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Comment by itsbits | Hacker News Reader

I wish I had any other interest apart from programming...

I didn't have any other interest at all. Programming is the greatest thing; you only need a computer (old/new/don't care) to Create New Things. I never did programming for the money; it accidentally made (a lot) of money.

After covid + a horrible project last year, it seems I did kind of burnt out and after thinking almost 40 years that programming is the thing that keeps me happy, I don't like it anymore.

Luckily, money wise, I am (and have been) a manager(/CTO) for decades already but I always kept holding on to the fact my real passion/work/hobby is programming and I always did at least my management hours doubled up with coding.

It is strange to feel the foundation I made up for myself drop away. Will require some adaptation time and indeed exploring other interests, which simply take work trying out. I know that all things I will discover, besides baking pizza, cannot make money at all. So there is that.

Experience wise I am far behind with just 12 years of programming but started feeling burnout since Covid. I was always work in office location guy even if it meant to stretch by more than 12 hours a day. But working from home is far different. Communication is worst. When in office your colleagues are next to you and meetings were like 4 hours a day. But with work from home it's very different. To get in touch with colleagues, you have to schedule a call which usually taking 3x more time than discussion at office. Also we have repeat things so many times in call since there is no proper blackboard etc. Probably it's only me but now a days calls itself takes more than 8 hours.

Really started getting respect for people who were doing remote before Covid as well. Now I also understand why OSS projects are slow in implementing features.

I have always been remote since I started but it was, for me, more the economic stuff of my clients defaulting and there being this doom and gloom atmosphere.

Personally, I see programming as a mentally challenging pursuit of building & connecting modular things out of puzzle pieces.

Though I am getting bored of web development, I've recently started learning basic computer vision & machine learning and I have found that it new topics have lit a new fire of interest in my brain.

In my bubble it seems every other programmer wants to quit to take up wood working or craft brewing. Third by some distance is people growing stuff, especially chili peppers.

Sounds like they have a different problem. They don't want to program but has to program to make money. The above posters likes to program and don't want to do other stuff.

Yeah, a lot of programmers I know as well want to do those things (which make no money) I guess because they are far easier to reason about. Brewing craft beer starts out as a shit show once you did a few batches, it is consistent, predictable etc. Unlike programming. You can screw up a lot and still get nice beer. Until you look at making money of course; that is where the craft brew and wood working shitshows are at. That's basically completely unpredictable unless you are established and have your regulars etc. I prefer pizza baking; I perfected this during covid and now can make and bake consistent good pizzas at high speed (in a 480C wood oven) and sell them consistently too. Somehow it makes me happy having that feeling of being able to sell them.

One of the most interesting things I've done recently was actually the journey to finding other hobbies. The good thing about work outside of the workplace is that it's not only acceptable but also encouraged to experiment and fail. If you're not sure where to start, I think it's a good idea to literally just pick something and do it. If you end up enjoying it, great. If not, there's always something else :)

You probably like making things. It's why we program. Find something you like making besides programs.

Creating programs isn't much like creating other things at all. People who likes to draw doesn't like programming more than anyone else and vice versa.

Depends what programming you do and how you look at it. To me, it is like creating/crafting/sculpting. I guess if your days are filled with creating CRUD apps, this feels different.

Also a programmer. Stepping away from the desk is often the best thing for me, not for long mind, just to smoke. Astounded by the number of times I have a programming problem and the solution just 'clicks' while I'm away from the screen. FWIW I'm not endorsing smoking, but removing yourself from the screen has benefits IMO.

I don't have too many hobbies myself, and TBH love programming and staying on the steep learning curve. Felt that way my whole working life.

The only time I've felt burnout is part of a 50/50 company where the other guy wasn't pulling his weight. When the energy you put in isn't giving you something back in the form of [whichever pursuits of happiness you have], then it's definitely time to re-consider.

> The only time I've felt burnout is part of a 50/50 company where the other guy wasn't pulling his weight

I have had that many times and I have been that guy. There is just something that needs to work; if someone is doing something and the other is not, that's another problem. It's probably not even what you think but you need to get out as fast as you can as that will end badly.

Indeed, the warning signs were there for me. Sometimes you need to ignore the sunk cost and move on. Sometimes financial requirements get in the way, but generally it can end ugly when you cannot see eye to eye.

Former smoker here, and I miss the time to relax/reset, plus the social aspect. Lately I've been taking small breaks to just sit outside, and this has some of the same benefits for me.

Cooking, baking, wood carving, writing a novel, lockpicking, maybe DIY (learn some plumbing, electician, tiling skills), glass blowing, drawing/painting, instrument...

Get basic idea of entry level requirements, spend 20-50 hours practising move on if you don't like it by then.

Pick something out of any profession and go at it. I am kind a thinking about shoe making or sawing/clothes making.

To be frank I was always trying to find something within computer. Like animations, illustrator paints which I realized not helping much.

Yea I need to find something which does not have lot of computer.

I recommend something that you create something tangible.

You get sense of accomplishment - I made this - feeling. U don't have share it or be good, just creating a thing - your thing - feels good.

I have tons of interests, just wish I had 'lucrative' interests.

My deep knowledge of Star Wars and the NBA is not leveragable.

You never know, maybe Space Jam 3 will need you.

That's not entirely just a joke. People have changed industries and gotten into stuff through even weirder combinations of interests.

Yeah, that's been me all my life... That's why I went full in for programming. I wanted to make sure my biggest interest was also making money (if need be). I had to let that go and life is much easier. Wish I had done that earlier on. But yeah, you need to have some freedom to do that...

Why can't they be lucrative? Fire up SEMRush or something similar, find a niche around NBA or Star Wars that's partially attainable, spend some time building a website in that niche that covers your interests. Monetise the traffic.

That said, it's kind of nice to have interests that don't become 'work'.

>That said, it's kind of nice to have interests that don't become 'work'.

Many people, including myself, do/have felt guilt over doing things too much that don't make money. Where that comes from or how that works, not sure, but I have met many people who had that. And wanted their hobbies to make money in order not to feel guilty about doing them.

> Many people, including myself, do/have felt guilt over doing things too much that don't make money. Where that comes from or how that works, not sure, but I have met many people who had that. And wanted their hobbies to make money in order not to feel guilty about doing them.

I don't feel a shred of guilt. I am the most introverted person ever but even one year of staying at home broke me... started buying exercise equipment and got into drones so I lost weight and lost stress while flying my little drone.

I make plenty of goddamn money.

How about Math? Usually they go hand in hand and you barely need a PC to read the book and do excercises.

Most programmers think math is boring. That to me is really weird, but I suppose arithmetic is the most thought of type of math when someone brings up math, and that is extremely boring.

I would encourage any programmer to try out Book Of Proof. At the end you’ll end up understanding what it means, in a mathematical sense, for there to be different “sizes” of infinities. That is interesting.

Just go outside.

Alright, I'm standing next to a highway in front of a Speedway.

Now what?

You are likely to be eaten by a grue.

get lamp

Go north

No matter how burnt out you are, please do not throw yourself into traffic

Expanding on this post a little bit, because "just go outside" alone isn't particularly helpful...

Find a local park (wooded, not just ball fields). Go for a walk. It doesn't have to long or strenuous - just being outside, in the relative quiet, can be profoundly relaxing.

Maybe you'll find the outdoors isn't your thing, but as far as finding a hobby goes, spending time outdoors in nature is about as low investment as it gets.

Or, if you prefer something a bit more aligned with programming/tech, maybe find a maker club and get into 3d printing, or woodwork, or some similar hobby. These aren't my thing, but I have several programmer friends who love to build stuff - some restore old motorcycles, some do the maker thing, and some ended up with woodshops in the their basements/garages.

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