Slow down - Stress, burnout, and refactoring my work-life balance
In many ways, our field is like no other. It is possible to build a great product, to change someone's life, or even to significantly change you and your family's financial standing by spending nothing but your own time. In this open-source world the barrier to entry is low, but it also lends itself to being expensive in other ways.
At my first Drupal job I worked roughly 18 hour days for almost two months, which happened to be the months leading up to my wedding. It did not end well, but the knowledge I gained helped my career. I began teaching Drupal development and, shortly after, landed a job at Acquia as a Senior Developer. This also was a boost for my career, but the combination has been extremely time consuming. Two kids, 5 semesters, and three years later I was completely burned out, and it was impacting every aspect of my life.
My responsibilities came to include:
- My full time job at Acquia
- Teaching newcomers to Drupal at Debug Academy
- Being an employer
- Finding jobs for graduates of my classes
- Learning Drupal 8
- Lingering freelance development projects
- Acting as the point of contact for all websites I've built in the past
- Being a father of 2 kids
- Being a husband
- At-home projects.. and more
It became impossible to address everything I was tasked with. Improving my situation required acknowledging not only my own limits, but also what those around me needed from me. I have also come to know many individuals from different backgrounds and learn of their similar struggles.
I would like to share steps that I've taken to reduce burnout, including:
- Taking unpaid leave from work (both jobs)
- Re-structuring my development projects
- Accepting help in areas that I prefer to handle myself
- Setting strict rules for family time
- Changing my priorities
- And more
It is still, and always will be, a work in progress. I hope to share what has and has not worked, and what my advice for people who find themselves similarly overwhelmed.