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> Actually what he's arguing (rightly) is that burnout is harmful. That's not the same as "programmer passion". What I've been wondering about lately, though,

by Dewie 12y ago

> Actually what he's arguing (rightly) is that burnout is harmful. That's not the same as "programmer passion". What I've been wondering about lately, though, is if what looks like passion can all of a sudden turn on you and manifest itself as burnout? That's why I feel a bit wary about "if I like to do it, then it's fine". What if I'm just deluding myself, and the burnout ends up hitting me even harder? My biggest problem though, which is obvious and doesn't require much self-reflection, is that I have a pretty unbalanced lifestyle.

smt88 12y ago
I'll tell you my story, which may or may not be relatable. I've always loved all aspects of developing software products: brainstorming, research, programming, designing, and marketing. Even the boring parts are so motivating to me that I can work for 20 hours at a time. And because all of the ideas and opportunities around me are so enjoyable and exciting, I used to have a lot of trouble saying no. I tried to pile more and more stuff onto my plate, often justifying it by under-estimating the time it takes to do each one. I eventually saw my less of my girlfriend, family, and friends. I almost entirely stopped drinking even a single drink because of the small decrease in productivity. I slept 4 hours a day in 2-hour shifts. I hadn't burned out yet, but I became an example of the popular research finding that productivity is greater if you work at sub-burnout levels. In my case, I get as much done working on and off for 10 hours a day as I did working for 20. I get more sleep, though still little, and I force myself to take miniature "vacations" (sometimes an evening, sometimes a day or two) to focus on things other than work, no matter how much is piling up. I'm still extremely busy, and I'm still not doing everything I want to do. But I'm more productive than I was, and I'm not missing out on all of the other things in life. There will always be people who are willing to sacrifice everything for work. I think that's a small minority, and even in that minority, very few of them will end up happy in the long term. I always like to say that no one lies on their death bed and says, "I wish I would have worked more and seen my loved ones, traveled, and relaxed less!" In fact, a recent NY Times article[1] about this exact subject concludes with a deathbed quote that supports the anti-burnout movement very well. 1. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/14/business/dealbook/when-employee-engagement-turns-into-employee-burnout.html http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/14/business/dealbook/when-emp...

by Dewie 12y ago

smt88 12y ago

I'll tell you my story, which may or may not be relatable. I've always loved all aspects of developing software products: brainstorming, research, programming, designing, and marketing. Even the boring parts are so motivating to me that I can work for 20 hours at a time. And because all of the ideas and opportunities around me are so enjoyable and exciting, I used to have a lot of trouble saying no. I tried to pile more and more stuff onto my plate, often justifying it by under-estimating the time it takes to do each one. I eventually saw my less of my girlfriend, family, and friends. I almost entirely stopped drinking even a single drink because of the small decrease in productivity. I slept 4 hours a day in 2-hour shifts. I hadn't burned out yet, but I became an example of the popular research finding that productivity is greater if you work at sub-burnout levels. In my case, I get as much done working on and off for 10 hours a day as I did working for 20. I get more sleep, though still little, and I force myself to take miniature "vacations" (sometimes an evening, sometimes a day or two) to focus on things other than work, no matter how much is piling up. I'm still extremely busy, and I'm still not doing everything I want to do. But I'm more productive than I was, and I'm not missing out on all of the other things in life. There will always be people who are willing to sacrifice everything for work. I think that's a small minority, and even in that minority, very few of them will end up happy in the long term. I always like to say that no one lies on their death bed and says, "I wish I would have worked more and seen my loved ones, traveled, and relaxed less!" In fact, a recent NY Times article[1] about this exact subject concludes with a deathbed quote that supports the anti-burnout movement very well. 1. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/14/business/dealbook/when-employee-engagement-turns-into-employee-burnout.html http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/14/business/dealbook/when-emp...