Tips For Preventing Burnout — We Need To Talk About This More
“Eat. Sleep. Code. Repeat.” is the motto that I’ve found many people go by. For some, this is done intentionally in order to try to be “better” using brute force. For others, this seems to just happen, where they lose track of time and everything else around them to just focus on coding. Some may even skip the first two, getting little sleep and not eating much. Thinking that this is the key to success is a fallacy. It is quite the opposite, this is a short cut to burn out- which I have found both myself and my colleagues suffering from, to varying degrees.
Prioritizing yourself, your well-being, and your mental health is just as important as creating an amazing project. I will discuss some tips for preventing burn out, which will in turn make you more productive and will aid in your long term success- as a developer and as a happy human being.
Schedule Free Time
You must make this a priority just like you do anything else. Block off time in your schedule to do whatever activity (non-coding or work-related) that makes you happy. Whether it’s to hang out with or call your friends, to watch a new movie on Netflix, or to have dinner with your family, you have to plan this into your day otherwise it’s very easy for the time to slip away from you. Consciously setting aside this time, including it in the plan for your day, and acknowledging that it is just as important as anything else you will do will help to make sure you’re keeping a balance between work and play, which in turn will make you happier and more productive.
Work Out
“But won’t exercising just makes me more tired and burnt out?” It’s quite the opposite actually. Numerous scientific studies have demonstrated that exercise (when done at least 3 times per week, 30 minutes per day) can aid in improving symptoms of anxiety, depression, improve your sleep, relieve stress, increase energy and stamina, improve mental alertness, all while helping prevent many diseases. Do yourself a huge favor and start working out, here is a great article for how to make it a habit.
Meditate
Harvard Study: Clearing Your Mind Affects Your Genes And Can Lower Your Blood Pressure. Similar to exercise there have been many scientific studies, an overview with many sources can be found here, showing the health benefits of regular meditation, including stress reduction, decreased anxiety, decreased depression, reduction in pain (physical AND psychological), enhanced memory, reduced blood pressure, and reduced cortisol (the “stress hormone”).
Here are a few meditations that I really enjoy. I invite you to pause here and try one out now! If you enjoy it you can start by doing it once every day, and with time you can turn into another positivity-inducing, burn-out-fighting habit!
Journal
The 6 minute diary (not sponsored- I wish!) is a guided journal that utilizes techniques backed by positive psychology, including daily gratitude, to help you to live a happier and more full-filled life. I would highly recommend this book/diary as it is easy to use, only taking around 6 minutes each day, and helps to train your thought patterns to look for the positive things around you. Taking a break from your work to journal can help you to take a step back and appreciate all that you do and everything around you so much more which will single-handedly improve the quality of your life significantly.
These are some core tips that can help with preventing burn out, as well as increasing your general sense of happiness and well-being. A few more great articles covering this topic can be found here, here, and here. Take care of yourself, it’s just as important as anything else!
