wildchocolate

Upon abandoning the world of business for the more casual, open community-based field of software development, I was initially awed and inspired by the general passion for coding that was seemingly everywhere you turned. People in general, especially in specific development communities like Ruby and Cocoa, seem to love what they do with a fervor that I had not seen before. Work was not work, it was playtime! I soon came to learn that many people continue to code after work for fun. To get myself caught up, I started using Twitter and blogging, and checking all the regular tech news sources for the latest and greatest flood of new knowledge that I could drink up.

Lately, however, I have started to recognize a problem. No, rather an addiction. This addiction seems to have overcome nearly everyone, including myself at times, in a way that seems to me fairly alarming. Rather than try and label this addiction, I would like to describe it’s symptoms:

• Constant checking of mailing lists, news feeds, favorite tech pages, twitter accounts
• Working on coding projects during the evening and on weekends on a regular basis
• Attending code related meet-ups regularly, after hours, on weekends
• Talking about technology or tweeting about technology 24/7
• Picking up new side projects whenever you run out of side projects

Anyone see a problem with these things? No? See, I think that is my #1 concern. How do most people not see this as alarming? Yes you love what you do, so do I! I’m not at all saying that you shouldn’t have passion for your industry. But there’s a difference between loving your field, and your field taking over your life. See the distinction? Taken in moderation, any of the above “symptoms” alone is not a cause for concern. But what I see in the software industry so far, more than I’ve seen in other fields, is the never-endingness of it all. People literally never leave work. They just switch the label from work to play and continue to stimulate their mind with the same narrow focus 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Come on. Just because you are coding for fun, it’s still work-related. You’re still working! On Saturday night! Ever heard of burnout?

I think maybe what I have decided, is that rather than try to judge others who obviously are enjoying their life this way, I will simply vow to never allow myself to get so addicted. And to encourage others to find more hobbies. For me, I like to cook, play piano, shop, walk aimlessly around the city, take pictures of landscapes, improve my running abilities, pick up new sports like swimming, tennis and golf, read (non-tech materials), travel, etc… I don’t work long hours, and the weekend is for non-tech related enjoyment.

I know some people will read this, and it will go completely over their heads — they just won’t get what I’m saying at all. And that’s just fine. The most important thing is to be happy. For me, I will have my passion for software and technology, and then I will have, well, everything else. If that makes me a lesser coder in the eyes of the community because I don’t spend Saturdays working on my Ruby on Rails skills, or I don’t attend enough conferences, then there’s a serious problem with our industry.