The Freelancers' Show

Panel

Eric Davis (twitter github blog) Ashe Dryden (twitter github blog) Evan Light (twitter github blog) Jim Gay (twitter github blog) Charles Max Wood (twitter github Teach Me To Code Rails Ramp Up)

Discussion
01:13 - Coping with Burnout

Taking up hobbies Outside job stressors Exercise

07:21 - Overcommitting
09:59 - Expectations

Having children Setting boundaries PPC Principle = Production vs Production Capacity (The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey)

16:32 - Work/Life Balance

Your personal definition of relaxation

20:26 - Depression
22:27 - Coping Mechanisms

Partner support Talking through it

29:43 - Preventing Burnout

Don’t push your limits Regrets of the Dying Frustration Driven Development by Evan D. Light

Picks

Slate Magazine | Boston bombing breaking news: Don't watch cable. Shut of Twitter. You'd be better off cleaning your gutters. (Eric) Happier (Evan) Happy: The Movie (Evan) Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life by Martin E. P. Seligman (Evan) If You're Too Busy to Meditate, Read This - Peter Bregman (Evan) A Wet Towel In Space Is Not Like A Wet Towel On Earth (Ashe) Mou (Markdown App) (Ashe) No Equipment? No Excuses: 20 Exercises You Can Do At Home (Ashe) My Best Mistake: Too Much Success - Gary Vaynerchuk (Jim) Unplugging the TV (Jim) Battlestar Galactica (Chuck) Downton Abbey (Chuck) Downton Abbey at 54 Below - Season 4, Episode 1 Sneak Peek (Chuck) @freelancershow (Chuck)

Next Week
Project Management
Transcript
CHUCK: Alright, I'm still adjusting volume here.

JIM: Am I too loud?

EVAN: Oh, no! But, you're way too deep...

[laughter]

[Hosting and bandwidth provided by the Blue Box Group. Check them out at bluebox.net]

CHUCK: Hey everybody and welcome to Episode 59 of the Freelancers Show! This week on our panel we have, Eric Davis.

ERIC: Hello!

CHUCK: Ashe Dryden.

ASHE: Hello!

CHUCK: Evan Light.

EVAN: Hellooo!

CHUCK: Jim Gay.

JIM: Hello!

CHUCK: I'm Charles Max Wood from devchat.tv. This week's topic is going to be "Dealing with Burnout". Just to give you a little bit of background, I actually chose this topic because I am dealing with burnout. Anyway, I thought it'd be interesting to talk about it to see if you guys experience this and --

EVAN: No, never! Ever!

JIM: Alright, it's been fun!

[laughter]

EVAN: That's it.

CHUCK: I'm totally burned out on these guys, I'm leaving.

EVAN: You have a nice model object.

CHUCK: [laughs] Anyway, I got off this project a couple of weeks ago, and I don't know! I just haven't been able to really sit down and want to write code. And, it was really hard for me because I was burned out all through the month of most Ruby Conference. I enjoyed talking to people, but usually I wind up messing around with code and stuff during the conference and I'll come home and go the whole bunch. I really enjoy writing code! And, I'm really not enjoying writing code...And so, I was wondering what you guys do to cope with this kind of thing?

EVAN: [inaudible]

[laughter]

EVAN: I'm serious! I just work a little bit less and maybe I don't produce many hours and maybe I spend more time doing complete things that have nothing to do with the computer.

ASHE: Yeah. A couple of years ago, I had a really bad case of burnout. It probably last to close to a year. I just hated doing work every single day and I started picking up hobbies. I had nothing to do with sitting in a computer like I picked up meeting, which for most people who know me like I'm not like a very domestic does-curly-girl-type thing, so picking up meeting was kind of different for me, which I love doing now and I really enjoy doing that; rode my bike more, spent more time outside. I was trying to get like my work-life balance back in order, so it's only working a maximum of 8 hours a day.

[Chuck laughs]