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035 How Do You Deal With Hard Days At Work? · DevQuestions with Tim Corey

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Dev Questions Podcast with Tim Corey.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: Join us each episode as we tackle the questions you are asking about a career in software development, understanding the industry, and new technology.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: If you're just starting out or you want to grow stronger as a developer, this is the place to get your questions answered.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: Now, here's your host, expert developer and online educator, Tim Corey.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_01: How do you deal with a hard day at work?
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: This is a question Glenn asked me recently, and I thought it was a great question to answer.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: So let's start with defining what a hard day at work is, because there's a couple different forms you can go with.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_01: First of all, there can be the form of interpersonal hard day at work, where you're having a conflict with a coworker or your boss or people that work underneath you.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: Or there's the other side, which is the technology side of things, where maybe you've spent all day long debugging a problem you just can't figure out.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: That can be really a hard day at work as well.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: Either way, um one of the biggest things that helps is to give it space and time.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_01: Whether it's you know you're struggling with the coworker or you're fighting with a bug, if you can walk away, not in a don't walk the middle of a sentence.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so if a person's yelling at you, don't just turn and walk away, it's probably not the best solution.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe it is, but most likely it's not.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but if you can take a step back and take a little bit of time where you're not focusing on it, okay?
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: Give it a little space and time.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know how many times I've had a bug that has just frustrated me where I can't figure it out.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_01: And when I go home at night, um, you know, I I try and not focus on it.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_01: I come back the next day, I've forgotten about it.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: I walk in and went, it's it's right there.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: That's the bug.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: And it takes me five minutes to fix.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_01: But I banged my head against it for a whole day, I couldn't figure it out.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: But it's just that that clarity of having your brain refresh and having a new perspective.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_01: In the same way you talk about people, you know, where you're really frustrated at a person, don't respond right away.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: You know, give it a day.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: See if you can walk away from a scenario and just not focus on it.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: And then you come back, maybe that problem isn't quite as big as you thought it was.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's not as big a deal.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: So that's that's part of it is space and time.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: Now, there's something to be said though for what you do in that space and time.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_01: One of the things is do something totally different.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: I work at home.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_01: My office is in my home.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: So when it comes to work, it's always right there.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_01: In fact, if I want to relax and do something, I might watch something on Netflix or you know, something like that where it's on my computer.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_01: Now I can go to the couch and I do sometimes, and that's a different spot in the house, and I'll watch football, and that's it leads to change in of pace and scenery, but that's really not the same thing as something totally different.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: So, what I like to do, and it's been hard recently, I we moved.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: And so when I moved, I lost my workshop, and that's something we're actually investing in building is a new workshop because working in a wood workshop is totally different than working on a computer.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: Because on a computer, I'm creating things digitally.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: In a workshop, I'm creating things physically, and so it's just a total mental shift for me.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_01: And by doing that, my brain has to reset itself and reset the gears.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: And I start concentrating on this new thing, and it kind of lets the other problem go away for a little bit.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_01: And that that shift allows me to refresh that part of my brain.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: I come back and it, it's different.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: It the problem seems different when I come back to it.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: Now, there's other ways of doing this.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, maybe you don't have some kind of hobby or other thing that's totally different, um, but maybe you can take a nap.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: A nap can help sometimes.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: I personally love to take a shower.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: I love hot water.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just a hot water fiend.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I live for hot water, it seems like.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: So I'll go and I will take a 20-minute shower in the hot water where I'll just, you know, yeah, I'll wash my body, but I'm really just focused on nothing.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_01: Now let my mind wander and maybe turn some music on or even an audiobook, but I just kind of reset my brain.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: And sometimes out of that shower session will come some great ideas, some refreshed viewpoints.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: I wasn't even concentrating on that or thinking about it.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: But all of a sudden, things will start popping in my head again.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: Another thing is exercise.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: This is a great one for developers.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: It's one that is important to do anyway.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_01: But when you exercise, usually your brain focuses on other things, even if it is ow, ow, ow, please make it stop, ow.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: But that exercise helps your body and it also helps your mind.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_01: So that's another way of resetting your brain.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: Now, I do want to point out we're talking about giving your problem, whether it be a person or a technology issue, space and time.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_01: But do what fills you up, don't do what escape as an escape.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_01: And what I mean by that is some things are purely an escape.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: These aren't healthy.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_01: They take a form of, I'm gonna go ahead and drink until I can't remember anymore.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: Or I'm gonna do other things, maybe even just watch Netflix, but I'm gonna zone out and watch four hours of Netflix.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_01: Or I'm gonna play video games until my eyes bleed.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: These are not healthy activities that are helping reset your brain.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: You can watch Netflix and reset your brain.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: You can play games, reset your brain, you can have a drink and reset your brain, but don't do it to excess where you're just trying to drown out the problems.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: Do what fills you up, what encourages you, what you enjoy doing that makes you feel better.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_01: For me, sleeping makes me feel better.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: Not a nap.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_01: I I don't do naps, I can't get naps right.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: I always feel miserable afterwards.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_01: But overnight, absolutely.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: So if I'm feeling miserable, I can't figure something out, and it's 10 o'clock at night, I might go to bed.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_01: My wife will be shocked, but I'll have a long night's sleep.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: I also get the same time.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm getting two, three extra hours of sleep.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_01: That's a big deal.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_01: Or a shower.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: I enjoy a shower.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: And so those things help refresh me.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: I feel better because of it.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_01: Exercise, I don't feel as much love for exercise, but at the same time, it does make me feel good that I've done it.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_01: It makes me feel like I've accomplished something positive for myself and for my well-being.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_01: So that is beneficial.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: That fills me up.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_01: But if I just zone out on something, that's not helping my brain.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_01: It's really making it a little more messed up.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: So I would encourage you to do what fills you up.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: Don't just escape your problems.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_01: A good night's sleep is always a good recipe.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: Those fresh eyes you come at a problem with after you have done something different, you've given it time and space, those can be really helpful to seeing the problem in a new light, to readdressing it and coming at it anew.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_01: You're always going to have hard times.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, as a software developer, a lot of your time is spent debugging.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: It is what it is.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_01: And I too often see young developers trying to get out of debugging.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_01: They ask me for the solution.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: They're trying to shortcut their pain.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: And I get it, it's hard.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_01: And sometimes you have to push through, and that can cause a bad day.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_01: But doing so builds that character, builds that muscle that you need in your life.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_01: The same as working with difficult situations with people.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_01: Just trying to escape from that situation, it's not the right solution, usually.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: Usually you're better off being able to work through that, being able to stand up for yourself, but also learn and grow as well.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_01: And that's important to learn how to do that and learn to get better at that.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_01: But sometimes time and space first will help you do it better.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_01: So I encourage you, that's what I do after a hard day at work, whether it is technology or people, get yourself some time and space, get that reset, and go at it fresh the next day.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for the question, Glenn.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate it.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: I thought it was a great one.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_01: If you have questions you'd like to get answered, either use the podcast page at imtimcorey.com or leave a comment in the YouTube video.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_01: Either way, I appreciate it.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for watching this episode.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: And as always, I am Tim Corey.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for joining us for this episode of Dev Questions.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: Tim is committed to making it easier for you to become a developer.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: If you would like to help make more content like this possible, please like, subscribe, rate, and share dev questions.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: You can also send your questions to questions at iamtimcorey.com.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, remember, you are too smart and your time too valuable to waste it making all the mistakes Tim did.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: When you're ready to learn to think and code like a professional developer, head over to imtimcore.com and enroll in a course.