Episode 128 – Dealing with Burnout

  What causes burnout? Too much work? Possibly, but not necessarily Many people work crazy hours and do not suffer from burnout. Work/life balance? Again, this is possible The feeling of work/life unbalance is more of a symptom than a reason. Compound Stress This seems to be the real cause. Work asking for tight deadlines Spouse wanting more help around the house Kids needing help with homework or skills they are struggling with. Internal stress Putting unrealistic expectations on yourself Failing to complete projects Finances Basically Burnout is you not being able to keep up with the expectaions of your work, your family, and yourself. How does burnout affect you as a developer? Prevents you from working productively Unable to focus at work inability to make yourself work general loss of productivity at work a strong wanting to quit and find another job Harms family interactions Loss of affection to your spouse which leads to loss of affection from your spouse Lack of positive interations with your kids getting upset at them when you normally wouldn’t be General malaise at home not doing normal chores that you should basically sit on couch, watch tv, and ignore the world Could lead to divorce and/or missing important milestones in your families life. Spiraling descent into unhappiness Basically all the symptoms of depression Burnout affects every aspect of your life and prevents you from managing work, family, finances, exercise and eating habits, and everything else that is part of a healthy life. How do we prevent burnout from happening in the first place? It’s not real easy Ignore stress conditions or find a good coping mechanism for them. Deadlines at work of most often not as urgent or important as they are made to be seen. Relax and do the best you can, but don’t cave under the weight of a deadline Don’t rush to meet the deadline causes bugs causes bad code leads to more stress Assume that everyone is doing the best they can under the circumstances Even if you could do a better job Even if it’s not even your job The belief they someone else is slacking off leads to more stress leads to tension within the team doesn’t help anyone If you have a question, ask it. Ask for help This one might be difficult you are not an island you can’t do this on your own Personal projects and hobbys Don’t require the utmost professionalism You don’t have to TDD or Clean Code all the time. You can relax and write some bad code sometimes These projects are for practicing or learn a specific thing. Focus on that Are great for releiving stress when not taken seriously If the project or hobby stresses you out, it can wait. Family Your spouse doesn’t know or understand your work If you are stressed, talk to your spouse about it. If you have had a bad day, talk to your spouse about it. Children don’t know or understand your work