Ask HN: Do you guys ever feel like this? If so, how do you get out of the slump?

[maze_roller]

Right now I am struggling with few problems, I am not sure, if someone can relate. But, I am throwing this out for some help and guidance.

- My daily drive to be productive is down the drain. I just don't feel like working - I don't have a lot of work pressure, deadlines are comfortable, and I am meeting everything - I am in a great job, I have recently switched careers and I am feeling great about it. So no snags there.

The problem

- I just don't feel like working at all, like lazing around, doing nothing, watching TV, sports, and then just make up something and speak it out in the stand up.

Just can't seem to get out of the rut. Has anyone experienced this, and if so, how did you get out of this?

[jrc2022]

Putting on your shoes is the hardest part of going on a walk/run. The next hardest is stepping out the door. Sometimes you just have to turn off your brain and "subconsciously" do it without thinking about it. Or just straight up lie to yourself. "I'm only putting on my shoes. I'm only going outside. I'm only walking to the end of the street."

Set a timer for 5 minutes and stare at what you want to do. Don't do anything but stare and unfocus. For me that's switching to the IDE and looking at whatever code is loaded. I don't read it, I just stare for 5 mins. More times than not, before the 5 mins is up I've start working.

There's also acceptance that when you start anything, it's a slog. You need to "wade thorough sewage to get to clear water".

Change Your Brain: Neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwQhKFMxmDY

[maze_roller]

Well this is some new idea, I have never come across this. However, how do you suggest I even make the first step towards opening an IDE and looking at it. Right now, thinking about it, seems like a drag. Just like in the putting on the shoes analogy. It is hard to even get myself to that stage at times, it is like battling an uphill boulder moving race.

[webmobdev]

Change your perspective from "I am not motivated" to "I need to act to be motivated". Action is the fuel that ignites motivation. That's why breaking down big things to small steps often works against procrastination.

[8note]

First, turn on your computer and sit at your desk. Step by step

[dave4420]

Only switch your computer off when you go on holiday. Put it to sleep otherwise. Keep your IDE open at all times. Have it auto start when your computer boots up.

[nnoitra]

Lol this is not true. Putting on shoes is not the hardest part of going for a run in the same way that sitting on a chair is not the hardest part about studying linear algebra.

Deep work requires deep focus which is itself taxing and of which we have finite amount of. Can't get more of it by just "sitting and staring".

[gdulli]

I'm internally motivated to do high quality work, but externally motivated to do a high quantity of work. In a low pressure environment I'll do good work but won't create pressure to do the most I possibly can. I don't want an unreasonably high pressure environment, but when things are slow I do wish for more urgency. It's not a problem, it's just an understanding of how I work.

Another reason you might be capable of doing more but aren't is the way work gets done. Many companies or teams now don't know what to do with high output or aren't built for it, they're set up process-first with a lot of task overhead and prefer the predictability that comes with that to maximizing throughput with more surprises.

When I am motivated to do extra work I'm likely to do it when I can just do it, and unlikely when I have to get approval, fit it into a sprint schedule, etc. It can work against you to deliver extra work in an environment where others think of deliverables as zero sum (they're not) and the extra work you deliver doesn't fit into someone else's idea of priority. Again, you don't have to frame it as a problem but a need to understand how you think and work in relationship to different environments.

[simonsaysso]

1. Find someone to talk to. It might be a professional or it might be a parent. I had a great conversation with my dad when I had a tough time like you are. It won’t fix things immediately but it’ll start a habit of reaching out for support when you start to feel off.

2. Take a day off. No guilt, no thinking about what you should be doing. Don’t schedule anything for that day. I see too many people take “mental health” days and then panic to try to get all their appointments set up for that day.

3. Start forcing yourself to do little things. As someone else mentioned, force yourself into 5 minutes or just reading code. Force yourself to fully grok someone else’s pull request. I went an entire year forcing myself to push code for review every single workday because otherwise I felt like you’re describing yourself. It was brutal some days (“rewrite X class with streams api” was a common change), but it both kept me going and got me some respect from my colleagues.

[maze_roller]

- I am considering getting a professional for sure, because this is not aligning with who I am. - Taking day off also makes sense, but for me taking day off doesn't really do much for me. - Yeah, this doing something passive for 5mins seems like a good approach, let's see how it works out for me.

[komposit]

Yes. In fact it seems i gravitate to this state at regular intervals. To some degree i have dealt with it by accepting it as part of the struggle of life. Also i found that just as much as i gravitate to this state there is also something within me that unlocks it and eventually puts me back on top. When my personal life is draining i am at a higer risk. When there is low psychological safety in my team, im also at a higher risk. Jogging helps, even the smallest run will do. Don’t worry, you will find your way out and perhaps learn a thing or two about yourself. It taught me not to judge others for being unproductive but just be a helpful uplifting colleague whenever i get the chance. We all struggle at times.

[giantg2]

I say this grudgingly, you need ambition. You need your performance tied to your promotions or a reputation for being a master. If you're already comfortable, then you have no real incentive to try hard.

I have a job I hate, that is stressful, and ranked me as a low performer last year (historically been ha high performers). The company has screwed me over a bunch of times, so I see my effort as being wasted or unrewarded. Why should I try? I don't even make the US median dev salary. I don't think anywhere else would be better. So I'm in a similar boat as you - looking for distractions and excuses to be lazy.

[mateo411]

It might be a good time to take a vacation. If there isn't a lot of pressure for deadlines. Some time off can give you more perspective.

It seems like you are lethargic because the role is easy for you. If you like the place, and you want to develop your career there, then ask your boss, what you could work on to create a bigger impact. You might find that there is more opportunity for you there after all.

If that doesn't interest you, then you can coast for a while. That's fine too. Eventually, you'll probably get bored with this, and then you'll find another job with a more interesting role.

[frontman1988]

What has worked for me is shifting to hunter gatherer mode when feeling lethargic. I force my body to do stuff just so that my primal needs are completed. For example, If I don't get a task done, then I won't get dinner today. Procastinate another task and my body doesn't get access to air conditioning/fan. Not feeling like doing a very important task, no water for the entire day. It might sound a bit extreme and counterproductive, but it works wonders cause that's exactly how we have lived for majority of human existence.

[helph67]

Get yourself a dog and regularly allow it to take YOU for a walk, particularly in a park or `green' area. Turn your mobile off and use music to help your mood.

[uejfiweun]

I have kind of a similar situation - lots of free time during the work day. You should consider it a blessing more than anything that you have such a stable job. And if the pace is boring you, then you could use some of your free time to prep for coding interviews for more rigorous jobs.

[maze_roller]

Yeah, I find it is as a blessing and I am at a place which is like top of where I wanted to be. This is more of an internal battle with what I think of myself. Like "I am not this, sitting around, doing nothing guy". It is an internal battle which is slowly chewing me away.

[8note]

Taking some time off makes for a good reset. Go spend time in a forest.