I just got back from a 2 week vacation. This was my first long vacation since I really have sunk my teeth into passion projects, and I found myself coding more than I anticipated.
Personally, I plug in when I code. I don the oversized headphones, listen to my focus music of choice, and zone out trying to solve problems. When I am home, I rarely set time limits for myself, and I continued that pattern on vacation. Something to note, I find coding therapeutic. I get to stretch my creativity, and Iβm a bit of an introvert so coding gives me a chance to recharge from social interactions that I can find draining at times.
Inadvertently on this vacation, I isolated myself from my friends and family.
While everyone seemed content and made no mention of my absence, I could not help but feel like I was missing out on the intention of vacation. Instead of immersing myself in my book or chatting with people in lawn chairs, I spent time in front of my computer screen. Really nothing had changed from my day to day activities other than the setting and that I was working on fun problems by choice. Now that I am back, I am regretting limiting my screen time. I think there is this notion that vacation is supposed to be about reconnecting with people, strengthening existing relationships while also finding some me time away from the blue screen light. I cannot help this gnawing feeling that I missed out on some valuable parts of my vacation.
So my questions to the community, do you code while on vacation? If so, when do you find time to code? How do you feel when you code around people?
Selfishly, I do not want to stop coding when Iβm on vacation. So, what tips do you have to help avoid my guilty feelings on future trips?
Top comments (34)
I will just be honest, do what makes you happy and don't feel bad about it. That is what vacation is about. If being in front of your computer makes you happy then so be it. Don't let others tell you what vacation meens because you are you. One other point is try not to regret it, I feel it is not productive.
I agree. Completely.
In my first job I thought I had to know everything, I'm not talking about the project itself, I'm talking about the internals of how the language was compiled, how the intermediate code would look like...
I had to quit in 7 months because I was burned out and starting to develop a depression (Well, if I don't know anything, how will I survive in this business?).
That depression took almost 3 years of my life. Of course YMMV, but, as @buphmin said "do what makes you happy and don't feel bad about it"
Even though this is true, the fact that the author felt regret is a sign that there was something missing. Something that makes you happy in the moment is not something you should always do. Sometimes it's important to spend time with friends and loved ones, sometimes it's important to take a "me time" break. It gives you a different kind of happiness, a more lasting happiness, even if it doesn't make you happy in the moment.
yea.. if it made you feel okay at the moment then it's okay. Don't think about it that much.. I just had one week vacation after working my ass off for a year and a half and you know what I did? I just cleaned and reorganized my house and computer. Also, I scheduled health appointments to check me since I didn't do it for a long time. At the end of my vacation, I was exhausted since I didn't really "rest" properly during that week but in the end, I was satisfied I could have the time to do what I wanted to do for some time. The next weekend I slept for 18 hours lol.
I think your feelings towards coding on vacation will, and probably should, change depending on your situation.
Are you excited and itching to code? Then code!
Does it seem more out of work pressure, stress, and anxiety of not coding? Then work on finding time away from the screen. It doesn't seem like this is how you were feeling.
I'd advise you to get in the habit of being very communicative about your planned activities, and set expectations. If you are excited about coding, make sure people know you're genuinely having a good time with it so they don't worry about you.
I personally do try to get away from coding a bit, because I have been coding too much for too many years and time away is good for me. I used to spend all my vacation time coding and I loved it!
I typically do more explicit reading about code while I'm on vacation. Loading up a book on a Kindle is a good way to keep learning if that's what's most interesting to you at the time while eliminating some stigma you get from your friends and family, because reading a book on vacation is non-controversial.
Self-awareness is key. Pay attention to your mental health and do what's good for you. Remember, it's a marathon not a sprint.
Vacation, or plain off-time (weekends, after-hours, so on), I have a hard rule: No. Friggin. Building. None of it.
I don't like that rule because my brain doesn't stop, but I need it for sanity. I have a compromise: No code, but I can ponder.
I take that time away from the screen to do fun things - hiking, playing handball, watching raindrops, real-world things - but I allow myself to reflect on what I've built, and think-through what I plan on building.
The outcome is a happy, well-balanced me, and a very clear direction once I'm allowed to lay down SLOCs again.
Frankly, some of my best architectural decisions have come from this. I hike, I make my way to a good sit-rock in the middle of a raging creek, sit for a few hours and watch the water, then I go back to Intellij on Monday and build a streaming-data solution that has no problem with billion+ records/day
I think, as with most things, there are seasons where you can't get enough code and then there are seasons where you need breaks. I just try to listen to my body. Am I getting more frustrated than intrigued by problems? Maybe it's time for other activities. As I've gotten into my 6th year of writing software professionally I find myself coding less outside of work, but it could just be a season! Listen to your body and if you can find someone to check in with that knows you well that can be a great help too! I have a couple of people I check in with, one is my wife who really knows me well and can tell when I'm agitated or not happy, and then another is a coworker I trust to be honest with me about my work and how I'm interacting with others. At the end of the day, just ask yourself why you're doing what you do, and if the why is lined up with what you really value I think it will all shake out in the end. (Whether you're on vacation or not ha)
I think this is the important sentence. You say "nothing had changed" but actually quite a lot had changed.
Of course, it's often very good to completely distance yourself from work-related activities but at least for me, hacking away on some funny projects with zero pressure, zero deadlines and knowing I can just stop working on it if I don't enjoy it, is a great way to relax.
I got into this industry because I loved coding. That has not changed so on my free time, if I have time and energy and I get excited about coding, I'll code to my heart's content.
During a family trip overseas a few years back, I didn't code. We went to a 3-star full board hotel in a warm climate by the sea.
My favourite memory from that holiday is of myself, wife & son playing all day long in the approx 2m swell on the beach.
Last year, my wife & I were to go on an adults only holiday, 5-star all inclusive, right on the beach. She unfortunately couldn't come, so I went alone. My daily routine was breakfast, swim in the sea, comedy podcasts until the bar opened & then sit under a tree writing code & steadily drinking free beer (coding the way coding should be done...).
I don't have anything near the same level of memories, but the point of the latter holiday was to unwind & de-stress. I did that successfully.
Different type of holiday, different activities, different memories.
Both were very good holidays.
There is lots of great advice in the comments. Biggest thing about vacations is finding time to reflect on yourself & as many said do what you enjoy.
However, if you are on vacation with others the point of the vacation is to balance your enjoyments with the group. If that is what happened overall, then no guilt should be felt.
But, when a vacation is all for you, then CODE LIKE THE WIND. Or do whatever your mind & body is needing of you to enjoy your time away from work/school.
Bottom line, if you still feel guilt about the vacation then you need to talk to those important to you from the vacation to make sure your relationships are solid. Once that is resolved, then there wont be any feelings of guilt.
Once I explained (many years ago) to my wife that coding gives me great joy, it was much easier to explain. So now when I code and she reads Marley and Me, we are both happy...well kinda.
However we always agree no phones at the dinner table.
I think it's important to stay on top of your game. Not even joking, but you can get really rusty and behind your normal flows if you completely don't touch a keyboard at all. This being said, the trick for me is to find a balance. At daily work, I need to be completely involved in coding. Writing a lot, deleting a lot, attending meetings, emergency bugs, etc, and it can be draining.
In holidays, I do much more passive activities: reading books, articles and blogs and writing code on paper to solve algorithm interview questions purely on conceptual levels. Thinking about inefficient algorithms, trying to optimize them, looking up online if stuck but always on paper. Then I write some code 2/3x a week
I disagree with the "what makes you happy". There are other things that make us happy and are not good for us. Actually most things in life are like that. I'm more for moderation. I used to be like that when I was younger but I got burned up. Back then I didn't realize the importance of disconnecting and I always felt that I had the energy.
Don't get me wrong, some people cope well and don't get affected. But always remember that you only hear the successful stories and never the unhappy ones. Having said that, my advice is to be careful and always try to protect your health.
This thread and discussion section has been helpful for me. I'm also having a 2 week vacation from coding. Back to work starts tomorrow.
My mindset was like, try to avoid from code as possible in these 2 weeks. It's very confusing, really; I want to solve / accomplish my tasks at work but at the same time I want to avoid it for the time being.
This makes me kinda regretting it, because right off the bat, you can say that I'm not willing to accomplish my tasks.
as @buphmin mentioned, "One other point is try not to regret it, I feel it is not productive."
@ben also said "Does it seem more out of work pressure, stress, and anxiety of not coding? Then work on finding time away from the screen."
My pessimistic side tells me that I'm just fooling myself that what I'm doing (avoiding to code for the meantime) is right. But whatever. I know that I'll do my tasks anyway after this vacation.
I'll try to gain these mindsets bit by bit.
Vacation is all about unwinding; if coding is your unwind then go for it. Personally, I like to give my vacation time to something other than coding.
hi. as I wrote here I kinda have the same - but opposite - dilemma.
For me coding on vacation is a absolutely a no-go. I need to recharge, I need to keep some distance from what takes my mind busy all year round. and I do all I dont have much time or opportunity to do otherwise - that is mostly travelling, doing sports and be in the nature. ( as you can see not much of social things anyway. :-) )
But what you do on vacation is up to you. It is your vacation and you should do whatever makes you feel good and happy. It could be partying, and binge drinking and sleeping 4 h each night or could be coding your fun projects. Then over the years you will realize that some of the things you like to do are not that healthy ( coding on vacation might be one of these :-) ) and you might learn to stay away from it or reach some more balance. Until then, have fun and do what you love.
I often ask myself this question. I had done this before, and it can definitely lead to burnout. Gotta be careful.
Since I have two kids, vacation mean I cannot be in front of my screen, even though sometimes I want to :D, but friend/family time is important, trust me they will be there when you down unless if you never socialize with them
It's easier to find a new job rather than find a new family
Just my 2 cents