Overcome Burnout in Software Development: Key Tips

Santiago Carrasco — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 19:52:46 +0000

I am someone who consumes a lot of content on the internet related to technology, programming, and everything that this area entails in various formats: videos, blogs, podcasts, etc. On different occasions, I came across content related to the issue of burnout in the world of programming; most were personal experiences they went through. I consumed it, but personally, I saw it as something distant, something I thought would never happen to me at the moment when I found myself enjoying every moment of what my tasks and my day-to-day involved. But no, in my more than 5 years of experience working professionally, I experienced the famous burnout, and it is not pleasant to go through this.

Today, I personally feel that it is something normal that will most likely end up happening to someone who is dedicated to programming and gradually gains experience; but for that reason, I am here to tell you how to deal with it and identify it as soon as possible.

But before continuing, let me first give you some context:

What is Burnout?

Burnout is a total physical and mental state of exhaustion, affecting both your work and personal activities.

Burnout is like a smartphone used intensely all day without recharging. You start with total energy, but as you use more applications —both work-related and personal— without breaks, the battery runs out. Ignoring the low battery signals and continuing to increase the load leads the phone to shut down, unable to function in any aspect. Thus, without the necessary rest, we can also reach a point of total exhaustion, affecting all our activities.

In my case, it was a snowball effect; at my previous job, there was a time when I was not learning anything new or that fed my curiosity; I was performing tasks that were either too simple or too repetitive and did not involve learning something new or implementing any challenging novelty.

On the contrary, in other teams, I knew (due to the nature of that specific project) they were learning new processes, new technologies, and making more constant new implementations.

It ended up bothering me that I decided to first talk to my manager about this situation, unfortunately not telling him 100% how I felt at that moment but wanted to persuade in getting to do something more challenging, and in my free time increase the learning load of more new technologies, create projects, and take on extra jobs offered to me to not lose the spark of programming projects and carry out the entire process required to lift and mount a new project. Small spoiler: this is not sustainable in the long term.

I'm not saying it's wrong to work overtime to learn something new or take on extra jobs outside your main job, but making this a lifestyle is a big mistake that can affect you in the future.

Burnout is very silent; it gradually increases as the days go by until it explodes at one point, which happened to me a few months ago, and it doesn't feel good at all.

It feels like having mental and physical exhaustion every day, not having a clear direction where to head in your professional path, and you struggle to absorb new information; obviously, this is not sustainable for those of us dedicated to this career.

Possible Causes

Based on my experience and reading other resources, I list the points that contribute to burnout. Recognizing these triggers is important to prevent and find a solution:

Difficulty getting up in the mornings: This can be a sign that your body and mind are exhausted and need the rest they are not getting.
Constant mental exhaustion: Feeling mentally drained, even at the start of the day, indicates a level of stress and workload that is unsustainable.
Generation of excessive stress: The constant pressure to meet deadlines or manage complex projects without adequate support can lead to collapse.
Stagnation in skills: The lack of growth or learning can make the job feel monotonous and demotivating.
Lack of motivation: The loss of interest in work that used to be exciting can be a clear indication of burnout.
Lack of concentration: Difficulty focusing on tasks can be the result of mental and physical overload.
Procrastination: Postponing tasks can be a defense mechanism to avoid facing work stress, but in the long term, it worsens the problem.

Solutions to Avoid It

These habits, personally, I see have a positive impact to handle this situation and can help you in a possible burnout:

Regular exercise: Physical activity is key to reducing stress, improving mood, and increasing energy.
Self-reflection: Spending time meditating or keeping a journal can help you understand your emotions and strategies for managing stress.
Constant discipline: Establishing and maintaining a daily routine helps manage time better and reduces the feeling of being overwhelmed.
Constant communication: Express yourself and maintain constant and healthy communication with your colleagues and especially with your manager, to be aligned at all times mentally and your responsibilities within the team.
Feeding curiosity: Seeking new challenges and learning to keep the mind stimulated and avoid monotony.
Keeping the passion alive: Remembering and reconnecting with what you are passionate about in your job can rekindle motivation; I recommend buying courses, books, or related content so that you learn some new technology or methodology; the trick is to find what interests you at that moment.
Working on what you like: Making sure your job is aligned with your interests and passions reduces the risk of burnout, making it not feel like a job at the end of the day.
Taking frequent breaks: Small breaks throughout the day can help recharge energy and improve productivity; I recommend taking full advantage of the vacations offered to you.

Red Flags in Teams/Companies

By delving into these causes and warning signs, you can create a healthier and more sustainable work environment for both you and your team, significantly reducing the risk of burnout.

Repetitive and unchallenging tasks: The lack of variety and challenge in work can lead to disinterest and demotivation.
Culture of constant overtime: A culture that values long working hours over efficiency and employee well-being is a breeding ground for burnout.
Lack of recognition: Not recognizing the effort and achievements of employees can make them feel undervalued and demotivated.
Little autonomy: The lack of control over work and how it is done can cause frustration and discontent.
Poor communication: The lack of clear and effective communication can lead to misunderstandings, stress, and a sense of isolation.
Lack of support: A work environment where emotional or professional support is not offered to employees can significantly increase the risk of burnout.
Unrealistic expectations: Burdening employees with unattainable goals or too tight deadlines can create unsustainable pressure.

This type of exhaustion we experience in our line of work, due to its demanding nature, can be perceived as normal, especially if we aspire to achieve extraordinary results.

Fortunately, I am still in the process of fully recovering from burnout, gradually regaining the rhythm of thinking clearly and programming normally as I did before without difficulties; it's hard work, I won't lie to you, but everything has a solution.

This is my personal plan to get back on track from a professional standpoint, and it is divided into two main parts:

Revisiting the Fundamentals : My goal is to go back and study the basic principles of everything I have learned so far in programming. The purpose is to refresh my already acquired knowledge, reinforce it, and delve deeper into those aspects where I felt less confident.
Innovate and Build : The second step is to start learning and developing new products and projects, like this blog. Venturing into creating something new allows me to improve my processes and rekindles my passion for programming, something I really missed.

Lastly, the most valuable advice I can offer you from all this experience is the importance of maintaining a balance in life. Avoid overloading yourself in any aspect of your life and strive to maintain a balance between the different areas of your life. In the face of any red flags I have mentioned, it is crucial to proactively seek and implement solutions. If you find situations that are beyond your control and cannot be changed, the healthiest thing to do is learn to avoid them. Remember, not everything is under our control.

Welcome to Santychuy.com

Santiago Carrasco — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 18:43:56 +0000

I have spent years consuming a lot of content on the internet in various formats related to programming, technology, and related topics to stand out and perform better in my work routine (methods to improve your productivity, tools, etc.)

Less than a year ago, I became concerned about not just consuming but also starting to create content. I've given a lot of thought to whether it would be worth dedicating my time now to this new field, which will be new to me, and here we are taking the first steps.

Why Santychuy.com?

TL;DR: Having my own platform on which I can distribute my content to other large platforms

From the beginning, I wanted to solve the problem of not yet having my own platform (in this case, a website) to share and manage my content in the way I wanted.

Some might think, why not start on others first (Dev.to, LinkedIn, etc.) and then start your own blog?

I believe it's a path anyone would take to start, and it's advisable to get into the habit of writing continuously about any topic and forming a community, but I first wanted to tackle another problem I had been carrying, which was the ability to plan and build a technological product from scratch since I felt rusty for several reasons that I will share in a future post.

Having my own platform, the next step is to start sharing content in the following way:

Santychuy.com will be the main platform that displays the content, and the project's repository will host the blog posts to distribute them to other platforms in their respective formats.
Through automations (WIP), distribute the content of each published blog automatically that will be listened to via RSS Feed to the platforms I want to target. This will be adjusted for each of them since not all platforms allow you to publish automatically today, and some manual adjustments have to be made, but the idea is to do as little work as possible.

Diagram to distribute content

What's next?

The next steps will be to improve the platform, the content publication flow, and to be able to share consistently what I learn day by day, as I am 100% convinced that by sharing knowledge or thoughts from this field, I can improve as a professional.

In the long term, I will work on adapting a Discord server (in case you want to join) to have a means of communication to share ideas instantly.

I have so many ideas that can be implemented, but I have to take the time to prioritize each one to have a sort of roadmap for Santychuy.com

Check out the repository of the website in case you want to see how it was built, and you are welcome to contribute to the project.

DEV Community: Santiago Carrasco