because there was always ten other things cooking in the background. you'll be surprised how much this doesn't kill your overall productivity while also preserving mental health. slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
- brailsafe 2y ago
  I would argue that instead of working till you're done with it, just work till it's the end of the work day. Subtle but important difference.
  - parpfish 2y ago
    Oh, yeah. I didn’t mean all in one sitting. Definitely don’t work after hours.
candiddevmike 2y ago
I'm seeing folks like you get laid off with the current climate. Your trick is to not play the game, which may not be feasible right now.
- r2_pilot 2y ago
  > I'm seeing folks like you get laid off with the current climate. Who cares? At this stage in my life (and a distant second my career too), if that's the kind of attitude your work demands of you, there's plenty of other validating things to do that also provide a living. And I always hear that people don't quit their jobs, they quit their bosses. But yeah, I would never fire someone for setting appropriate life/work boundaries and sticking to them.
  - musicale 2y ago
    The current layoff cycle seems to be about lowering labor costs by dismissing expensive employees while limiting hiring to a smaller number of entry-level positions. There is also an assumption of an AI bonus that will allow companies to operate with more automation and fewer human employees.
- piva00 2y ago
  It's entirely feasible if you live in places that don't follow American-esque systems of labour relationship.
- eweise 2y ago
  I do worry about that and that's why the most important thing is to work for the right manager. Keep on their good side, make them feel like you're an asset even if not sprinting every sprint, and I've found that they'll go to bat for you at review time.
- lurking_swe 2y ago
  not at my workplace, people usually work 8 hours on average and that’s it. Find a better employer, they exist. Yes even ones that pay $200k+. I realize not everyone is so fortunate. I had to start at some not so great companies in my career, but over time if you’re picky enough, you can find a great employer. I encourage everyone to know their worth. Don’t settle.
dec0dedab0de 2y ago
Sounds more like you managed to avoid burning out.
- djbusby 2y ago
  Right. Work being "not fun" is a long way from Burnout (which looks a lot like, and maybe is, depression). The difference between a Grind and Hopeless.
gushogg-blake 2y ago
Yeah, it's probably a personality thing in large part. I find that the sense of my creative energy being wasted on something pointless disagrees with me so much that I'd rather do almost anything else (I actually find jobs to be a great source of inspiration in that way - ideas for better things to do keep springing to mind - although not great for productivity on the job). I do think there are different types of "work" though, and the worse programming jobs have some of the worst combinations of attributes - inherently pointless but require intense mental effort.
ryandrake 2y ago
> I also don't work overtime or weekends even though almost everyone else on my team does. They will not make it for the long run like that. Not only will they not make it for long, but they're actually devaluing their own work. You're paid a salary for a standard work week. If you're working nights and weekends, you're giving away that portion of your work for free. I learned and appreciated this fact too late in my career. IMO a business that can only function/succeed if employees give away their time for free is not a viable business and probably just shouldn't exist. Don't Do Crunch Time.
keysersoze33 2y ago
(My hat off to you for 35 years!) I've been coding for 25 years in many jobs & many industries (although banking featured a bit tooooo much). Our industry is volatile, and right now it feels like a 'micro' repeat of the dotcom bust, where even the very good devs are increasingly under an unreasonable amount of pressure (financially, finding work, or otherwise). Agree - life outside work is v. important, but I think it's equally important to work in an industry which aligns with one's values, rather than just for the money etc. At the end of the day, every role will be difficult at times, but if you're behind the potential impact of the company, then that makes the challenge more tolerable (*cough* ~Don't be evil~ *cough* sigh)

by eweise 2y ago

parpfish 2y ago

in addition to not doing overtime/weekends, when you're doing work during the day you should monotask as much as possible. just focus on one thing at a time, preferrable until you're done with it. the cost of constantly shifting attention to multitask made everything seem frantic and you never got the sense to appreciate that a thing was 'done' because there was always ten other things cooking in the background. you'll be surprised how much this doesn't kill your overall productivity while also preserving mental health. slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

brailsafe 2y ago
I would argue that instead of working till you're done with it, just work till it's the end of the work day. Subtle but important difference.
- parpfish 2y ago
  Oh, yeah. I didn’t mean all in one sitting. Definitely don’t work after hours.

candiddevmike 2y ago

I'm seeing folks like you get laid off with the current climate. Your trick is to not play the game, which may not be feasible right now.

r2_pilot 2y ago
> I'm seeing folks like you get laid off with the current climate. Who cares? At this stage in my life (and a distant second my career too), if that's the kind of attitude your work demands of you, there's plenty of other validating things to do that also provide a living. And I always hear that people don't quit their jobs, they quit their bosses. But yeah, I would never fire someone for setting appropriate life/work boundaries and sticking to them.
- musicale 2y ago
  The current layoff cycle seems to be about lowering labor costs by dismissing expensive employees while limiting hiring to a smaller number of entry-level positions. There is also an assumption of an AI bonus that will allow companies to operate with more automation and fewer human employees.
piva00 2y ago
It's entirely feasible if you live in places that don't follow American-esque systems of labour relationship.
eweise 2y ago
I do worry about that and that's why the most important thing is to work for the right manager. Keep on their good side, make them feel like you're an asset even if not sprinting every sprint, and I've found that they'll go to bat for you at review time.
lurking_swe 2y ago
not at my workplace, people usually work 8 hours on average and that’s it. Find a better employer, they exist. Yes even ones that pay $200k+. I realize not everyone is so fortunate. I had to start at some not so great companies in my career, but over time if you’re picky enough, you can find a great employer. I encourage everyone to know their worth. Don’t settle.

dec0dedab0de 2y ago

Sounds more like you managed to avoid burning out.

djbusby 2y ago
Right. Work being "not fun" is a long way from Burnout (which looks a lot like, and maybe is, depression). The difference between a Grind and Hopeless.

gushogg-blake 2y ago

Yeah, it's probably a personality thing in large part. I find that the sense of my creative energy being wasted on something pointless disagrees with me so much that I'd rather do almost anything else (I actually find jobs to be a great source of inspiration in that way - ideas for better things to do keep springing to mind - although not great for productivity on the job). I do think there are different types of "work" though, and the worse programming jobs have some of the worst combinations of attributes - inherently pointless but require intense mental effort.

ryandrake 2y ago

> I also don't work overtime or weekends even though almost everyone else on my team does. They will not make it for the long run like that. Not only will they not make it for long, but they're actually devaluing their own work. You're paid a salary for a standard work week. If you're working nights and weekends, you're giving away that portion of your work for free. I learned and appreciated this fact too late in my career. IMO a business that can only function/succeed if employees give away their time for free is not a viable business and probably just shouldn't exist. Don't Do Crunch Time.

keysersoze33 2y ago

(My hat off to you for 35 years!) I've been coding for 25 years in many jobs & many industries (although banking featured a bit tooooo much). Our industry is volatile, and right now it feels like a 'micro' repeat of the dotcom bust, where even the very good devs are increasingly under an unreasonable amount of pressure (financially, finding work, or otherwise). Agree - life outside work is v. important, but I think it's equally important to work in an industry which aligns with one's values, rather than just for the money etc. At the end of the day, every role will be difficult at times, but if you're behind the potential impact of the company, then that makes the challenge more tolerable (*cough* ~Don't be evil~ *cough* sigh)