"5. Work long hours, ignore your life" Anyone else getting sick of this false dichotomy of "long hours" and "having a life"? What am I going to do with that li

"5. Work long hours, ignore your life" Anyone else getting sick of this false dichotomy of "long hours" and "having a life"? What am I going to do with that life, visit new restaurants / collect stamps / try new variations of yoga / go out to bars? Alright the last one ain't so bad. Seriously, if someone's in their 20s and want to work/program away while they build their career, just shut up and let them. Maybe that's what they actually want to do over anything else. I know, it must suck for you family guys / slower guys - let's face it, it's more competition because there are people willing to do what you are not: forgo more leisure activities and personal relationships. The point is, however, that this is not a sacrifice for some people, but a preference. But burnout is not due to "not having a life", it's due to ignoring your physiology. It's due to "eating like a programmer", doing these stupid all-night "hackathons", not exercising, not sleeping, and generally being a moron with your health. I will also add that to avoid burnout, take care of your psyche. Don't skip that 30 min coffee to catch-up with an old friend if it will make you happy, for example. Social isolation creates physiological consequences as well, which can contribute to burnout - but again, this isn't true for everyone, and there's a wide spectrum of acceptable values which many like to ignore.