How to work with permanent, burning fatigue?

~ · Post by ~ » Thu Jan 10, 2008 5:31 am

There's a moment in which, after months or even years of having to implement/reimplement and improve a project, one feels that everything about it becomes tedious.

It isn't loss of interest, ideas, creativity, even one knows what to do most of the time.

But when it's time to start working, creating a new source file or documentation file, one starts mentally rambling about what will put there, as a sort of automatic fatigue starts loading until in a few seconds one not even gets to create the new file, much less putting things in it.

And if ever one manages to advance, it will be a very painful proces, will span several hours only to edit some bit and then we will give up for several hours to come.

Has anyone faced it? Does somebody knows how to avoid it, or at least minimize it to the point where having to almost rewrite a full big project without anyone else's help doesn't become nearly impossible after N times of repeating such stuff?

Solar · Post by **Solar** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 6:19 am

Been there. Actually, being there.

Drop the project for a time. Catch up on your sleep, go for a walk in the green, read a book, spend some time with your girlfriend.

You will know when it's time to pick up the project again.

01000101 · Post by **01000101** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 1:42 pm

I reached that point when developing my bootloader. I took a few months of hiatus. now that I am back, within a few days of thinking clearly and with mass frustration, I was able to complete the loader just fine and I'm sure once i reach another point where I am overloaded with frustration, i will go on another break. If you keep going and keep building up the 'hatred' for coding new peices of the OS, you will probably end up losing interest in the project.

ucosty · Post by **ucosty** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 9:45 am

Gah I've had it all day. Code is making me oh so very tired.

elderK · Post by **elderK** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 10:58 pm

I know this feeling all too well.
The solution is simply to take it easy.

Personally, I feel very lazy if I dont do any coding.
Im also a crazy perfectionist, so, the code I do write must be refined until I am satisfied.

The solution, again, is to take it easy.
Work to satisfy your vision, not your ego.
Work to explore.

~Z

piranha · Post by **piranha** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 12:56 am

Spend time with your girlfriend, or go backpacking (with her) or alone or something. That always helps me.

-JL