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Clifton Beale
Clifton Beale

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Burnout Post / Happy New Years

I must make that commit; I must fix that error tonight; I must finish this project; I must keep my GitHub chart green
A cartoon man stressing out about work while using the computer

Take a break

I did.

Nearing the end of 2024, I postponed working on my latest project (Next Meal).

Next Meal had gotten to a place where I could be proud of what I had learned and accomplished. After more than 6 months on the job search, several months unemployed working on Next Meal and other projects - I had to go back to work.

Breaks are good for you

During my break, I took the opportunity to reflect on my initial motivation for becoming a web developer as well as the significant progress I've made along the way.

When I caught a mental glimpse at how much I had learned from the beginning of my journey to where I am now, I was blown away. I am so happy with where my work is at as a web developer now that I am ready to commit more publicly. I am looking to work with opensource projects or groups of individuals with a common interest.

Before my break, I was starting to get very tired of working towards seemingly nothing. I was tired of not hearing any positive news with my job search, and I was losing hope.

Flash forward to a couple of months later, and my head is back in the game. I have been working a different job while taking a break from web development, so my mind is still sharp and ready.

I took from the break, most importantly, that I need time to reflect on my achievements and successes, especially when I am experiencing failure. My work is important, but it is important that I am well enough to continue caring for my work. It is important, for me, that I recognize my progress and even celebrate it - for it is a step in the journey towards the end goal.

Going back to work

I started working as a delivery driver for Amazon once again, and took a break from my studies at the end of October. Here and there, I would sit at my computer and change a couple of things on my portfolio to keep it up to date, but other than that I was taking a strategic mental pause.

Here we are in 2024, a new year with amazing possibilities ahead of each of us. I am back to claim what I have been working so hard for in these previous years.

My goals for 2024

  • Meet new people

  • Find a new mentor (maybe?)

  • Explore new and updated technologies

  • Be the best father I can be to my new son

  • Find a job that pushes me to learn new things

My plans for 2024

  • Continue improving my work on Next Meal

  • Continue keeping my portfolio up to date

  • Be more active on LinkedIn

  • Interact with groups of individuals on open sourced projects

  • Continue my job search for a position as a web developer

Fireworks generated by OpenAI's DALL-E

I hope that everyone had wonderful holidays in 2023, and an amazing new year so far - I know I have. I am so excited for what this year has to bring, yet.

If you have not seen my work check, be sure to check out

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