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Comment by lawl | Hacker News Reader

> I am burnt out on having a “40 hour” work week that actually occupies the majority of my mental time.

This really resonated with me. I can't just stop thinking about this stuff just because I'm at lunch or at home if I'm working on a hard problem. But I don't get paid for that time.

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That's why it's a career, not a job. That's why professionals introduce themselves with, 'I'm a doctor' or 'I'm a lawyer' or 'I'm a developer.' That's why we are (or should be) salaried. We are our professions; in a very real sense, we can't be anything else.

Exactly. Some people will experience their work as a career (as their identity), and these people will be HAPPY. Those who experience their work as a job will not be as fulfilled.

You need an active switch-off. "Relaxing" won't do it, you need to absorb yourself in something totally different

Something physically taxing and which requires complete attention. My best example is skiing. Try to think about a hard problem at work, while doing 15mph on a black slope, and you'll soon be hugging a tree or doing a five point yard sale[1].

Of course, you generally can't ski often enough to relax. Other activities abound. Tennis occupies mind and body, most team sports too. Swimming, cycling and running don't cut it for me, but for some people do.

[1] http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=yardsale

30mph*

If I'm only doing 15, i bet I'm still thinking abut work :P

I learned to ski as an adult. I get to 30mph comfortably (my max gps tracking was at 72km/h), but certainly not on difficult slopes. I need to find a good stretch of straight wide slope so I can schuss and pray at the same time :-)

You need to find an activity to snap your mind out of that once the day ends. I go to the gym, run, work on robots at home, or play video games.

Me too. Regardless of how many hours I 'work' (which constitutes writing emails, designing systems, taking calls about future or current systems, and, of course, writing code), I'm thinking about 'it'. Other people I know literally turn off their jobs when they leave. I never do. I'm not sure you really can and be effective at it. That part is probably the most exhausting aspect to it. It's never done.

I have found going outside and observing nature or looking at fields/birds if they're close by can help your mind drift. I work in an office but if I get chance I like to go outside and sit a short drive away by the fields.

For the most part though I use my lunchtimes working on my own code, as I am in the "working" mental state; it is easier to use the drive home as the unwind time (resisting the urge to drive fast, as this doesn't help unwinding).

Yeah, I'm sure farming feels like a part-time job.

I think it boils down to whether the overtime your brain is doing is satisfying. If I’m spending my commute and evenings worrying about work or otherwise stressing out negatively, I’d want to end that. But if my job ends up posing interesting problems that I can’t help wanting to solve off-duty, then that sounds like I’ve found the right profession and company.

I do have interesting problems to solve.. and I do enjoy that part of it actually (agree with your point). Problem solving is the fun part for me (and for most who are in this profession). However, if you're any good at it, there is no shortage of problems to solve (or people that will give them to you).

If you enjoy it, then it's a benefit. I find that having bigger problems really helps me switch context. I have young children at home who demand a lot of attention. It's impossible to focus on work when they're around, so I don't.

And yet, is that so bad?

Is it good?

If you like it?

It is when it interferes with stuff you actually care about. Like when I'm supposed be having family dinner or playing with my daughter and I realize instead I've just spent the past several minutes staring into the distance thinking about a work problem.

Sometimes I really envy people who never get the urge to work (either actually or mentally) on work after leaving the office at 5 pm.

I've learned to accept that work should only be a certain percentage of your life. Occasionally it can bleed over, sure, but unless you want it to be 100% then you need to drop it and think about other things. Maybe I'm just lazy, but when I'm with other things I care about - especially people - then work can kiss my ass :)

You don't have to convince me...it's my brain you need to talk to :)

I've gotten very good at sticking to a 40 hour work week and haven't worked a weekend in over a year. I manage to leave the office before 6 pm at least 9 days out of 10. The 'problem' is that once someone dumps an interesting math or programming problem in my brain then it takes over everything and I can't let go of it.

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