>Now that I'm back in Silicon Valley working for the FANGMAN on a tiny piece of His next attempt at world domination, I get exhausted and burned out pretty quick. I've got maybe 4 good hours of concentrated effort in me per day, it's a struggle to drag myself into the office, the week just crawls by and the weekend is gone in a flash..
It helps to disconnect from whatever it is the company is doing and value your time and expertise more. The success of whatever you're working on is not a reflection of you or your skills. Oh that experiment didn't work? That new product feature flopped? Meh, I'm paid by the hour to execute my expertise at my comfortable pace toward their goal regardless of how realistic or achievable it is. Embrace the jira ticket monkey mindset. Don't try to work around the org inefficiencies, embrace and amplify them. Oh I need to wait for some indeterminate time for access/permission? Blocked by another team? Scheduled for stupid meetings sprinkled through the day such that you can't get a proper maker's schedule[1]? The work isn't structured well? The priorities change frequently enough for whiplash? I get paid regardless. So what if my productivity or output is low due to their nonsense? Disconnecting mentally really helps prevent the exhaustion and burnout. Don't try to do the PO's/PM's/Boss' job. It's their money to waste, their dumb decisions to make, and none of it is your concern.
At least for me, a healthy dose of perspective makes it much easier to go into the office; enjoy the amenities, free feed, and getting some social time in. The weather has been fantastic the last few weeks and I've been cycling into work. I save my quality mental focus for other things, including keeping an eye out for gigs and opportunities where it makes sense to mentally connect.
It helps to disconnect from whatever it is the company is doing and value your time and expertise more. The success of whatever you're working on is not a reflection of you or your skills. Oh that experiment didn't work? That new product feature flopped? Meh, I'm paid by the hour to execute my expertise at my comfortable pace toward their goal regardless of how realistic or achievable it is. Embrace the jira ticket monkey mindset. Don't try to work around the org inefficiencies, embrace and amplify them. Oh I need to wait for some indeterminate time for access/permission? Blocked by another team? Scheduled for stupid meetings sprinkled through the day such that you can't get a proper maker's schedule[1]? The work isn't structured well? The priorities change frequently enough for whiplash? I get paid regardless. So what if my productivity or output is low due to their nonsense? Disconnecting mentally really helps prevent the exhaustion and burnout. Don't try to do the PO's/PM's/Boss' job. It's their money to waste, their dumb decisions to make, and none of it is your concern.
At least for me, a healthy dose of perspective makes it much easier to go into the office; enjoy the amenities, free feed, and getting some social time in. The weather has been fantastic the last few weeks and I've been cycling into work. I save my quality mental focus for other things, including keeping an eye out for gigs and opportunities where it makes sense to mentally connect.
[1]: http://paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html