Coding in my hobby projects alleviate burnout for me in much the same way mediation, or just relaxing with my family does. It's a way to switch focus to something soothing.
There are time when I'm too mentally exhausted to focus on coding at all, but most "burnout" is not that for me, but increasing feelings of resistance against working on something specific. Sure, it can sometimes rise to a level where it expands and you shut down and don't feel like doing much of anything, but to me those hobby projects feel like they help avoid that.
Hacking on game with my son, or my many "productivity" projects that aren't so much about my productivity as about bikeshedding my own tools because it's enjoyable has very different properties to a work project.
Comments
Coding in my hobby projects alleviate burnout for me in much the same way mediation, or just relaxing with my family does. It's a way to switch focus to something soothing.
There are time when I'm too mentally exhausted to focus on coding at all, but most "burnout" is not that for me, but increasing feelings of resistance against working on something specific. Sure, it can sometimes rise to a level where it expands and you shut down and don't feel like doing much of anything, but to me those hobby projects feel like they help avoid that.
Hacking on game with my son, or my many "productivity" projects that aren't so much about my productivity as about bikeshedding my own tools because it's enjoyable has very different properties to a work project.