For a long time, I assumed burnout meant I wasn't working hard enough.
Or that I needed better discipline.
Or better time management.
Looking back, I think something else was happening.
Burnout was feedback.
Every time I forced myself toward projects that didn't naturally fit my interests, progress slowed.
Everything became heavier.
Then I'd spend an evening designing a music application, thinking about plugin architecture, composing music, or sketching ideas for Blackwater Sound.
Hours disappeared.
The energy came back.
Passion Is Data
I don't think passion should replace discipline.
But I do think it's worth paying attention to.
If you consistently find yourself energized by one type of work and drained by another, that's information.
Not an excuse.
Information.
It tells you where your curiosity naturally lives.
Alignment Creates Momentum
Today I still believe KiwiEngine can power almost any kind of application.
What has changed is how I'm choosing to use it.
Instead of chasing every possible market, I'm building creative tools that I personally want to use every day.
Ironically, I think that will make KiwiEngine stronger.
Because software improves the most when its creator genuinely depends on it.
Sometimes burnout isn't telling you to stop building.
Sometimes it's telling you to build the right thing.
Top comments (7)
I was burnout after created mordorjs, now I totally out of IT hobby just do my work as developer which is a constant fight with company polocies which is caused a week lag of building when security team force to give underpowered access to dev.ops team, I give up that point, just try to keep up some usefull communication between teams, higj management and other companies which we working together.
Thanks for sharing that, Peter. I can definitely understand how that kind of environment can wear someone down over time.
What stood out to me in your comment is that it wasn't just the technical work—it was the constant friction between teams and processes. Even work we enjoy can become exhausting when we're spending more energy navigating obstacles than actually building.
I hope you're able to keep finding opportunities to work on things that remind you why you enjoyed creating software in the first place. Sometimes even a small personal project can help reconnect us with that original curiosity.
Okay, "burnout is feedback" reframes the whole thing in a way I like. The one place I'd go slow is telling real alignment apart from the dopamine of a fresh project, since a brand new side idea always feels energizing for the first week whether it actually fits you or not. The honest test is probably whether the energy is still there at month three, once the novelty is gone and it's just the work.
That's a really good point, Nazar, and I think it's an important distinction.
A new project almost always comes with a burst of excitement, but novelty eventually fades. I think the real test is exactly what you described: does the work still feel meaningful once it becomes routine?
For me, the pattern wasn't tied to a single new idea. It was consistent across years. Every time I found myself working on music technology, creative software, game development, or design systems, I naturally stayed engaged. Every time I tried to force myself toward markets I wasn't personally connected to, the energy slowly disappeared.
That consistency over time is what convinced me it was alignment rather than just the excitement of something new.
I have often wondered about that, do we tend to understand these terms that are thrown around these days? Especially when they get changed and modified like the 'broken telephone' game?
I wonder if you would have suffered so long if there was an easier avenue to resolve your struggles faster. It's easier to resolve things when you know exactly what it is you're tackling.
I agree that burnout can be alleviated when your vocation and work are out of alignment. It's like putting a lion in the ocean and expecting it to swim, but on lane it's a 'king'.
Happy to see that you had a good turnaround and the self discovery that came with it!💃🏾
Thank you, Elizabeth! I really like your lion analogy—that captures the idea well.
I also think you're right that we sometimes use terms like "burnout" so broadly that they lose precision. Burnout can have many causes, and misidentifying the cause can lead us to solve the wrong problem.
For me, the biggest realization wasn't that I needed to stop building—it was that I needed to stop forcing myself toward work that didn't align with my strengths and interests. Once I recognized that, it became much easier to separate being tired from being misaligned.
I appreciate your thoughtful perspective!
That's exactly it!
'Forcing' yourself, going against the grain of your strengths and interests.
It's very good that you were able to see your way out of your burnout, not many people can say the same unfortunately.