Am I just burned out? Has anyone been in or seen this pattern before? Please share your experiences with this.
Unfortunately, burn out is a deeply personal thing - this definitely sounds like burnout, but it could just be a natural thing too. I've seen people in similar patterns for sure and you are definitely not alone. I wanna answer a few parts here though and then maybe try to give you some advice.
But I feel no motivation to write code.
To be honest, it seems like you are burnt out on being an individual contributor if anything. You might consider working towards the next step in your career - whether you are interested in architecting, management, or product strategy, there are lots of options out there!
But after a long career, it seems hard to find challenges that motivate me in the work that my employer actually needs done.
This might be a sign that it is time to move on from that employer - there are interesting problems out there, but sometimes business just doesn't have them. The other option is to try to find something else that engages you about the business and start working towards that. Maybe they need help with hiring or D&I efforts. You can still write code but find your fulfillment from those other topics.
It is not always this way. I have productive seasons, and seasons like this.
I go through this a lot too - except mine manifests every fall as a need to move on from whatever I am doing. Without fail, every year I was in college I felt like I wanted to drop out about 3 months into the semester. It's very possible that you have Seasonal Affective Disorder - you might consider seeking therapy and talking through your problems. I did group therapy in college and really, really enjoyed it. I honestly probably should get back into it and take my own advice here.
Regardless of what you learn here, there is no reason to hate yourself - this is a natural thing that lots of people go through. You just have to find your personal journey to work through it. You got this and you deserve to feel good about yourself. 😊
I hope this helps, Anonymous writer. If you ever want to talk more about this, you can feel free to reach out to me on Twitter DMs. I'd be more than happy to have a private conversation!
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Unfortunately, burn out is a deeply personal thing - this definitely sounds like burnout, but it could just be a natural thing too. I've seen people in similar patterns for sure and you are definitely not alone. I wanna answer a few parts here though and then maybe try to give you some advice.
To be honest, it seems like you are burnt out on being an individual contributor if anything. You might consider working towards the next step in your career - whether you are interested in architecting, management, or product strategy, there are lots of options out there!
This might be a sign that it is time to move on from that employer - there are interesting problems out there, but sometimes business just doesn't have them. The other option is to try to find something else that engages you about the business and start working towards that. Maybe they need help with hiring or D&I efforts. You can still write code but find your fulfillment from those other topics.
I go through this a lot too - except mine manifests every fall as a need to move on from whatever I am doing. Without fail, every year I was in college I felt like I wanted to drop out about 3 months into the semester. It's very possible that you have Seasonal Affective Disorder - you might consider seeking therapy and talking through your problems. I did group therapy in college and really, really enjoyed it. I honestly probably should get back into it and take my own advice here.
Regardless of what you learn here, there is no reason to hate yourself - this is a natural thing that lots of people go through. You just have to find your personal journey to work through it. You got this and you deserve to feel good about yourself. 😊
I hope this helps, Anonymous writer. If you ever want to talk more about this, you can feel free to reach out to me on Twitter DMs. I'd be more than happy to have a private conversation!