Instagram burnout: a tidy desk, a warm coffee mug, a caption about hustle culture and finally taking a break Soft lighting A plant somewhere in the...
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Thank you for sharing your story with such honesty 💛 Burnout is a real issue, very often not visible on the outside, but wreaking havoc inside. Happy for you that you noticed it on time!
I hope you recover and find joy in coding again 🤞🏻
Thank you, Klaudia. 🙏
You're right burnout is invisible, and that's what makes it lonely But here's what I've learned from the comments on this post:
This isn't just my story The details are mine. The shape is ours.
So many people have said this is exactly how I feel That's been the most healing part realizing I'm not alone in the gray.
Thank you for your kindness. 🙌
Burnout is terrible. I get this feeling all the time. I end up just closing all my windows, wondering what to do when I don't feel like finishing my existing projects. I get caught in a vicious cycle: one project, two, three. Recycle bin +1, +2, +3. And then a couple more projects, and it keeps goin 😭
Ember Recycle bin +1, +2, +3 😂 Darkly hilarious and painfully accurate.
That's the cycle Start new because old feels impossible New becomes old. Repeat
The projects aren't the problem The energy to finish them is. Burnout steals that energy quietly
The recycle bin isn't a solution. It's a symptom.
What helped me: forgiving myself for not finishing. Then picking one messy, imperfect, just done.
You're not alone in this. 🙌
'Accepting that good enough is enough' - such an important mantra. Build yourself a system that leads you in the right direction in a sustainable manner, meaning its ok to not work on goals actively every day. Actually taking a step back sometimes unlocks more clarity.
If you have a solid system in place, you can drop only as low as this system.
A lot of productivity gurus preach about aiming for higher heights but I would argue its more sustainable in the long run to consolidate your base first rather than always reach for new heights. Ambition is good, but in good measure.
Julien this is such a wise, grounded comment Thank you. 🙏
Build yourself a system that leads you in the right direction in a sustainable manner.
Not maximize every day.Not hustle harder. A system Something that works even on low-energy days. Something that catches you when you fall.
If you have a solid system, you can drop only as low as this system.
That's the line. The floor isn't determined by your best days. It's determined by your worst days and what's still there when you have nothing left to give.
You're right about the productivity gurus. They sell the peak They don't show you how to survive the valley Consolidating the base isn't less ambitious it's more sustainable.
Thank you for adding this It's the kind of wisdom that comes from experience, not theory. 🙌
You are welcome Harsh!
Great article, very good points, and I'm sure a cathartic part of your process.
For me:
Things that work:
Mike thank you for sharing this. The specificity is what makes it valuable.
Needing to sleep in the day, sudden waves of exhaustion yes. Not the tired at the end of the day kind. The kind that hits you at 2 PM like a wave pulling you under.
Trying to start things and just jamming up that's the part people don't talk about. It's not that you can't work It's that starting feels like pushing through mud.
And your things that work list is gold:
Hobbies that are physical, not repetitive, requiring constant low-level concentration that's a precise formula. The gym doesn't work for me either (repetitive makes the mind wander back to work). But something like sailing hiking, cooking engaged enough to be present, simple enough to not add pressure.
Cooking especially Chopping vegetables doesn't care about your sprint velocity.
Thanks for this genuinely helpful. 🙌
That girl in the cover image doesn't look like a burnout one but instead she looks like a zombie dear. Is that how the AI understands human 🤣
😂 Fair point. AI's idea of burnout is...apocalyptic.
Some days it feels that way But point taken less zombie more human next time.
Thanks for reading (and for the laugh). 🙌
staring at the same line for 20 minutes without reading it once is so accurate. I’d add: writing code that compiles but you have no idea how because you were on autopilot the whole time.
Mykola writing code that compiles but you have no idea how is somehow even scarier than not being able to write at all Because at least when you're stuck, you know you're stuck. Autopilot code compiles It passes tests It looks fine. But it's not yours You were just a vessel between the keyboard and the screen That's the insidious part of burnout. It doesn't always stop you from working. It just hollows out the awareness of working You close tickets You ship features. And then you look back and realize you weren't there for any of it The autopilot keeps you productive. It doesn't keep you present.
Thanks for adding this it's the perfect complement to the staring at the line feeling. 🙌
that flash of 'wait, how did that work?' is exactly the tell — we just get good at dismissing it. the scary part is not being the vessel. it's that green tests and a passing build actively reinforce not investigating. the feedback loop says you're fine.
To prevent burn-out we should do burn-in to know our human limits!
Burn-in clever. 🔥
Not wrong either. Knowing your limits requires testing them The problem is burnout doesn't announce itself at the limit. It creeps.
So maybe the skill isn't preventing burnout it's recognizing early signals.
Thanks for the wordplay and the wisdom. 🙌
"The problem is burnout doesn't announce itself at the limit. It creeps."
"the skill isn't preventing burnout it's recognizing early signals."
True!
If you know hindi, I got these wisdom lines after going through a phase like burnout:
रात को दिन बनाने से, हालत ख़राब होती है।
इसीलिये पागल, चाँद पे भी शायरी दिन में होती है ।।😄
😂😂😂 This is gold.
रात को दिन बनाने से, हालत ख़राब होती है। Burnout in one line.
Thanks for the wisdom (and the laugh)🙌
Burnout is awful. There’s nothing aesthetic about it.
But in my case, after a lot of trial and error, I eventually found an anti-burnout routine that works for me. It doesn’t eliminate fatigue, but I honestly stopped experiencing burnout.
Roman this is the hopeful note the article needed.
It doesn't eliminate fatigue, but I stopped experiencing burnout that's an important distinction Fatigue is physical. Burnout is deeper.
The goal isn't to never be tired. It's to stop the gray.
After a lot of trial and error no one-size-fits-all. But knowing someone found a path out that's the gift.
What one or two things made the biggest difference for you?
Thank you for this. 🙌
Great Article Thanks For Sharing😍
Thank You Urmila
Exactly! You need to take mini break. Health is number one priority in life.
Wise words Health is number one priority easy to say, hard to remember when you're in the tunnel.
Thanks for the reminder, Benjamin. 🙌