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Coder Burn-Out

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?

This entry was posted on April 30, 2008 at 7:53 pm and is filed under Stuff. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

4 Responses to “Coder Burn-Out”

  1. Cozby says:
    May 1, 2008 at 4:22 am

    Get the fuck outside.

    Stay away from the computer, read a book (or 5), get drunk, smoke a fat ooh wee joint, hell do anything but touch the silicon devil.
    Dude computers suck.
    There… I said it.

    Oh and buy Amit beers! (This one_really_helps with code burn out)

  2. catherine leung says:
    May 1, 2008 at 9:55 pm

    Time away from the computer is a must! Finding a hobby or two that gets you away from the computer completely is really helpful. Personally, I love my weekly pottery class. I love the feel of clay gliding through my fingers as it spins on wheel, chatting with my classmate, and building something out of a most primitive material (ie clay… which is a nice way of saying mud). The city of Toronto actually offers lots of different activities at a reasonable cost (sports, arts, cultural). You can look for them by doing a search for “toronto fun guide”.

  3. David Humphrey says:
    May 1, 2008 at 10:18 pm

    Hey Mark,

    I think it’s really important to listen to your body/mind when you start feeling like this. I go through a cycle where I pour everything I have into programming, and then totally burn out. The burn out phase always has me questioning why I’m bothering with this stuff, asking why I don’t do something else in life, getting really down. When this happens, I walk away from it for a while. Lawrence Lessig takes 1 month a year and goes totally offline. I take 2 months a year and do nothing but read and cook.

    After I get off the digital treadmill for a while, I find that when I go back, I’m ready for it again. BUT, it takes me time to transition up or down. I find the shift out of computers as hard as going back in, and every time I start-up again, I wonder if I’ll get back to where I was (I always do).

    My wife has helped me see that this cycle repeats really frequently with me, which is nice. Then I don’t panic so much when it starts to happen. The thing with what you’re doing is that you’ll work so intensively all the time, and naturally burn-out. Go with it, and let yourself come back to the passionate work later.

  4. Andrew Smith says:
    May 2, 2008 at 8:08 pm

    I’ve learned about burn-out a long time ago, but only started applying what I learned when I started my new job.

    I’ve made it clear from the start that I’m not going to be working overtime unless something truly out of the ordinary happens, deadlines or not.

    Also after I eat my lunch (15 minutes) I go out for a 45-minute walk (wind, rain, snow, or not).

    It turns out that just as I expected I am as productive working 7 hours a day as I am 12. Plus when I get home I don’t feel braiddead, and can do other things.

    I suggest doing what I do - whenever your manager asks you to do something tell him how long it will really take (in 7 hour days). And when it turns out to be taking longer just tell him you need more time (more days, not more hours).

    If he keeps pushing you - ignore him, and at least make sure he’s as pissed as you are. At the same time start looking for a new job.

    I can tell you for sure that they’re not paying you enough to own you. So if 7.5 hours a day is not enough for them, let them double your salary first.

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