burnout

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How much AI can a maintainer get away with using without losing their humanity?
2 months ago
- Open Source maintainers face increased workload due to a surge in AI-generated contributions, bug reports, and feature requests, straining small teams.
- The Renovate project, with only 3 core maintainers, saw a 60% increase in PR contributions in 2026 compared to prior years, plus larger PR sizes.
- Maintainers grapple with balancing AI tool usage for efficiency while preserving human empathy and personal communication with users.
- AI-assisted contributions can feel impersonal and disappointing to users, prompting ethical questions about outsourcing human interaction.
- The author calls for maintainer community input on sustainable practices, including AI usage limits, automated review tools, and whether to 'fight AI with AI'.
The Silicon Valley Founder Meat Grinder
2 months ago
- Jim, a bootcamp graduate and bartender, aspired to become a tech entrepreneur and leveraged charisma and networking to land a startup job that led to a six-figure salary after acquisition.
- His success triggered financial recklessness and loss of focus, resulting in being fired and later moving to Silicon Valley to chase bigger dreams.
- Jim gained fame in the startup scene, joining Y Combinator, posting bold updates, and founding multiple failed startups.
- His behavior degraded into daily AI-generated posts, drug-fueled parties, and a nervous breakdown, leading to financial ruin and disappearance.
- The author contrasts Jim's volatile, rapid rise and fall with a steady, linear path, concluding that slow and steady wins in most cases.
That Time I Told My Wife I Wanted to Quit My Job
2 months ago
- The author launched a software licensing side project in 2016 after feeling frustrated with existing licensing systems.
- He struggled with burnout from juggling a day job and side project, often feeling overwhelmed and stressed.
- After years of hesitation, he finally told his wife he wanted to quit his job to focus on the business, and she supported him.
- He resigned and has been running the business full-time for almost two years, achieving self-sustainability despite ongoing challenges.
- The business is growing, with happy customers and recent enterprise deals, though savings are lower and marketing strategies are still evolving.
I'm taking a break
2 months ago
- The author is experiencing burnout from writing weekly software essays.
- Writing time has increased from an afternoon to two or three days per post.
- The author is taking a break from Computer Things for the rest of the year.
- There may be occasional announcements or short newsletters, but no weekly cadence until 2026.
- The author thanks readers for their support.
AI helped me through burnout (but not how you think)
2 months ago
- The author experienced severe burnout after paternity leave, characterized by loss of executive function, overstimulation, and emotional meltdowns.
- He discovered he was autistic and had ADHD (AuDHD), which led to a 'burnout-crash-recovery loop' that was misunderstood as typical burnout.
- His productivity struggled due to 'freeze states' where he could not start tasks, relying on urgency or AI tools like Claude Code to kickstart work.
- AI, especially Claude, helped by generating imperfect code that triggered his perfectionism and hyperfocus, enabling him to begin tasks.
- Recovery required intentional steps like downsizing responsibilities, setting 'house rules' to separate work from home, and prioritizing personal interests.
- The author emphasizes that recovery from burnout must be a separate, intentional phase, not just a transition out of a crash.
Escapism
2 months ago
- The author describes being stuck in a 'freeze-state' despite business growth and family stability.
- They feel an urgent need to work but cannot start, leading to addictive dopamine-seeking behaviors like checking apps.
- They used to achieve hyper-focus easily but now struggle with productivity, which has damaged their identity as a founder.
- They attribute their condition to autistic burnout, which has erased their mental engine and left them dysfunctional.
- They escape into screens and planning for tomorrow, but cannot execute tasks even with family or work.
- They feel trapped in a cycle of burnout and recovery, like recharging a battery that dies quickly each day.
Self-sabotage
2 months ago
- The author experiences recurring burnout and often feels torn about sharing personal struggles on the company blog, questioning if it is a form of self-sabotage.
- Posting about hard topics has little direct business upside, as it does not close deals or generate leads, but the author continues despite the risks.
- The author avoids high-touch emails, sales calls, and repetitive questionnaires to preserve energy and sanity, which may limit business growth.
- The pattern of avoiding draining activities is a form of self-preservation, optimizing for personal well-being over speed and growth.
- Despite professional costs, the personal reward comes from connecting with others who share similar experiences, reducing feelings of isolation.
Burnout
2 months ago
- The author has struggled with recurring burnout for years, often triggered by hyperfocus and lack of recovery time.
- Burnout episodes can involve complete shutdown, loss of executive function, and non-verbal states lasting days to months.
- After watching 'Love on the Spectrum,' the author realized they are likely autistic (AuDHD), which reframed many lifelong struggles.
- Autistic burnout is distinct from work-related burnout, often caused by chronic overwhelm from daily life demands rather than work alone.
- The author is now unmasking more, setting boundaries, and prioritizing self-regulation to escape a 6-7 month burnout episode.
- Key takeaway: There is nothing inherently wrong; understanding one's neurotype can be freeing and help navigate burnout.
Unicorn dreams
2 months ago
- Zeke Gabrielse has been working on Keygen for nearly nine years, experiencing slow, linear growth rather than rapid startup success.
- He feels stuck in a cycle of 'unicorn dreams' — wanting faster growth and a bigger payoff — but recognizes Keygen is a 'space elevator,' not a 'rocket ship.'
- After paternity leave, he realized the business runs on autopilot, leaving him bored and guilty, questioning his purpose and self-worth tied to the business.
- He dislikes sales and ads, preferring to write code and help engineers, which has led to organic growth of ~50% year over year.
- He considers selling but finds the multiples too low; instead, he contemplates raising capital to grow the team and accelerate growth, embracing a new challenge.
the rust project has a burnout problem
2 months ago
- The Rust project faces a severe burnout problem, with many maintainers leaving or nearing burnout.
- Burnout follows a cycle: new contributors struggle to find mentors, take on heavy workloads, and feel personally responsible for project progress.
- Key burnout drivers include the belief that work won't get done without personal effort and the need to review everything to prevent mistakes.
- Contributors are advised to prioritize self-care, avoid unpaid overtime, and treat paid Rust work as a regular job.
- Team leads should rotate responsibilities, document burnout solutions, and ask why people leave to address cultural and organizational issues.
- The project should treat burnout as a priority, focusing on team growth and a healthy environment over technical issues.
<antirez>
2 months ago
- Maintaining a popular open source project is psychologically taxing due to the overwhelming volume of messages, issues, and pull requests—a phenomenon called the 'flood effect'.
- Attempts to manage the flood with 'inbox zero' tactics often fail because they don't allow for the thoughtful processing that community feedback deserves.
- The maintainer's role shifts from designing and coding to mostly reviewing contributions, which reduces time for creative work and leads to fewer organic new features.
- Working continuously on the same project for years is mentally draining; the author used to work in bursts and found that forced daily schedules reduce productivity.
- There is constant fear of losing technological leadership due to misalignment between the maintainer's vision and user expectations.
- Dealing with difficult people (assholes) in the community adds significant stress.
- A sense of futility can arise from the belief that software is ephemeral and will be replaced, contrasting with the desire to work on 'big ideas'.
The New AI Superpowers: Focus and Followthrough
2 months ago
- Burnout is rising despite AI making tasks 2-100x faster, because overwork isn't the only cause.
- AI tempts people to start many side projects, leading to overcommitment and make-work.
- A personal example: the author had 40 proof-of-concept projects, causing burnout.
- The key solution is to do less but better—focus on going deeper on fewer important tasks.
- The difference between 99% and 100% effort is huge, like a partial vs total eclipse; the last 1% delivers a 100x better experience.
- With AI efficiency, paying the price for that last 1% is feasible if you stay focused and follow through.
- The goal is to offload labor to AI to be more human, not to pile on more work.
What the Middle Ages can teach us about preventing burnout
2 months ago
- John Cassian noted burnout symptoms like weariness, hopelessness, and brain fog in the 5th century, showing these feelings are not unique to modern times.
- Historian Peter Jones's book explores how medieval 'therapist priests' guided people through spiritual anguish, similar to modern therapy for burnout.
- Medieval writers described acedia (sloth) as an emotional void, akin to modern burnout, with symptoms like inertia and lack of motivation.
- Medieval solutions for acedia included accepting emotions without fighting them, finding a higher purpose, and practicing self-forgiveness.
- Modern therapies like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy echo medieval advice, emphasizing acknowledging emotions and living by personal values.
- Recognizing that burnout has been experienced throughout history can provide comfort and a sense of shared human experience.

burnout

How much AI can a maintainer get away with using without losing their humanity?

The Silicon Valley Founder Meat Grinder

That Time I Told My Wife I Wanted to Quit My Job

I'm taking a break

AI helped me through burnout (but not how you think)

Escapism

Self-sabotage

Burnout

Unicorn dreams

the rust project has a burnout problem

<antirez>

The New AI Superpowers: Focus and Followthrough

What the Middle Ages can teach us about preventing burnout