I’ve recently noticed that reading code has become harder for me. I need to stare at a line an sound out, in my mind, what is happening there. Then on the next line, I need to verbalize that too, and switching back and forth between the two lines to get a feel for where this is going. It’s like squeezing water from a rock.
Moreover, I’ve noticed that the feeling that usually came with reading code is absent. It was something like a tactile feeling, almost as if I were handling a mechanism and feeling its different parts, maybe scraping my nail over an edge, or brushing my thumb over a screw. Now reading code feels like reading IRS form instructions: the words go in, but they don’t even touch my mind.
It occurred to me that this might be burnout and I appreciate you writing this piece. I need to read through some of the links, but now I have some threads to pull on.
I’ve recently noticed that reading code has become harder for me. I need to stare at a line an sound out, in my mind, what is happening there. Then on the next line, I need to verbalize that too, and switching back and forth between the two lines to get a feel for where this is going. It’s like squeezing water from a rock.
Moreover, I’ve noticed that the feeling that usually came with reading code is absent. It was something like a tactile feeling, almost as if I were handling a mechanism and feeling its different parts, maybe scraping my nail over an edge, or brushing my thumb over a screw. Now reading code feels like reading IRS form instructions: the words go in, but they don’t even touch my mind.
It occurred to me that this might be burnout and I appreciate you writing this piece. I need to read through some of the links, but now I have some threads to pull on.