Re:I Quit the Tsunami of Burnout Few See
by EtCepeyd on Saturday January 11, 2025 @06:10PM
(#42669716)
> Always be computing that dot product between your employer's agenda vector and your own agenda vector.
haha, great metaphor! I'll steal it! :)
Re:I Quit the Tsunami of Burnout Few See
by BehindBlueEyes on Monday January 20, 2025 @11:39AM
(#42770370)
This aligns with my experience. There's this GDC talk that really resinated with me about how side projects can help avoid burnout in the games industry: https://youtube.com/watch?v=zfJ9LLZQ9jo
It is counter intuitive that doing more unpaid work helps cope with doing paid work, but the whole premise iirc is that it is work you are in control of and that helps battle the lack of meaning and agency at work.
Of course this assumes you're not already too burnt out to even think about a side project.
So on the topic of agenda... if what you are working on is your own agenda, you don't burn out. You might change the agenda by redefining goals, but in the end, you are sailing your own ship. Not only do you not burn out, it is curative. It is when you absorb someone else's agenda and make it your own to an unhealthy extent that you burn out. Always be computing that dot product between your employer's agenda vector and your own agenda vector. Don't over-invest beyond that dot-product.