To be completely honest: I have no idea what the answer is here. I don't think there's just one correct answer. Burnout is so unique to every individual, which become more obvious to me after I asked my followers about how they cope with feeling uninspired:

> 💫🌟✨ Quick question 💫🌟✨
>
> What do you do for yourself when you start to feel uninspired? I haven't been coding much outside of work like I used to. My brain is telling me, "Write some code!" but when I open my laptop my body tells me, "Meh, close the lid."
>
> _[link to tweet](https://twitter.com/ashleemboyer/status/1187018680405643265)_

Some people take a break, some try to push through, and a lot of people said that they try to consume inspiring content.

This isn't the first time I've gone through burnout. It also happened at the beginning of this year when I finally figured out I needed a different work environment. With less than a year of professional experience at the time, I knew I'd have to work hard if I wanted to stand out from other folks with more years of experience. That's when I started [writing more](https://ashleemboyer.com/after-30-days-of-writing-on-dev-to), [networking on Twitter](https://ashleemboyer.com/why-and-how-you-should-use-twitter-for-networking), and [learning out loud](https://ashleemboyer.com/what-it-means-to-learn-out-loud).

Along the way, I discovered how much work there is to be done in my local community (and the world 🤯) when it comes to web accessibility. In the developer community, a lot of folks are under the impression that accessibility is hard or expensive. Outside of it, people are ignorant to how accessibility tools, such as screen readers, actually work and ableism is rampant.

When news about the [Supreme Court rejecting an appeal from Domino's] came out, it was really exciting to hear, until I read the comments. There were far too many people with far too little understanding of web accessibility sharing their opinions on whether or not companies should be sued for making inaccessible products. I tried to do my part in educating people by explaining that screen readers only read things correctly if a site is built to work with tools. I also argued with people about whether or not discrimination should be legal.

My overwhelming need to speak and educate along with the incredible amount of ableism I've come across in the last several weeks are what I think have mostly contributed to the burnout I'm experiencing. It's vastly different from the burnout I experienced earlier this year. As such, I had no idea how to fix it. I fell into this cycle of feeling guilty for not writing or coding on side projects, which led to feeling _even more_ burned out.

So what's starting to bring me out of this now?

- 🗣️ talking about it
- 🤝️ supportive friends
- ⏳ taking a break
- 🧶 hours of knitting
- ✨ inspirational content

If you're struggling with burnout, I suggest trying all of these things. Some of them will work and some of them won't. Everyone is different and even every time you experience burnout can be different. The people who matter will understand what you're going through. The ones who don't might judge you and try to make you feel bad rather than lend a hand.

Stick around the folks that lend a hand and support you. They'll see you through this. You'll make it to the other side.

Burnout is difficult and everyone experiences it differently.

How to Come out of Burnout


I came across an excellent tweet last night by Twitter user [Amycruz](https://twitter.com/AmarachiAmaechi):

> To be a good developer you don’t have to spend 99% of your time writing, reading about coding. Do other activities. it helps to be more creative and to enrich your knowledge.
>
> What other activities do you engage in aside coding 🤔🤔
>
> _[link to tweet](https://twitter.com/AmarachiAmaechi/status/1132018328988454912)_

This is such a great point. I see many devs talking about how hard it is to cope with the insane amount of information online. On the one hand: _it feels a little bit competitive_. Who can learn the newest framework the fastest and build a super cool app and start making money? On the other hand: it's hard to choose which things to learn in what order because you're scared of falling behind.

Let's start by acknowledging we'll never learn everything. First of all, it's impossible. Second of all, it's not necessary. Learn the skills you need for the job you want. Then, you can fill in the gaps as needed. However, all of you learnaholics like myself might be wondering how to fit your extra learning into that mindset. The answer is balance.

You _must_ balance learning with other activities. Without balance, you risk burnout, as is the case with most things. So, find some hobbies! I personally enjoy knitting, crocheting, cross-stitching, and reading memoirs. Creative hobbies are very beneficial. You can meet new people who share the same hobby, have interesting things to talk about yourself in job interviews, and clear your mind for a while from stressful things.

Have any non-code hobbies you'd like to share? Drop a comment! :)


Hobbies give us a break from the real world. Take all you can get.

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