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Discussion on: What are your tips for avoiding burnout?

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Jacob Barrieault

I'm a new (< 3 years) developer and haven't experienced what I'd consider a full burnout at any point, but I have definitely gone through some periods where I wasn't enjoying it as usual. For me, avoiding burnout has boiled down to a few things. Most of them aren't particular to being a developer either:

  • Maintain other hobbies, pursuits, and relationships outside of software development.
  • Avoid having to make a long commute every day.
  • Work with people you enjoy.
  • Treat your body reasonably well by getting sleep, eating okay, and working out. Also, stretch every morning; it feels great.
  • Balance working on things you are already good at with learning new things. I have never really heard this expressed in the community before but I think it's key. Yes, if you are always doing what you already know how to do you get bored. But conversely, if you are always learning new things (feeling/being inadequate at something) you won't get the satisfaction that comes from having command of a skill and using it.

I also find teaching people things I've learned is super refreshing.