Ask HN: Staying motivated?

8 points by SomeoneWeird 12y ago ↗ HN

So, I'm young, I've had a full time job for about a year now and whenever I finish the day and get home, I feel so burnt out. I don't feel like working on any of my side projects or learning new things. Before I was employed I was happily 'working' 15 hour days and now I get literally nothing done. Has this happened to anyone else and is there any way to combat it?

5 comments

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sharemywin 12y ago ↗

find someone else to work on stuff with. Also, I try to set my goals small for the night. a lot of times I end up working on alot more once I get started.

avenger123 12y ago ↗

Just chill. Don't worry about it. Do something that you enjoy and don't feel guilty about spending all your time at it. Don't feel guilty for not doing much or just "wasting" your time. This is your mind/soul telling you something. Listen to it and pay attention. Maybe you're burning out, maybe not. Give yourself the freedom to just chill for a few weeks and not get worked up about what you should/should not be doing.

I don't know your details but this could be your mind and body telling you to change for the better. Do you exercise, do you sleep well (at least 7-7.5 every night). Do you have hobbies outside software? Do you get out and hang out? How's your personal relationships? All these things matter and if something is really out of sync your mind/body starts to fight you. Listen to it. The trick is to have a balance to your life and still get to where you want to go. Sometimes the balance shifts in one direction or another but it's always good to try to maintain the balance.

Pyrodogg 12y ago ↗

One suggestion is to try and flip your day. Don't expect to have energy after your solid day at the office to focus on smaller things at home.

Get up earlier and spend some time right away working on your smaller things requiring focus. I don't think your core work day would be robbed of anything either, a significant portion of the energy loss is the context switch from work to commute to home.

If you get up two hours earlier and go to work at the same time, the end of the day will feel a bit latter but i'd wager you'll be just as productive as the end of a day right now.

Note: Speaking from speculation, not experience.

recursify 12y ago ↗

I agree with this. I typically feel the most creative and energized at around 10am: after I've had some breakfast and a coffee, and gone for a short walk.

If you've got flexible office hours, pick a few days a week where you come in after lunch and work later. If you are worried about how it might affect your work, front-load the day with things that will take the most creative energy and save the evening for things like catching up on emails.

BorisMelnik 12y ago ↗

I have a really hard time with this. I go through periods like this:

15-20 days - really motivated work 10-12 hour days 5-8 days - motivated but uninspired 4-5 days - completely unmotivated and uninspired

that is pretty much my typical month, every month. the lows are low but the highs are high. just find your groove and stick to it. everyone becomes unmotivated at times.