Burnout Syndrome in Programmers

And again, once again closing our eyes in an attempt to fall asleep, we watch cartoons in the form of our work and projects. And just before going to bed, the time comes for maximum working capacity and finding a solution for all the tasks that you encounter in your work. And so I want to get up and return to solving problems again, forgetting about sleep. After weeks of fruitful work, in which we burned to the ground many times, we find that our project has become meaningless. How so? It was an innovation! Sounds familiar, right?

Burnout syndrome: how can a programmer avoid depression?

The burnout syndrome is familiar to almost every programmer. What happens to us? Where did the stimulus that was at the beginning go? This brothers is our eternal destiny – burnout, fatigue, stress. And what's more, it's all interchangeable. That is, stress equals burnout, fatigue equals stress, burnout equals fatigue. And this is a vicious circle in which our tired, burnt-out programmer runs.

Why do programmers burn out emotionally?

What's going on? We don't do anything like that. Everyone has seen the Japanese who spend more than 15-18 hours a day at work and live like this for more than 20 years. Looking at them, you begin to dream about how good it would be to work like that yourself. In this mode, it would be possible to carry out many cool projects, reach new heights in knowledge and application. Of course, each of our acquaintances is truly jealous of the industriousness of some peoples, and themselves having worked for more than 5 years in the IT field with joy and sadness in front of their eyes, they change their job to a lackey. On the Internet, we found many articles on the fight against emotional burnout of programmers. Oh, how many there were "important" tips for dealing with stress and fatigue. Sometimes many copywriters simply copied articles from each other in parts and combined them. Let's take a look at these tips:

• Do something you enjoy
• do some exercise
• do breathing exercises
• chat with people

It seems that for copywriters, all programmers are just fat and pimply sociopaths who simply don’t even get up from their chairs. What is actually useful from the above?

How can a programmer avoid burnout?

From the personal experience of our programmers, we have come up with one really practical and useful tip.
 
Physical activity

But what plan? After all, if you think about it, we are already moving every day: a trip from the table to the kitchen, shop and wc. It turns out that the exercises are already present, but it turns out not quite so. How to get out of this situation? Gym? Running or something else? It is necessary to do something that will be unusual for You. After all, a lot of people already go to the gym and go for walks, so for them this is not work advice. You need a change of scenery! And get out of your comfort zone.
 
Let's say if you already do exercises and go to the gym and you still have constant stress. Try to replace a trip by transport to work with a walk! And you will get an amazing result for you. If you're used to using the chute, try going outside and throwing your trash in the trash cans. Often they are located at a distance from residential buildings. Therefore, you will immediately do two useful things: take out the garbage from the house and take a walk. And vice versa, if you do not visit the gym – go! At least once a week on weekends. This will be a change of scenery for you. You will get a lot of moral pleasure by replacing familiar things with new ones.

Programmer burnout syndrome: conclusion

On reflection, we realize that stress – it is either fatigue from the routine fluidity of our lives that leads to burnout or a nervous breakdown. As for the rest of the tips we wrote about above:

1. We are doing what we love. After all, if this were not so, then the Free Cashier would have long been sounded from our lips.

2. Breathing exercises are applicable both to prevent stress and in the midst of passions. Proper breathing helps control tension. After all, if we burn out, and then practice a dozen breathing exercises, then this will not lead us to new enthusiasm in work. "After the fight, they don't wave their fists" as they say.

3. To communicate with people. The advice is controversial, since programmers and other freelancers are constantly interacting with society. We go to the store, talk to the staff, go out the door, talk on the bus, and so on. We communicate with clients, work colleagues, friends and just netizens (forums, blogs). Yes, perhaps this is not at all the communication that was meant, but in any case, this is interaction with society. If you are an avid homebody, then you should think about this moment.
 

Finally, I would like to wish every programmer to successfully avoid emotional burnout in our difficult profession. Well, if you are currently depressed and depressed. Apply to your situation the well-known formula of the "Six Ps": "Proper Pre-Planning Prevents Loss of Productivity".

Have a good rest and start planning your work. We wish you success!