Hacker News Reader

Comment by edferda | Hacker News Reader

This post really resonates with me, specially this line

> Just keep in mind the cost you’re paying, and be extremely cautious if you ever find yourself resenting your downtime.

Currently this is happening to me. Downtime is not an enjoyable experience anymore, the pandemic has just made it worse since I am not even forced to have social interactions. I have feelings of guilt whenever I am not working. And just like the author mentions, it is a hard habit to break. What is worse, I am in my mid twenties; I cannot imagine how hard/impossible it is to break that habit when you have been at it for 30 years.

View on HN

> Downtime is not an enjoyable experience anymore

This sounds more like a lack of anything to do than downtime.

If you prefer to be doing something and you hate when you're doing nothing, you need to identify more somethings to fill your time with. If the only "something" you have in your life is work, then you're going to gravitate back to that by default.

Flip it around and start identifying the things you enjoy, then make an effort to do those things in your non-work time.

Downtime doesn't literally have to mean sitting around, doing nothing productive. If you're the kind of person who must be active, then you need to become the kind of person who picks activities you enjoy and makes a point to do them.

I really empathise with your experience of lockdown- Covid has taken a big toll on a lot of people, myself included.

Especially at the start of lockdown, I developed a habit of working on a side project at the weekend. I found myself slipping into this 'discomfort', and after some reflection decided it wasn't helping me. I work hard enough during the week, if I'm working outside my normal hours it needs to be because I want to, not because I'm pushing myself into it.

Don't worry too much though- lots of things will change up as Covid eases, and you'll get a load of opportunities to reset yourself. You have an advantage here, in that you built the habit in an artificial environment- the return to normality should help you shake it, if you want to!

I built my side project during the weekends since the start of the pandemic, shipped it and then decided I didn’t have the energy to actually run it. Still glad I did it and I could pick it up again if I wanted but at this stage between work and family, side projects need to take a back seat.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com