[wayoutthere]

This has been my experience. I have simply learned to look for emotional fulfillment and creative output elsewhere in my life and am far happier for it. I find I’m actually a lot better at my job when I have some distance from it. It allows me to connect with people — even at work — on a human level because I don’t particularly care about my actual work and basically forget about it as soon as I stand up from my desk.

[WalterSear]

Time is difficult, but I'm primarily unable to find the energy outside work for anything emotionally fulfilling or creative. I think this is why people are so motivated to find fulfillment in their work. Any time I have tried, my sleep, my work, and my life in general suffers, and I'm soon frustrated by the limited progress I can make.

A good day's work can be so draining as to leave me literally depressed. A good day, mind you - not hard, not bad, not stressful - just one where I am completely focused on work for 7-8 hours. Maybe it's me, maybe it's the nature of coding for a living.

[JohnFen]

Well, I can't honestly say this is a panacea (or that it is in any way something that would work for you), since I'm struggling currently myself. But here's something I've been doing and I think has helped some:

I make it a point to go on a backpacking trip once per month (Not saying it has to be camping, although there are special benefits to spending time in the wild).

This is a hard commitment that I've made with myself. I do it whether I feel like it or not. Usually, I don't, but end up happy I did it anyway. I've posed this to my friends and family as my monthly "therapy session", because it is, and because that frames it more correctly than saying "I'm just farting around".

You can carve out a day or two for your therapy every month, even if it doesn't seem that way before you start. It might not be much, but it isn't nothing.

For me, being out in the wild, away from society (especially cell phones, the internet, and the media), is an important component.

[disqard]

Sounds like "Shinrin-Yoku" -- very effective IMO. Thanks for sharing your strategy!

[tonyedgecombe]

I don't think I've ever been able to be completely focussed on work for 7-8 hours. I can plod away on routine work all day long but it seems I only ever have three hours worth of intense thinking in me. Trying to push past that always creates more problems than it solves.

[Areading314]

This reminds me of some advice I got from a grad student as an undergrad -- "It's important to not care TOO much when doing research. Most things don't work out the way you expect and you'll always be disappointed or even biased when you are looking at your data."