[tdj]

I'm 29, and I have already started feeling this. Just a few years ago, I could do 12-14h coding days sustainably, but now, anything above 11h sustained for weeks really shows in my output quality. Luckily, my overall productivity is still rising due to learning and experience, despite the degrading mental capabilities. I don't know what me at 35 will look like. I now see where the ageism comes from.

I find it incredibly sad that I even need to think about this. I regret that I even participated in this circus in the first place. I now only work for companies with don't have the ass-in-seats-for-80h policy. It's actually interesting that in startups where this works, people self-select and end up there. It's amazing how much more you can achieve if you can afford to take a step back, and not worry how you can run in circles even farther and faster.