Actually no, this could almost not be further from accurate. I say almost because there was one case where I definitely committed to way too much at once, but I can't think of a way it's generally true. Based on your answer and re-reading my comment, it seems like I could have phrased one bit differently. I meant expectations in terms of software delivery, but requirements more broadly. As in, being expected to complete X, but also being required to do it a noisy office or handle customer support troubleshooting. I think what you're saying is important though, I just happened to read similar advice when I identified that I was doing that to myself years ago. It was no doubt a problem I found myself in, and probably did contribute to burnout the first time, but the bigger issue then was that I was already just staring at my screen hopelessly wondering why I couldn't motivate myself to write html. Happened about 6 months in and that's my going residency so far. Its usually a few months previous to that where a manager makes a huge and arbitrary change even though I've figured out how to be productive by then. Like shuffling all the teams in one case, and putting me (adhd) on customer support.