In the last couple of months the burnout feeling has somewhat subsided. I went on another little trip to Perth for a week, pottered around some more with Java/JEE, and then realised that not working is starting to feel a bit empty. So I refurbished the ol' resume last week, did some reading of Programming Interviews Exposed and started applying for work yesterday.
I think the main lesson learned from my entire burnout experience is essentially summed up by Drive. Although this book isn't about burnout specifically, the main point it makes is that separating intrinsic interest from extrinsic reward is psychologically very bad - almost guaranteed badness as a paradigm for motivating and rewarding knowledge workers. In many cases it just leads to low motivation and poor performance - in other cases (especially if it goes unchecked for too long) it can lead to burnout.
Another very important lesson I learned about burnout is how very very different individual people and their motivations are. Some thrive in situations which very quickly burn others out. So everything has to be taken with a big shake of salt.
MOVING FORWARD
When preparing for job seeking, I primarily thought about looking for contracting. The idea was to not get tied down into a routine which will make me feel stale eventually. Now that I've started looking and getting a taste of what's out there, I don't think the contracting vs permanent distinction is necessarily what makes it or breaks it.
The real trick is to find something that you'll have an intrinsic interest in. Either from the point of view of what the product is (feeling that you're working on a worthy cause), or an environment and technology stack that you just love working with.
Finally, it's important to know when to stop. This varies by personality type, but some (like myself) are quite prone to burnout once they get too comfortable and start going stale. NEVER EVER feel that you need to stay at a job once the signs of burnout hit. There is nothing short of outright starvation that makes it worthwhile.
(Note: This may be the final post of Burned Out Programmer for now. But I'll come back with more input if anything comes up! :))
Adrian,
ReplyDeleteWe are little company in Costa Rica (on beach) looking for a single experienced Java programmer for 9 month project. The pay is TERRIBLE, but the work environment is relaxing and the technology challenging. The motivation for the relocation would simply be to live/work in Costa Rica for 9 months. You will not bank any money, but the pay is enough to cover normal modest living expenses.
If interested let me know. Sean smilligan@khsy.com
I just posted a response to your question on stackexchange. Hang in there. Keep pressing for answers. I admire your transparency. BTW I went to Perth in 2000 to hold a training class. One of my favorite trips ever. Love that city. Also spent a week in Sydney and a week in Palm Cove on that trip. Wow, I am a spoiled girl.
ReplyDeleteSo Adrian, are you working again and refreshed? Did your ~6 months off do the trick?
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to write a little note saying that this site has been so very inspirational to me. When you describe your burn-out symptoms, it sounds exactly like me! And the link to Drive and to the RSA video were so helpful.
ReplyDeleteI am quite certain I will be taking a sabbatical at some point within the next year. Whether I find my way back into software development or not is a question, but I think I will see how that answers itself another day.
In the meantime, I hope things have worked out for you, and that someday you let us know what happened. And I want to thank you for helping me to identify the problem, letting me know that I am not alone in feeling this way, and that there are ways to deal with the problem.
Cheers.
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteSorry for the total radio silence. I've written a post which explains what's been going on with me for the past two years.
Long story short: I drifted away from programming altogether. But I don't think the reason was entirely related to my burnout, so I didn't quite know what to say, and didn't want to generalise a lesson that would put off others - who might have burned out for different (and more "recoverable") reasons.
cheers,
Adrian
Adrian,
ReplyDeleteWhere did you drift off to? Would love to know as I'm drifting somewhere myself, away from programming. But my destination is unknown right now. Give us a hint where yours is!
- Moses