As a developer, you are constantly pushing the limits of your creativity, problem-solving skills and technical expertise. However, with long hours, tight deadlines, and the pressure to deliver high-quality code, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and burnt out.

In today's fast-paced tech world, developer burnout has become a common problem, affecting the performance, productivity and well-being of developers everywhere. But it doesn't have to be this way.

In this blog post, we'll explore practical tips and strategies for avoiding developer burnout and maintaining optimal performance.

Let's dive in.

Set some boundaries

If you're working in an office then it's far easier to set boundaries. The easiest one would be to only work while you're in the office. This will encourage the disconnect of work and home in your brain and help avoid your mind mixing the two together.

But what if you, like most developers in 2023, have the option or obligation to work from home?

First thing is first: establish a designated workspace. Beyond just looking more professional on video calls by having a desk instead of being on your couch, a designated work-station helps solidify the concept of "This is where I work" in your brain. If you don't do this, suddenly your couch, dining room table and bed all become fair play during the workday which won't make for a healthy long-term scenario.

Once you have a workspace, set your default start and end times for the day. Considering the entry-barrier to start doing some work-related things is so low during remote work, it's easy to respond to some messages first thing after waking up or casually finding yourself in a coding frenzy late one evening. This may make you feel productive in the moment but, in the long-run, it's going to kill your drive and enjoyment. Just like being in an office, set the times that you're allowed to work and follow that strictly. Anything that you don't get to much wait until the next day.

Avoid communication

I run 2 businesses, work with dozens of clients daily and run a developer community. You will never find me messaging or emailing after I clock out for the day. I believe everyone should follow this philosophy, so I've told my team that I don't want to see any messages, emails or pull requests coming in at times it shouldn't. When you clock out, work must become the last thing on your mind.

Regardless of if you work in an office or remotely, the opportunity to check your messages or emails is always there. This makes truly switching off from work so difficult. I used to find myself responding to emails in-between sets at the gym or sending important messages at 22h00 in the evening to my team.

This is terrible for so many reasons, but 2 reasons stand out:

1. You're setting yourself up to always feel connected and obligated to your work. Your mornings, evenings and weekends are no longer your own as you're always checking-in to see what's happening. Realistically, almost every single message or email can actually wait until tomorrow. You don't need to respond now. People don't care about getting that response right away.
2. If you're a leader of a team or company, you may think that you sending emails on weekends or late at night shows your team that you're dedicated and always "grinding". In my opinion, it actually shows your team that you can't get work done during the allocated time and furthermore, creates an expectation in each member of your team that they should be working at those times too. That's so unhealthy and is not going to create for a good team environment.

Some pieces of advice to break the habit:

• Turn your phone off or put it in another room after work. This will help you avoid distractions and be focused on the present.
• If you use your work laptop or desktop for non-work things, don't pin any programs to the taskbar. Removing the icons that your brain associates with work will make it more difficult to remember that there is work to be done. Make it harder for yourself to open up your emails, Slack or Teams by increasing the barrier to entry.
• Do the same on your phone. Don't have the apps easily accessible in your favourites or the main home screen. Tuck them away where it requires more steps to access so your brain has to make more intentional choices to access. This gives you more time to think, "Do I really need to check emails right now?". The answer is, most likely, no.

Look after yourself

A short section for the obvious things.

Stay active.

Have a hobby.

Sleep 7-8 hours.

Spend time in nature.

Eat right (and enough).

Spend time with friends and family.

We all know that we should be doing these things. We all know that they are good for us. We all know that we feel better about ourselves after doing them. So what's stopping you?

Engaging in all of the above, at least once a week, will drastically improve every aspect of your life, including your work.

So do it.

Take breaks

During the work day, spend your time working in sprints.

If you're practicing the Pomodoro Technique (25/5) or the 50/10 Rule, you're already one step ahead of most people. If you're not currently doing some form of dedicated time on/time off routine, then I highly suggest you look into it. Not only will these techniques make you more productive, it will also help break the day up into segments which makes time pass much faster.

Power naps are my secret weapon. I take an hour long lunch break. In that time, I do 4 things:

• Cook lunch
• Eat lunch
• Walk my dog
• Nap

Each of those activities is allocated 15 minutes.

Some people may believe they aren't able to take power naps, which I believe to be incorrect. You just haven't trained yourself to fall asleep that fast. The Science Behind Power Naps clearly shows that a 15 to 20 minute power nap will increase your energy, focus and morale for the following 6 hours. Doing this in the middle of the work day is a complete game changer. No more 15h00 slumps where nothing gets done and you're watching the clock until home time.

My tips for a good power nap:

• Set your alarm for 15 minutes
• Lie on your couch or somewhere you don't actually sleep at night. This helps your brain to develop the habit of understanding you're wanting to take a quick nap and not actually have a full night's rest.
• Raise your feet slightly above your heart with some pillows to help induce faster relaxation

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Reset

You're going to hit moments where productivity is low, motivation is non-existent and none of the above methods are working. That's a sign that you need to reset.

I personally get that feeling every few months. The trick is to notice it so you can immediately look to hit the reset button and come back recharged.

The best case scenario is to go away for a weekend. Going away forces you to give up your familiar environment and routine. Couple that with experiencing new things and having time to clear your mind, you'll come become a fully-recharged person.

Bill Gates used to go on week long solo trips to help clear his mind, reset himself and induce creativity.

If you aren't able to go away or can't find the time to, here are some simpler items that can help you reset and recharge:

• Spend time with friends
• Go play your favourite sport for some fun
• Go for a swim in the ocean or a hike in nature
• Take some classes like cooking, dancing, surfing or whatever you're interested in

These have all worked for me, but you're your own person. Experiment and determine what works best for you. The simpler and easier it is to do, while still helping you reset, the better. It means you can more easily perform that activity to help you in moments of slump.

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I hope you found these tips useful and that you know that work and code is only one aspect of life. I want every one of you to make the most of the time you have. Being a developer is a great way to spend your time, but it's not the only way and shouldn't be the only thing that defines you.

Look after yourself and reach out if you're ever struggling.

See you again next week.