From: Craig Maloney Date: Sun, 12 Apr 2020 16:32:33 +0000 (-0400) Subject: Making the list a bullet list so it doesn't render strangely in the PDF X-Git-Tag: 20200509.01^2~1 X-Git-Url: https://jxself.org/git/?a=commitdiff_plain;h=be48bd7c583b7906b1d9545e835fdeef6f4a1b64;p=themediocreprogrammer.git Making the list a bullet list so it doesn't render strangely in the PDF --- diff --git a/chapter07.md b/chapter07.md index b7281b8..275b259 100644 --- a/chapter07.md +++ b/chapter07.md @@ -102,11 +102,11 @@ Burnout is tricky to self-diagnose because it is a collection of seemingly unrel There are some things we can do to understand and help alleviate burnout: -1. Realize that we're burned out, or about to burn out. Acknowledging that we're about to burn out is key to not experiencing the burnout. That seems simple enough but we tend to ignore the symptoms when we're nearing the throes of burnout. If we can recognize that we're about to burn out then we can take measures to avoid it. And if we realize that we're burned out we can take measures to be kind to ourselves and help ourselves out of this burned-out state. -1. Examine our emotions. Sit for a while and notice what emotions come into view. Are we feeling stress, fear, anxiety, nervousness, or anger? Notice what feelings emerge and recognize these feelings. Examine where these feelings are coming from and what might be triggering these emotions. -1. Re-negotiate our commitments. Many times burnout is the result of over commitment, whether to ourselves or others. We always have too much to do, and despite our best efforts we will always acquire new obligations. Perhaps the plans we made were too aggressive, or something changed in the world that disrupted our plans. Whatever the reasons we may need to re-evaluate what is expected of us and what we are capable of doing. If we see that we've created an intractable situation for ourselves we need to figure out how to remove some of these obligations or re-negotiate them. -1. Give our "drive" a rest. Unlike our mechanical counterparts we need downtime and rest. We can't work a straight eight or more hours without at least some moments where we aren't working. Programming demands a lot of mental bandwidth and pushing ourselves to exhaustion can lead to emotional instability, stress, and burnout. -1. Examine if this is truly how we want to live our lives. We need to determine if what we're doing is really what we want to be doing. If we're not happy with what we're doing then every moment we continue doing it can compound our feelings of unhappiness. If we feel nothing but dread for our current situation then we may need to renegotiate our commitments. That can be something as simple as agreeing not to learn something right now, or can be as complex as taking on different work or changing careers. +* Realize that we're burned out, or about to burn out. Acknowledging that we're about to burn out is key to not experiencing the burnout. That seems simple enough but we tend to ignore the symptoms when we're nearing the throes of burnout. If we can recognize that we're about to burn out then we can take measures to avoid it. And if we realize that we're burned out we can take measures to be kind to ourselves and help ourselves out of this burned-out state. +* Examine our emotions. Sit for a while and notice what emotions come into view. Are we feeling stress, fear, anxiety, nervousness, or anger? Notice what feelings emerge and recognize these feelings. Examine where these feelings are coming from and what might be triggering these emotions. +* Re-negotiate our commitments. Many times burnout is the result of over commitment, whether to ourselves or others. We always have too much to do, and despite our best efforts we will always acquire new obligations. Perhaps the plans we made were too aggressive, or something changed in the world that disrupted our plans. Whatever the reasons we may need to re-evaluate what is expected of us and what we are capable of doing. If we see that we've created an intractable situation for ourselves we need to figure out how to remove some of these obligations or re-negotiate them. +* Give our "drive" a rest. Unlike our mechanical counterparts we need downtime and rest. We can't work a straight eight or more hours without at least some moments where we aren't working. Programming demands a lot of mental bandwidth and pushing ourselves to exhaustion can lead to emotional instability, stress, and burnout. +* Examine if this is truly how we want to live our lives. We need to determine if what we're doing is really what we want to be doing. If we're not happy with what we're doing then every moment we continue doing it can compound our feelings of unhappiness. If we feel nothing but dread for our current situation then we may need to renegotiate our commitments. That can be something as simple as agreeing not to learn something right now, or can be as complex as taking on different work or changing careers. By understanding that we're headed toward burnout (or are burned-out already) we can take measures to course-correct so we can approach our programming practice with joy and enthusiasm. Sometimes taking a step back and re-evaluating what we're doing can help us not sit in the constant loops of frustration, anger, and guilt. Changing our story to better fit reality can keep us from trying to match an impossible dream.