What is burnout?

Burnout is a condition characterized by emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion as a result of prolonged and excessive stress. It is distinguished by a loss of motivation and passion, as well as feelings of isolation, depression, and anxiety, as well as physical and mental exhaustion. Burnout can have a negative impact on a person's relationships and other aspects of their life.

Causes of burnout

Sitting over an extended period of time

Sitting at your desk and coding for 8+ hours is taxing and not good for your health. You are simply staring at your screen, and your eyes and eyesight will not perceive this as stimulating. A little suggestion: take a break and blink your eyes a little bit to reduce your risks of acquiring dry eyes while looking at your computer.

Inadequate exercise and sleep

Consider your brain to be a muscle. When you work out hard, your muscles will reach a point where they will feel weary, and you will need to quit immediately. The same is true for your brain. A healthy mind and body are less susceptible to burnout and tiredness.

Feeling trapped

Programmers spend their entire careers performing difficult tasks and problem-solving. Burnout will result from grinding through code difficulties and completing arduous jobs. Writing comparable code and working on the same technology every day will sap your motivation and passion. You will feel stuck, and we will speak about how to avoid this later.

How to prevent burnout?

Don't compare yourself with others

When they are not at their level, people begin to compare themselves to others and become unhappy. You must recognize that the only true comparison is with yourself. When you see a buddy or an expert programmer working on exciting projects and accomplishing a lot, it does not indicate that they did not face challenges. If you are a programmer, you should consider your path to be long-term. Your working style may differ from that of the person you admire; you may be a slow but visual learner, and it all depends on the individual. Everyone is unique, and everyone learns at their own pace. The only fair comparison is with yourself.

Take breaks

This may sound cliche, but you really need to take a break. If you're trying to complete a leetcode streak and are unhappy, coding just because you feel obligated to will almost certainly result in burnout. It's fine to watch TV, hang out with friends, spend time with family, engage in hobbies, and so on. Keep in mind that you should not use this as an excuse to avoid work. Waking up early instead of working on your thought process and planning to play a video game to distract yourself before starting to code is a bad idea. It's challenging to switch your attention from high-dopamine activities like playing video games to low-dopamine activities like coding.

Setting attainable goals

You are not a robot. Stop being a perfectionist and assuming that I'll work hard all day coding or that I'll just binge-watch this TV show. You will feel even worse after procrastinating and tell yourself, "At some point in time, you will definitely code," which we both know will never happen. Burnout results from this "all-or-nothing" mentality. To avoid this, imagine that you will only be coding for 10 minutes. Isn't it rather simple? Once you get started, which is the most difficult aspect, you will notice that your labor will last for hours. Break down your larger goals into smaller goals and prioritize fulfilling them first. Make your ambitions bigger and more ambitious once the momentum has been established.

Work on something fun

What's the point of programming if you're exhausted and bored? Start working on some interesting tasks to distract yourself from the tedious problem-solving sessions you have every day. Getting that dream career is worthwhile, but the journey should also be enjoyable. Forget about data structures and algorithms and get back to work on some interesting projects. It's not like you're wasting your time; you're improving your programming skills while also having fun, which will undoubtedly keep you from burning out.

Perform low-effort tasks

Why not focus on low-effort tasks when you don't want to plunge into large codebases, solve problems, or have the energy to code? I created this blog because I was unmotivated to learn Java. You can do the same for yourself by concentrating on low-effort chores such as video editing and blogging. When you are low on energy, you arrange your workflow by spending energy and time on low-effort chores, and when you are high on energy, you begin programming or continue learning a particular technology. Even if you are not coding, you will not feel procrastinated or unproductive because you are completing tasks at the end of the day.

Conclusion

When it comes to coding burnout, it's crucial to take the necessary steps to prevent it from happening. Overworking and constantly being under stress can lead to a decline in performance, a lack of motivation, and a negative impact on one's overall well-being. As we've discussed, taking frequent breaks, engaging in physical activity, setting manageable goals, and seeking support from others can all help alleviate the symptoms of coding burnout. By incorporating these strategies into your daily routine, you can help maintain a healthy work-life balance and prevent coding burnout from taking over. Remember that coding is a challenging and rewarding career that requires patience, dedication, and passion. Take care of yourself, both mentally and physically, and keep your love for coding alive!