Instagram burnout: a tidy desk, a warm coffee mug, a caption about hustle culture and finally taking a break Soft lighting A plant somewhere in the...
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It is also a good mention that being burnt out commonly comes from someone doing too much while do that consistently. I mention this because of what you mention that helped you:
I have seen countless time that people try everything at once, especially those who want to be like other people who are successful. They will do LeetCode everyday, while not knowing what problems to practice on and they will do lots of projects, which again, while not knowing what to build specifically. This results in burn out where they are not seeing progress quick enough.
It is important to understand their current knowledge and know what you can do to yourself. Comparing yourself WILL burn you out because it will set unrealistic expectation to yourself, knowing really well that it is highly unlikely that you will reach that goal.
Thanks for sharing Harsh! Well written and good work! :D
Francis thank you for this thoughtful addition.
People try everything at once, especially those who want to be like successful people.
That's the hidden trap You see someone's highlight reel the LeetCode streak, the GitHub graph, the shipped projects and you think I need to do all of that. So you do. And then you burn out. Not because you're weak Because you're trying to run a marathon at sprint pace.
Comparing yourself WILL burn you out because it sets unrealistic expectations.
The person you're comparing to didn't get there by doing everything at once. They got there by doing one thing consistently for a long time. But you don't see the one thing You see the result. And you try to copy the result without copying the process.
Accepting that good enough is enough that's not settling. That's strategy It's knowing which battles to fight and which to let pass.
Thank you for sharing this and for the kind words. 🙌
Thank you for sharing your story with such honesty 💛 Burnout is a real issue, very often not visible on the outside, but wreaking havoc inside. Happy for you that you noticed it on time!
I hope you recover and find joy in coding again 🤞🏻
Thank you, Klaudia. 🙏
You're right burnout is invisible, and that's what makes it lonely But here's what I've learned from the comments on this post:
This isn't just my story The details are mine. The shape is ours.
So many people have said this is exactly how I feel That's been the most healing part realizing I'm not alone in the gray.
Thank you for your kindness. 🙌
My burnout simptome is when I even don't try to start a ticket early as possible, even I don't ask a question to LLM, which is sure to solve a ticket. Against burnout I buy my dream car ( near the half price I was win in here ):
Which is perfectly lead me to offgrid direction.
Peter this is the most unique comment in the thread A burnout recovery plan involving a dream car and an offgrid direction I don't even try to start a ticket early I don't even ask an LLM which is sure to solve it That's the symptom isn't it? Not can't do the work Just no desire to even start The engine is there The fuel is there. The ignition won't turn.
Against burnout, I bought my dream car. Which leads me offgrid.
Not a vacation Not a break A direction change Offgrid isn't just a place it's a different way of being No notifications No tickets No LLMs Just road I don't know if a car can fix burnout But I know that sometimes the cure isn't rest it's movement Just in a different direction.
Thank you for sharing this it's the most unconventional recovery story here and maybe that's exactly why it works for you. 🙌
What really resonates with me here is that feeling of becoming completely numb at work. Not good, not terrible — just emotionally flat, because after a while you realize nothing can really be changed anyway.
I was once in a company that absolutely drained me. I don’t really have a depressive personality, so it didn’t go in that direction, but after many months of working 12-hour days, I suddenly switched to doing the bare minimum 8 hours and spending my evenings playing on my Oculus 😄 No growth, no stress, no ambition. And honestly? It took me many months to fully recover from that state.
On the bright side, I can now clear quite a few songs on Expert+ 😀
Sylwia thank you for sharing this. It means a lot coming from you. 🙏
Not good, not terrible just emotionally flat, because nothing can really be changed anyway That's the quiet resignation. Not the dramatic collapse Just the slow realization that effort doesn't move the needle anymore After many months of 12-hour days, I suddenly switched to bare minimum 8 hours and spent evenings playing on my Oculus.
This is the part that people don't admit. The recovery doesn't look like back to full capacity It looks like doing less. Aiming lower Protecting the small amount of energy you have left.
No growth, no stress, no ambition
Three words that would terrify most people. And yet, sometimes that's exactly what healing looks like. The temporary surrender of ambition so that ambition can survive long-term It took me many months to fully recover Important reminder. Burnout recovery isn't a weekend. It's not a vacation. It's months of small, boring, unglamorous work just to get back to baseline.
And the Expert+ line at the end perfect. Not I'm cured Just I found something that helps.
Thank you for writing this It's one of the most honest comments here. 🙌
staring at the same line for 20 minutes without reading it once is so accurate. I’d add: writing code that compiles but you have no idea how because you were on autopilot the whole time.
Mykola writing code that compiles but you have no idea how is somehow even scarier than not being able to write at all Because at least when you're stuck, you know you're stuck. Autopilot code compiles It passes tests It looks fine. But it's not yours You were just a vessel between the keyboard and the screen That's the insidious part of burnout. It doesn't always stop you from working. It just hollows out the awareness of working You close tickets You ship features. And then you look back and realize you weren't there for any of it The autopilot keeps you productive. It doesn't keep you present.
Thanks for adding this it's the perfect complement to the staring at the line feeling. 🙌
that flash of 'wait, how did that work?' is exactly the tell — we just get good at dismissing it. the scary part is not being the vessel. it's that green tests and a passing build actively reinforce not investigating. the feedback loop says you're fine.
Mykola green tests actively reinforce not investigating that's the quiet danger CI doesn't know you were absent It only knows tests passed. So it congratulates you.
The feedback loop says you're fine that's the betrayal. The system rewards you for being on autopilot You learn to dismiss the wait, how did that work? flash. Because the green checkmark says you don't need to answer it that's not engineering. That's training yourself to ignore your instincts.
Thanks for this. 🙌
worth flipping the frame slightly: CI isn't rewarding you — you're rewarding yourself and using CI as the prop. the pass is just the confirmation you'd already decided you needed. the autopilot ran before the suite said yes. which is harder to fix because you can't blame the tool.
Mykola the most mature take here.
You're rewarding yourself and using CI as the prop Oof.
The autopilot ran before the suite said yes CI didn't trick me. I tricked myself.
Harder to fix because you can't blame the tool if it's CI's fault, I can change tools. If it's my fault, I have to change myself No upgrade path.
Thank you for this. 🙌
Great article, very good points, and I'm sure a cathartic part of your process.
For me:
Things that work:
Mike thank you for sharing this. The specificity is what makes it valuable.
Needing to sleep in the day, sudden waves of exhaustion yes. Not the tired at the end of the day kind. The kind that hits you at 2 PM like a wave pulling you under.
Trying to start things and just jamming up that's the part people don't talk about. It's not that you can't work It's that starting feels like pushing through mud.
And your things that work list is gold:
Hobbies that are physical, not repetitive, requiring constant low-level concentration that's a precise formula. The gym doesn't work for me either (repetitive makes the mind wander back to work). But something like sailing hiking, cooking engaged enough to be present, simple enough to not add pressure.
Cooking especially Chopping vegetables doesn't care about your sprint velocity.
Thanks for this genuinely helpful. 🙌
'Accepting that good enough is enough' - such an important mantra. Build yourself a system that leads you in the right direction in a sustainable manner, meaning its ok to not work on goals actively every day. Actually taking a step back sometimes unlocks more clarity.
If you have a solid system in place, you can drop only as low as this system.
A lot of productivity gurus preach about aiming for higher heights but I would argue its more sustainable in the long run to consolidate your base first rather than always reach for new heights. Ambition is good, but in good measure.
Julien this is such a wise, grounded comment Thank you. 🙏
Build yourself a system that leads you in the right direction in a sustainable manner.
Not maximize every day.Not hustle harder. A system Something that works even on low-energy days. Something that catches you when you fall.
If you have a solid system, you can drop only as low as this system.
That's the line. The floor isn't determined by your best days. It's determined by your worst days and what's still there when you have nothing left to give.
You're right about the productivity gurus. They sell the peak They don't show you how to survive the valley Consolidating the base isn't less ambitious it's more sustainable.
Thank you for adding this It's the kind of wisdom that comes from experience, not theory. 🙌
You are welcome Harsh!
Burnout is terrible. I get this feeling all the time. I end up just closing all my windows, wondering what to do when I don't feel like finishing my existing projects. I get caught in a vicious cycle: one project, two, three. Recycle bin +1, +2, +3. And then a couple more projects, and it keeps goin 😭
Ember Recycle bin +1, +2, +3 😂 Darkly hilarious and painfully accurate.
That's the cycle Start new because old feels impossible New becomes old. Repeat
The projects aren't the problem The energy to finish them is. Burnout steals that energy quietly
The recycle bin isn't a solution. It's a symptom.
What helped me: forgiving myself for not finishing. Then picking one messy, imperfect, just done.
You're not alone in this. 🙌
To prevent burn-out we should do burn-in to know our human limits!
Burn-in clever. 🔥
Not wrong either. Knowing your limits requires testing them The problem is burnout doesn't announce itself at the limit. It creeps.
So maybe the skill isn't preventing burnout it's recognizing early signals.
Thanks for the wordplay and the wisdom. 🙌
"The problem is burnout doesn't announce itself at the limit. It creeps."
"the skill isn't preventing burnout it's recognizing early signals."
True!
If you know hindi, I got these wisdom lines after going through a phase like burnout:
रात को दिन बनाने से, हालत ख़राब होती है।
इसीलिये पागल, चाँद पे भी शायरी दिन में होती है ।।😄
😂😂😂 This is gold.
रात को दिन बनाने से, हालत ख़राब होती है। Burnout in one line.
Thanks for the wisdom (and the laugh)🙌
Burnout is awful. There’s nothing aesthetic about it.
But in my case, after a lot of trial and error, I eventually found an anti-burnout routine that works for me. It doesn’t eliminate fatigue, but I honestly stopped experiencing burnout.
Roman this is the hopeful note the article needed.
It doesn't eliminate fatigue, but I stopped experiencing burnout that's an important distinction Fatigue is physical. Burnout is deeper.
The goal isn't to never be tired. It's to stop the gray.
After a lot of trial and error no one-size-fits-all. But knowing someone found a path out that's the gift.
What one or two things made the biggest difference for you?
Thank you for this. 🙌
My anti-burnout strategy is simple and contains 3 levels:
Roman beautifully simple. No gimmicks. Just enforceable boundaries.
Daily 11 hours max a number you can't negotiate with.
Weekly 5 days on, 2 days off, no programming.
Half-year 2 weeks off, no connection.
What strikes me is how unsexy this is No biohacking Just limits. Hard edges.
Thanks for sharing the actual numbers. This is gold. 🙌
Tomorrow I'll post article with this strategy here!
That girl in the cover image doesn't look like a burnout one but instead she looks like a zombie dear. Is that how the AI understands human 🤣
😂 Fair point. AI's idea of burnout is...apocalyptic.
Some days it feels that way But point taken less zombie more human next time.
Thanks for reading (and for the laugh). 🙌
This hit hard because burnout is not always dramatic. Sometimes it is just the slow disappearance of care.
The part about still getting the work done while feeling absent is painfully accurate. That is the dangerous version because from the outside everything still looks functional. Tickets close. Messages get answered. Features ship. But internally there is no signal left, just motion.
I think this is also why so much advice misses. It assumes the person still has enough energy to execute the advice. Take a break, set boundaries, go outside, talk to someone. All of that can be true and still feel impossible when the system is already depleted.
The line that matters most to me is accepting that good enough is enough. That is not laziness. That is load shedding. Sometimes the healthiest engineering decision is refusing to turn every task into a proof of worth.
CrisisCore one of the most insightful comments here.
Burnout is the slow disappearance of care you don't collapse. You just stop caring And no one notices because the work still gets done From outside: functional. Inside: no signal, just motion motion without signal.
Advice assumes you have energy to execute it take a break is useless when you can't afford to stop Good enough is enough not laziness. Load shedding sometimes the healthiest decision is to stop optimizing.
Thank you for this. 🙌
Appreciate you saying that.
That is the part people miss most. Burnout does not always look like collapse. Sometimes it looks like continued output with the human part quietly disconnected underneath.
Motion without signal is dangerous because it still passes as productivity.
That is why “good enough” matters. Not as surrender, but as a survival mechanism.
Motion without signal still passes as productivity that's the quiet danger The system rewards motion. It doesn't check for presence
Thank you for this whole thread, CrisisCore. You've added real depth. 🙌
I know that feeling. Sometimes, I don't remember what I clicked 2 minutes ago, why I opened something, what I wanted to do. Same code, same people, same place, nothing changes. You answer the same questions. What you do should make you feel happy, as it was before, but not anymore.
AI does not help here either. Sometimes, a complex algorithm, something genuinely challenging can open up the feeling of satisfaction. But with AI, things does not happen as before, because it fixes all challenges, living no place for passion.
And in combination of this, imagine work from home, with two kids (second is 8 months old, moving all night). The day and the night are just one thing. Work at night, baby sit at day.
What really helps for me is changing the place and atmosphere. Even the regular football training of my bigger girl is a huge thing for me! Seeing and talking with people who are NOT in the software industry, helping them, listening their stories, learning from their life and experience is a huge thing for me.
And let's not forget the sport. When I had time for weekly jogging at the nearby park, at the end of the each session I was feeling... empty. Like, no useless thought left inside my brain. Everything was thrown somewhere out. Just me, listening music, and the park.. This is the best feeling ever!
It is also important sometimes to feel bored. Leave your brain time to 'take a breath', and do nothing meaningful. Really help me.
Stoyan this is the most vulnerable comment in the thread. Thank you for trusting us with it Work from home with two kids the day and night are just one thing. Work at night, baby sit at day That's not burnout. That's survival mode There's no separation No off switch. Just endless context switching between roles that both demand everything.
AI fixes all challenges, leaving no place for passion this is the part that doesn't get said enough. The struggle wasn't just friction. It was where the feeling lived. Remove the struggle, remove the passion. AI didn't take your job It took the satisfaction Football training of my daughter seeing people NOT in software is a huge thing.
Yes. The world outside tech doesn't care about your sprint velocity. It doesn't measure your output. It just is That's the reset Jogging empty brain, no useless thoughts left Just me music, and the park.
That's the goal, isn't it? Not to think better To stop thinking at all To empty the container so it can fill again It's important to feel bored Underrated advice Boredom is where the brain rests Constant stimulation even productive stimulation is still stimulation.
Thank you for sharing this. You're not just surviving. You're showing the rest of us what real life with burnout looks like. 🙌
"Closing a ticket that used to make you proud and feeling nothing" hit me. Six months solo on TAMSIV, I noticed the same drift. The fix that did most for me wasn't taking days off (felt like guilt). It was forcing myself to ship one thing that wasn't code each day. A blog post, a comment on someone else's project, a screenshot annotated for a user. Small acts of leaving the loop where I was the only audience. Doesn't cure burnout but it tells the part of you that quietly left that the world still exists outside the IDE.
TAMSIV one thing that isn't code, each day That's a completely different kind of reset.
Small acts of leaving the loop where I was the only audience.
That's the phrase. The loop of code compile test fix is a closed circuit You're the only one in it. And after a while, the loop stops giving feedback. It just spins.
A blog post has readers. A comment has a recipient. An annotated screenshot has a user. Suddenly, you're not just performing for yourself. There's an other And that other even just one person changes everything.
Doesn't cure burnout. But it tells the part of you that quietly left that the world still exists outside the IDE
That's the most honest, useful definition of recovery I've heard. Not I'm cured Just the world still exists out there
I'm going to try this Thank you. 🙌
As an outsider who has never worked hard enough to actually burn out.
It seems like you achieved perfect efficiency of the process and the body does not reward it anymore just like body stopped rewarding the process of learning to walk or talk long ago.
We at some point get so good that we dont have to think about it anymore and there wont be dopamine or other chemical cocktails to give meaning to process.
The work is attached to many emotional and social processes that it seems to not obey the law of efficiency.
To be able to burn hours without knowing jow they went by, but still get things done without pressure at all sounds greatest optimization story I have ever heard unfortunately humans need more dimensions to existence than efficiency and optimization
To me this looks more like boreout not burnout.
My sincere apology if I in anyway showed disrespect towards your experience in burning out I truly cannot understand it, but your post created this observation and perhaps it provides insights you have not thought of.
Said no apology needed. This is one of the most thoughtful comments here.
You achieved perfect efficiency, and the body stopped rewarding it like learning to walk Walking takes effort for a toddler For an adult, it's automatic No dopamine. Work becomes like walking.
Humans need more dimensions than efficiency that's the line. Burnout isn't a failure of efficiency It's the cost of treating humans like machines You haven't experienced burnout, but you've named its mechanics better than many who have.
Thank you for this. 🙌
Is burnout a sign we're living in the wrong season, or just swiping too fast?
Wrong season vs swiping too fast the most poetic framing here.
Maybe both Wrong season pushing when you need pause. Swiping fast never staying long enough to feel anything Seasons change. You can wait them out. Swiping fast is a habit. You have to notice and choose differently One is patience The other is attention.
Thank you for this. 🙌
My burnout is when i think i shipped worlds best saas or project and now no one even want to try free trial :)
Mohammed the quietest, most painful form of burnout I shipped the world's best SaaS No one wants the free trial The effort was real. The pride was real. Then silence It's not that the work was bad. It's that no one saw it The burnout isn't from the work. It's from the silence after the work.
Thank you for naming this. 🙌
"the burnout isn't from the work. it's from the
silence after the work."
that's exactly it. you said it better than i did.
the silence is the hard part. at least we're naming
it 🙏
"Good enough" is the one that landed for me. I'm building my own startup product, and perfectionism keeps inflating every task. Two-day features turn into two weeks of polish, and by the end I'm just numb. Working more, caring less. Saying "good enough" out loud as a founder feels almost irresponsible, but honestly, it might be the only thing keeping me from burning out before we even launch.
But seeking companionship feels like time I don't have. Actually sitting down with someone and saying "help me figure this out together" sounds great, but every hour not building feels like an hour I'm lowering my odds of success. So I skip the walk, skip the conversation, skip everything that isn't output, and push through. I know it's a vicious cycle. The less I do what helps, the more I need it. But breaking it still feels like a luxury I can't afford.
staring at the same line for 20 minutes without reading it once is so accurate. I’d add: writing code that compiles but you have no idea how because you were on autopilot the whole time.
Code that compiles but you have no idea how scarier than being stuck. When you're stuck you know Autopilot code compiles. Tests pass. But you weren't there
Burnout doesn't always stop you from working. It hollows out the awareness of working.
Thanks for adding this. 🙌
Real burnout is much more about emotional numbness and cognitive exhaustion than just being tired.
Exactly Tired is physical. Burnout is emotional numbness + cognitive exhaustion.
The first can be fixed with rest. The second needs something else entirely.
Thanks for the precision, Hussein. 🙌
Exactly! You need to take mini break. Health is number one priority in life.
Wise words Health is number one priority easy to say, hard to remember when you're in the tunnel.
Thanks for the reminder, Benjamin. 🙌
Great Article Thanks For Sharing😍
Thank You Urmila