A new AI model dropped last week.
Twitter exploded LinkedIn was a wall of hot takes My feed filled up with this changes everything and the future is here and seventeen threads about what it means for developers.
I opened the announcement Scrolled for thirty seconds Closed the tab Went back to work.
That's it That was my entire reaction.
A few Months ago I would have read every word Watched every demo Tried it the same day Stayed up late experimenting with it Woken up the next morning still thinking about it.
Now I feel tired.
Not because the tool isn't interesting Not because I've stopped caring about the industry Because there's always another one And another one And another one after that.
The excitement didn't disappear overnight It got worn down One release at a time One must-learn framework at a time One firehose of announcements at a time.
I used to get excited about new tools Now I feel tired And I don't think I'm alone.
What Excitement Used to Feel Like
I remember discovering React.
Not learning it from a tutorial someone assigned me - discovering it Stumbling on a blog post at 11 PM reading it twice because I couldn't believe what I was reading, and immediately opening my editor just to see if it worked the way they said it did.
I didn't care if it was the "best" tool I didn't think about job prospects or market adoption or whether it would still be relevant in three years. I just wanted to build something with it Right then That night.
That feeling was electric The curiosity The possibility The specific sensation that there was a whole new world to explore and I was standing at the entrance.
I stayed up late reading the docs not because I had to because I wanted to know what came next I bookmarked obscure tutorials Joined Discord servers Followed the creators on Twitter and felt genuinely invested in where the thing was going.
I wasn't learning because my job required it I was learning because it was fun Because I was genuinely, enthusiastically curious.
That version of me feels like a different person now.
The Slow Erosion
It didn't happen because of one bad release or one disappointing tool It happened because of a thousand releases.
Every week, a new framework you were supposed to know about Every month, a new "game-changing" model that rewrote the rules Every quarter a new architecture pattern or paradigm or approach that you needed to understand to stay relevant.
At first I kept up Read the docs Watched the videos Tried the demos Formed opinions Shared them.
Then, I started skimming Just the headlines Just the "what's new" sections Just enough to have something to say if someone brought it up.
Then I started ignoring.
Not because the tools were bad Because there were too many Because the firehose never stopped Because keeping up stopped feeling like curiosity and started feeling like a second job I hadn't signed up for.
The industry calls this "staying current." I call it running on a treadmill that keeps getting faster while someone stands next to you explaining why you should be enjoying this.
The excitement didn't die It got buried under the weight of obligation. And somewhere along the way I stopped being able to tell the difference between something that genuinely interested me and something I was just supposed to care about.
The Moment I Noticed
A junior developer pulled me aside last month "Have you tried the new [tool]? It's actually incredible I've been up until 2 AM with it.
I hadn't Not because I was too busy I hadn't even opened the announcement.
They were excited Genuinely visibly infectiously excited The way I used to be The way that made me want to stay late and experiment and come back the next day with things to share.
I wanted to feel what they were feeling I actually tried I opened the tab Read the headline Scrolled down.
Nothing.
I closed the tab and said something like "Oh yeah, I've been meaning to look at it" Which we both knew wasn't true I knew it the moment I said it.
That's when I understood what had actually happened I wasn't tired of tools I wasn't tired of building things or learning things or caring about craft.
I was tired of keeping up Tired of the pace Tired of the expectation that genuine enthusiasm is something you can sustain indefinitely if you just care enough.
The Question I've Been Avoiding
Is this just what happens? Do we all eventually get tired of the thing we used to love?
The industry says "stay curious" "Lifelong learning" "Adapt or die" There are entire conference talks about embracing change and staying excited and treating every new tool as an opportunity.
But nobody talks about what happens when your curiosity runs out of gas Not because you're lazy or complacent or not cut out for this Because you've been running at this pace for years and you're a human being and human beings get tired.
I'm not against new tools I'm not against learning I'm genuinely not What I'm against is the unspoken expectation that you have to be excited about every single one That enthusiasm is a professional obligation That feeling tired means something is wrong with you.
Sometimes I just want to do my job Build things Solve problems with the tools I already know Without having to learn a new paradigm every three months just to stay considered relevant.
Maybe that's not laziness Maybe that's not burnout Maybe that's just being human in an industry that has forgotten to leave room for being human.
Small Things I'm Trying
I'm not quitting new tools I'm not logging off from the industry or pretending nothing is interesting anymore.
But I'm changing my relationship with the pace:
I don't have to be excited. Curious is enough Skeptical is legitimate Even I'm aware this exists counts Excitement isn't required as a minimum viable response to every announcement.
I wait now. I don't try something the day it drops If it matters, it'll still be there next week Next month The tools that are actually worth learning tend to stick around long enough for the dust to settle The ones that don't weren't worth the urgency.
I ask one question before I click: Does this solve a problem I actually have? Not is this trending? Not is everyone talking about this? Just do I have a problem that this would genuinely help with?
I give myself permission to ignore things. Not everything is for me Not every release needs my attention Not every thread requires my opinion That's not falling behind That's filtering And filtering is a skill, not a failure.
Will this bring back the excitement? I honestly don't know Maybe the electric, stay-up-late, tell-everyone feeling is something that only happens a few times in a career Maybe that's fine.
But it's better than feeling tired about yet another thing I'm supposed to care about.
One Question Before You Go
When was the last time you felt genuinely excited about a new tool?
Not this is useful Not I should probably learn this Not everyone seems to think this is a big deal.
Genuinely spontaneously can't-wait-to-try-it excited.
If it was recent - tell me what it was I want to know what still cuts through.
If you have to think about it for a while - you're not alone.
I'll go first in the comments.
Your turn. π
Top comments (69)
Hey Harsh. Hope you are doing well.
I believe this is critical. Yes, the tech is changing fast and yes you need to keep yourself up-to-date. However, you don't need to know everything the second it releases.
This goes with anything in life as well. If you try to learn everything and know everything, you will be tired guaranteed. There is a reason why people know a specific area more than anything else. For example, my friend knows a lot of movies that are not know commonly to people because he genuinely like movies.
I think having a mindset of choosing which area interest you the most and stick to it would benefit than learning everything. Sure, you can pop into other topics time to time, but it's not like you are missing out. Eventually, you will get to it.
Thanks for sharing your experience Harsh!
Thank you for this Filtering is a skill, not a failure that's the sentence I need on my wall the movie friend example is perfect He doesn't know every movie He knows the ones he cares about That's how expertise works.
Eventually, you will get to it the tools that matter stick around The ones that don't you didn't miss anything.
Thank you. π
I feel like this is a completely normal experience for developers today. Personally, I also skim through each new tech release but I'm also not that "eager" to try it and drop whatever I was doing. Whenever I use a new tool, it's not because I want it, it's mainly because I needed it. Necessity forces me to learn new and relevant tech and I believe that pacing is much better than running towards every new shiny tech emerging in the industry.
Elmar this is the wisdom the article was missing I don't try a new tool because I want it. I try it because I need it that's the filter. Want is emotional Need is practical Want leads to burnout because there's always another want. Need leads to sustainable learning because the problem is real.
Necessity forces me to learn. And that pacing is much better than running towards every new shiny tech You've named the alternative. Not ignore everything Not try everything Try what you actually need The rest can wait. Or be ignored entirely.
This is the healthiest relationship with new tools I've heard. Not excitement. Not exhaustion. Just necessity as gatekeeper.
Thank you for this genuinely helpful. π
Pretty normal
Thanks for the read Ben this comment made my day. π
I recently felt the same feeling so I decided to focus on the essence. Not to focus on tools, but to focus on problems to resolve. And tools will come later. Thinking about tools is now exhausting for me, but thinking about real problems is still exciting!
Thank you for sharing your thoughtsπ
I agree π―! I built a recycling app recently using basic, popular technologies (although very new to me personally!), and what was driving me was not the tools themselves, but the goal to create something that really could solve a given problem and help people in my country. I haven't felt such excitement in a while now, staying up late and thinking about how to make the app even more usable for the users.
Thank you for you honest article, Harsh. I hope you will find your joy again π»
Rondo this is the reframe the article needed Not tools. Problems. Tools come later that's the order When you start with the problem, the tool is just a means. When you start with the tool, you're already lost Thinking about tools is exhausting. Thinking about real problems is still exciting Yes. Because problems are real They have stakes They have users. They have constraints. Tools are just... options. A long list of options. No wonder that's exhausting
You've named the escape: shift your attention from how to what Not "which tool should I learn? but what problem am I trying to solve?
Thank you for this β it's grounding. π
No offense! When dart lang was released!
When I started learning to code for the first time, I liked web dev, like everyone.
But, I was introduced to JavaScript by the very articles of those highly experienced developers bravely fighting JavaScript since 1995 π
I got instant fear of JS and searched for alternatives.
Guess what? I found newly released Dart lang!
I liked its syntax and tooling and learned to write some cli programs in it.
Fast forward to today, I am learning and writing NEXT js apps!
csm this is a great counter-story Not I got tired I found a different path JavaScript fear β Dart escape β Next.js today. That's not a straight line. But it's your line No offense! none taken. The article wasn't against new tools. It was against the expectation that you have to be excited about all of them, all the time You found something you actually liked (Dart) You learned it. Then you grew into something else (Next.js). That's not exhaustion. That's curiosity finding its own pace
Thanks for sharing this it's a helpful counterpoint. Not stop trying new things Just try what actually interests you, not what you're supposed to. π
Thanks man! Honestly, the no offense part was for being excited for dart's release, after all, there are many people who did not like the idea of dart taking place of JS!
I was just sharing my first excitement story! π
"Not stop trying new things Just try what actually interests you, not what you're supposed to"
I fully agree!
Honestly the most underrated part of this is what you said about not being able to tell anymore what genuinely interests you vs what you're just supposed to care about. That line stayed with me.
That's the real damage. Not the tiredness itself. When the noise gets loud enough it starts drowning out your own instincts and you lose the ability to trust your own curiosity. That's harder to recover from than just being tired.
Shubhra most insightful comment here When the noise drowns out your instincts tiredness is the symptom. The real loss is trusting your own curiosity.
You lose the ability to trust your own curiosity Harder to recover from than being tired Tiredness goes away with rest. A broken signal takes longer.
That's not tool fatigue. That's identity erosion.
Thank you for naming it. π
Yeah βa broken signal takes longerβ is exactly it. That line hits harder the more you think about it.
I think the scary part is you donβt even notice it happening at first. You just feel less curious, less pulled toward things, and assume itβs just tiredness.
But itβs actually that signal getting noisy.
Getting that back probably isnβt about learning more, itβs about creating enough quiet to hear it again.
Creating enough quiet to hear it again that's the whole thing. Not more learning Less noise Enough quiet to hear yourself.
Thank you for this whole thread, Shubhra. You've made the conversation richer. π
Fatigue is a natural thing.
Industry-mandated 'hype' is often mistaken for genuine passion. But being human means we don't have infinite bandwidthβweβll always find that spark again naturally once something truly piques our interest, rather than feeling forced to keep up with the constant noise.
Ekong fatigue is natural Those three words are the permission slip We've been taught tiredness is failure. It's not.
Industry-mandated hype is often mistaken for genuine passion the hype isn't your passion It's someone else's marketing We'll find the spark again naturally when something truly piques our interest the spark isn't gone It's waiting for something actually interesting.
Thank you. π
I hate whatever is happening with the release of AI. Never felt more pressure and lack of interest in tech
Nabin you're not alone Every week, something new you're supposed to know. Every release makes you feel like you're falling behind. The pressure is real And the lack of interest? That's not giving up. That's your brain protecting itself from the firehose.
Naming it saying "I hate this is better than pretending you're fine.
Thanks for the honesty. π
I am one of those who genuinely want to go back to the era of StackOverflow
This feels very real. At some point βstaying updatedβ starts feeling like unpaid homework. I think the healthier filter is: does this tool solve a problem I actually have right now? If yes, try it. If not, let it pass. Not every launch needs our attention, and ignoring a tool is not the same as falling behind.
Varsha staying updated feels like unpaid homework Perfect phrase Not learning Not growing Homework Does this tool solve a problem I actually have right now? that's the filter. Want vs need Ignoring a tool is not the same as falling behind the fear of falling behind is the trap Falling behind who? To what?
Thank you for this clarity. π
Exactly. The fear is vague, but the pressure feels constant. Most of us are not actually behind. Weβre just surrounded by too many launches, threads, demos, and βmust learn this nowβ posts. Filtering tools by real use case is the only sane way to stay sharp without burning out.
From one of Scott Hansleman's talks about productivity, I've learned we're not what we consume, but what we ignore.
We're not what we consume we're what we ignore that's the skill now Not consuming more Choosing what to ignore.
Thanks for this quoting Scott Hansleman. π
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