Coder Burn-Out

April 30, 2008 by Mark.

Its been a while since I wrote something here, and with good reason. I have gotten to the point where I do not want to look at code when I come home. I am on the edge of burning out. Thankfully, my vacation starts in a few days. But this blog post is not about my fun-in-the-sun vacation, rather its about the politics of being a programmer.

A few days ago I had a conversation with a friend about coder burn-out. Most specifically, should a manager push the programmer to the brink of burning-out in order to move the project along? I say, yes. To a point. Pushing a programmer to work that extra bit is natural, and happens quite frequently in the industry. It gives that extra boost when the projects needs it. But, it is similar to adding nitrous oxide to an engine to get extra horsepower. If you don’t give the engine a break, it will break down. Pistons will seize, gears will grind, and the engine will come to a screeching halt. Much like an engine, all this can happen to a programmer (just it wouldn’t be as violent, at least, I hope not). From personal experience, when a burn-out happens, I cannot look at code. It literally makes me unproductive, sluggish, and resistant to coding. Moreover, I start to neglect personal projects and duties (such as this blog) that once made me happy.

Fortunately, I am nowhere near the point where I hate programming, but my pet projects have not seen progression in weeks. My vacation is coming up and it will be a breath of fresh air into a stuffy room. What I am wondering is, how do other people deal with coder burn-out? What are your strategies or things that you do to relax and get your bearings back?

Posted in Stuff | 4 Comments »