A harsh reality that I didn't come to terms with until I was in my late 30s is that many things I enjoy doing still cost spoons to do. Which means I can also burn myself out doing things I enjoy. Programming is one of those things, so programming in my free time was still burning me out even though I found it rewarding.
My mental health improved quite a bit when I realized I needed to identify and prioritize more restorative forms of play. That did mean allowing my childhood passion to become just a day job. But that's OK. I honestly wish I had let it happen sooner. What got me to where I am now won't necessarily get me to where I want to go next.
If that's not how things work for you and programming for fun is genuinely restorative, great. I just wanted to put my own experience out there because tech's hustle culture can make it hard to realize that advice like this isn't for everybody. Especially for those of us who might have a touch of alexithymia. Which seems to be pretty common among professional programmers.
My mental health improved quite a bit when I realized I needed to identify and prioritize more restorative forms of play. That did mean allowing my childhood passion to become just a day job. But that's OK. I honestly wish I had let it happen sooner. What got me to where I am now won't necessarily get me to where I want to go next.
If that's not how things work for you and programming for fun is genuinely restorative, great. I just wanted to put my own experience out there because tech's hustle culture can make it hard to realize that advice like this isn't for everybody. Especially for those of us who might have a touch of alexithymia. Which seems to be pretty common among professional programmers.