I dont mean depression or anxiety (this feels different), I mean feeling like you never really recharge, like youve never gotten time off ever. Which I think is partly due to a tendency to put literally 100% into something until you feel fried, move on to the next thing rinse repeat. Even “down time” doesnt really feel like down time because I am stuck between either boredom, working on yet another thing or thinking about things in general.
Yes but I have no clue what to do about it.
Find a hobby, an actually hobby and something else yo.occupy your time.
Gardening, where you can’t force time, you have to plant something and wait, but not forget which is key
Anything that you like, but has to be a hobby
Yes, and at least in my case, it’s because I feel like I can either be passionate about my work at the risk of some entitled asshole swooping in and destroying everything I’ve worked so hard to build, or I can just put in the absolute minimum and try to be indifferent. Neither option is attractive or motivating.
And then on top of that, entitled assholes aren’t just destroying my work, they seem to be determined to destroy anything and everything that matters. And for what??? So yeah, I’m maybe a little burnt out.
Yep. I’m a programmer and have felt like I’m in a perpetual state of burnout for years. The work doesn’t interest me much these days, and I haven’t done a side project in ages. Being laid off for 3 months didn’t help, nor does feeling like all of the work is pointless. Im basically a prisoner to my work because the alternative is going broke and becoming homeless. Ain’t capitalism grand??
You can change jobs. You can start an entirely diffetent career. I know a guy who quit teaching high school science because he was so burned out on it and became a plumber. It only took a year of training, and pays great.
If you get a job that doesn’t pay as much as programming, you can downsize your life. You don’t have to keep grinding at your current level to maintain a life that makes you miserable.
It’s definitely something I’ve been thinking about. It’s just daunting, especially when you’re in your 40s. My dad followed a similar path. Was an electrical engineer working on NASA stuff, hated it, became a carpenter.
I’ve been thinking of things that are programming-adjacent too, like technical writing.
I found passive activitys can help with that. Just sit down and watch a good show that is engaging. Even going to bed early but listening to an audio book or podcast.
While some amount of that can be cool, I’ve found that trying too hard to get rest via passive activities can make the described symptoms worse. I think one should strive for am mix of passive and active recreation.
Yes.
