March 25, 2010 at 7:37 am
Been there - done that - bought the tee-shirt...
You need to set limits and have outlets or else things will spiral out of control.
I will not go into the details here from my own experiences but if anyone needs to talk just email me.
March 25, 2010 at 8:03 am
Thanks Andy and others for sharing. I think it's helpful to note that burnout can and has happened to prominent people within our industry and that it's okay to ask for help, get help, take steps to asuage the situation and talk about it.
I imagine that at times, one can be faced with the need to let a part of the master plan go - if you will. An ambitious person might spin up a variety of business plans, do consulting, write books and build a reputation as an author, hold down a job, volunteer for organizations, maintain family life and all the while try to maintain Microsoft MVP status or some other similar title that obligates/pushes them to do a variety of things - and it pushes them over the edge.
For some, they might be better off handing over the MVP status to someone else. It's not that this ambitious person can't do it. That's not it at all. It's just that the ambitious person isn't in a situation that's well-suited for it at the time. That has to be okay.
Microsoft perhaps should maintain a way to honor those who have at one time achieved MVP status - an MVP alumni program or something - and not focus too much on current MVP status. I don't know how it all works. Maybe that's already in place. I think you get my drift, though.
Bill Nicolich: www.SQLFave.com.
Daily tweet of what's new and interesting: AppendNow
March 25, 2010 at 8:06 am
Ways to Dodge Long Hours:
http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/05/29/book-excerpt-methods-for-controlling-the-hours-you-work/
March 25, 2010 at 8:26 am
Obulay, that's a great link, will post it to my blog so I don't lose it!
March 25, 2010 at 8:30 am
Bill, thats absolutely one path to burnout, and easily describes me. I'm over extended, realize it, trying to figure out which of the many things I do can be given up. Is knowing it half the battle? I've started by reducing travel, and the big looming decision is whether to run for re-election for the PASS Board. Moving SQLSaturday to PASS will eventually help, but for now it's MORE work doing the transition (and Plan B was to hire someone to do it).
I think one challenge I hit is that the extra stuff I do is very hard to say no to because I enjoy it and find it valuable. Easier to say no when it's just stuff the boss wants done that you don't really invest in.
March 25, 2010 at 8:57 am
Andy
Thanks for revisiting an appropriate topic for the technical, inner-directed-but-accolade-appreciative, can't-say-no-school-of-inter-personal-relationships, can't-get-along-without-me, nobody-knows-more-about-this-than-I-do worker bees among us. Sadly, I don't believe that it is a condition to be solved by mantras from any source.
Personally, an hour of mindless pasture mowing (||:go straight, turn right, go straight, turn right :||) or barn mucking (we have mini-Zebu cattle) clears the cobwebs and creates perspective when there once was none.
BillG
3 Rules of to Live By:
Never Lie. Never Tell the Entire Truth. Never Miss a Chance to Visit the Loo.
March 25, 2010 at 9:01 am
(we have mini-Zebu cattle)
OK... so the fact that they make Mini-Zebu's makes everything stressful just seem irrelevant today. I think i want one... I wonder if the city has any ordinances against those... hmmm....
March 25, 2010 at 9:26 am
Been there, done that ... To avoid burnout, the most important thing is to realize that in the long run no one can put in 8 really productive hours day in and day out - there is always overhead and there are inevitable distractions. My rule is to plan 5 very honest work ours per day. If there are few distractions (which is not the case on my current rather hectic assignment), I can live with 6 planned hours. That of course assumes that the estimates are realistic, but that would be another topic.
March 25, 2010 at 1:24 pm
I wish it weren't so...but I can speak with authority on "burn-out" - and I have come to see it very differently as I've matured in my career.
A very common and extremely dangerous issue is *overwork* - and we normally see that as the underlying cause. But as I've managed more (and less) people in addition to trying to manage my own time I am sensing that addressing the TOO MUCH TIME spent on-task may miss the more important issues in many instances.
Consider:
- I care deeply about the success of a project
- I see elements slipping, items not quite fitting, concerns
- I invest even more of my self (time - yes, but my reputation and more) into the project to get it right
- I don't see the situation resolve quickly, sometimes get frustrated that others don't similarly invest themselves, sometimes even sense those around me are resigned to the disappointment
- ____ (coworker or manager) says "You need to take some time off!"
A) does that reinforce in my mind that others don't care as much as I do?
B) does a week or longer feeling like the project is only getting worse without my efforts really "recharge" me?
C) does a week or longer of a project getting worse make the situation worse on my return (even if I do catch my breath momentarily)?
I am trying to do a far better job of examining WHAT might be leaking my energy out of my career/project/day and see what can be done to ADDRESS that instead of simply look for a break. When staff exhibit the signs of burn-out I look for ways to get others around them to *honestly* share their burden, provide a boost of focused attention toward the objective, or even have the HARD meeting with the client or end-users to end the perception that this is going well in order to shift that energy from crisis response to a more sustainable process. I love to map out a plan for how to "get out of the sticky situation" and then reward accomplishing that by taking a SATISFYING vacation.
March 25, 2010 at 1:33 pm
Nice read. Burnout is a serious issue and needs to be handled properly.
Thanks for outlining the symptoms and a good solution. If management is apathetic towards the employee, that can definitely cause burnout.
Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
_______________________________________________
I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
SQL RNNR
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March 26, 2010 at 3:49 pm
I've functioned as an anti-mentor for a few folks and the best piece of advice I've been able to give is this:
"Put in exactly as much emotional investment as you have chance of changing the outcome."
So if you can't do anything about a situation then shrug it off. It's not easy to learn, it's not always easy to do, but it lets you save your energy for those things where you can affect the outcome.
I'm 100% guilty of taking work home with me in the form of unresolved problems stuck in my brain. But I've also put myself on a strict prohibition of actually taking work home unless absolutely required. I work so I can have a life and darnitall, I'm going to live that life.
This combination of things has kept me sane for a number of years and has kept me from getting upset on the third time a project that was ready for QA was scrapped or sent back for a complete redesign. No matter what happened I got paid and got to write code.
March 30, 2010 at 12:35 pm
Everyone here that is a SQL guru is lucky. We can all leave a horrible situation if need be and find something else sooner than most other professions. And if you find yourself not sleeping and in declining health you *really* should consider leaving (after talking to mgmt) and doing something/anything away from technology for a while.
Signed,
Walked away from 2 inflexible burnout jobs in 26 years and both times found something better (more pay, regular hours) in less than 2 months.
April 1, 2010 at 5:51 pm
Unfortunately, there's another side to this issue. I was in the burn-out stage in my previous job. I recognized it, and jumped ship. Now I practice healthy anti-burnout strategies such as those listed in these forum comments by others. I am much happier and healthier. However, my peer is in pre-burnout mode, thus making me appear to be a slacker when I DON'T work 10-12 hours days, when I DON'T work every weekend, and when I DON'T give up my lunch hours to get more time in at my desk. Do I respond appropriately to emergency situations? Yes. However, I don't see every problem as an emergency. Do I get my project tasks done on time? Yes, but I don't commit myself to unreasonable timelines in the first place. Have I gotten any performance bonuses here? No.
Just slacking off here....posting comments to an online forum....
Lori
April 2, 2010 at 7:28 am
I don't think you can just measure yourself by someone else at work, and their efforts to get ahead. That's a game that's not worth playing most of the time. If your boss doesn't see you bring value, and that you have some balance in your life, then they're likely just looking to burn through employees for their own benefit. You can just life with that, ignore the bonuses and do your job, move on, or try to compete and hope you don't burnout again.
It's not always fair, but that's life.
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