Comments on: 13 Ways to Avoid Burnout

By: brainch

brainch — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:44:26 +0000

4. Schedule Time Off , I never packed schedule , so many work to do , no time to schedule .
thanks for share .

By: yesgms

yesgms — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 07:44:58 +0000

Well, among all of these techinal content, even reading this sort of article makes me relaxed and makes me feel good. To know that somebody out there understands and actually is going through the stuff i am going through is already enough to feel good. So thank you very much for the tips. I guess we all know those but still to be reminded again is good. I also suggest to everyone, these times try to say to yourself ” be mentally strong to overcome this ” repeat this with a concious mind, it will help. Regards

By: Katie Jones

Katie Jones — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 04:56:45 +0000

Many thanks to all of you for your ideas and input. I have a question for all your pro's. I started my business about a year ago, and it has grown beyond my expectations, and has taken on a life of it's own. It's consuming all of me, however at this point I know if I pull back, all my hard work this past year will be lost. I am not in a position, yet, to hire additional help. How do you keep your business from drowning you, especially in the beginning?

By: artcoder

artcoder — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:50:52 +0000

I completely agree with cutting loose stressful clients. In fact, I put that above organization. After a while, you will just know which clients will give you headaches. I had to “let go” one of two clients in the past. If it feels right after you let them go, then that was the right thing to do.

By: anapb

anapb — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 03:17:18 +0000

Great Post. hope its ok if i report this to my blog. Ofcourse I will acknowledge you and your sources.
thanks for the tips!

By: codamedia

codamedia — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 23:11:59 +0000

Great article! Organization is my first line of defence for burnout but the next closest thing is “cutting the stressful clients loose”.

I once had a client that made up 40% of my monthly income. The fear of losing the income this client provided kept me in stress for years. When the phone rang I had to stop everything for these people!

Finally I bit the bullet and cut them lose. Within a month I was nearly stress free (well, under control anyway) and actually was able to take on other customers I might normally have turned away due to “no time available”. My bottom line is better, my stress level is better, my wife is happier! Need I say more!

By: Skweekah

Skweekah — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 22:48:51 +0000

But I feel like theres so much to know in this industry and if I do take a break, I’ll never become the true expert I want to be.

Youve got to figure out what it is you want to do and where you want to specialise. There is no point achieving the unachievable. You can try to be fair at all things but great at one. You’ll need to decide which approach to take depending on the kind of work you do. This isnt meant to be discouraging but Im hoping some people may find solace in this. It took me a while but I came to accept this (my stack of Java books will attest to this!)
Skweekah

By: Skweekah

Skweekah — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 22:38:06 +0000

This is a great article. Web dev is wracking on the brain (for me anyway) and at the end of the day I feel a combination of satisfaction and mental fatigue! One glass of red wine and Im down for the count! But, these are good, solid tips for those of us out there who are trying to stay solid at our work and maintain a bit of “my time” while juggling (quite literally!!!) a family! So, thank you while I go back to the beginning – again…
Skweekah

By: tag_webdev

tag_webdev — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 21:35:26 +0000

For me, burnout almost feels like part of the job description at times. I’ve been better about it lately, avoiding work on weekends almost completely now, but I’ve never been able to shake it. I don’t think it would be so much of a problem for me if the revenue stream was heavier. I’m part of a small company and have to wear many hats, so to speak, and lately, the pipeline has gotten rather dry. To tell you the truth, I think about looking for something full-time or just doing the solo thing where I keep 100% of the revenue.

Any advice?? Should I move on or try and motivate the team to push forward? Thanks…

By: nachenko

nachenko — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:31:02 +0000

I’m bored too. The main problem is that I evolved much faster than my customers. They keep requesting the same things again and again and again, while I’m already several steps further. I’m faster at my work, sure, but this does not save you from boreness.

By: khuramyz

khuramyz — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 09:33:53 +0000

A symptom that I am feeling currently is boredom. Its same old work over and over again. I need a break.

By: Eneza

Eneza — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 04:53:28 +0000

@artcoder Well, yeah but how about the projects that is offshore in a different timezone that deals with E-COMMERCE how can you deal with that?

Yeah we are not “WEB DOCTORS” and MIRACLE WORKERS! Nice article

By: Rachael Wilson

Rachael Wilson — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:14:50 +0000

Burnout – a place I only know too well! Thank you for the reminder that it’s ok to stop once in a while and that time out makes work time even more productive. As a highly driven person of mega proportion, that whole concept of taking time out when I could/should be working has been my biggest hurdle – the brain just does not compute! *schedules time in her diary for “productive down time”* Thanks!

By: Costas Siavelis

Costas Siavelis — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 23:24:14 +0000

Thank you for your comments, most encouraging! Have you been spying on me? :) I totally agree with everything you have said and these are things that I have been either doing or are always planning on doing. I think that one of the things that you said that stands out to me the most and that sums up a few of the other points, is the comment about being organised. Setting up systems to help you get organised will help relieve your mind strain and also stay and feel in control. Nothing worse than the feeling that things have run way from you… I good project management or task management system can help this.

By: BeenThereDoneThat

BeenThereDoneThat — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 23:02:18 +0000

When I first got into Web Design/Development on a professional level, I worked both a full-time 60 hour a week day job AND a 35-40 per week freelance job out of my home office. That’s a lot of time to put into working and I paid the price both mentally and physically – even with healthy distractions such as working out and doing other, non web things.

Bottomline – you need to find your own, personal limitations and work within those boundaries. Sometimes it is 150% unavoidable not to have to dig in and hunker down to knock something out but most of the time, with a little planning, you can keep your sanity and remain very productive. I’ve been doing this for 13 years now and I know how far I can go – I do my best to honor the boundaries I have set for myself in an effort to maintain my sanity and keep my stress levels minimized.

By: artcoder

artcoder — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 22:46:15 +0000

Never give your clients your cell phone number. Give them a number (like a land line or skype) where they can leave a message and then you call them back on your own convenience. We are not “web doctors” that are “on call” 24×7.

By: nachenko

nachenko — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:29:23 +0000

I’ve been on the edge of burnout too many times. I learnt many of these tips the hard way. It’s easy to get trapped. The main problem is to teach your customers you’re NOT available 24/7. If started my business again, I’d use two cell phones, one for work and another one for LIFE.

I need “A hundred days off”.

By: halfasleeps

halfasleeps — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 20:50:43 +0000

I am currently feeling burnt out somewhat. I work full time as a web developer, go to school at night for a degree in web dev, read programming books in my spare time, and sometimes do freelance side jobs. But I feel like theres so much to know in this industry and if I do take a break, I’ll never become the true expert I want to be.

By: Katie Jones

Katie Jones — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:46:30 +0000

Thank you for this article. I have fallen victim to burnout, many of times, in fact I still struggle with it, because I love my work. However, it is affecting my health because I get so involved, I don’t sleep and that, of course, affects my ability to not only do a good job, but be available for my family. It’s still a work in progress, but your article was very helpful, thank you.