Tech anxiety

[pucho812]

Moneys on the line, folks are screaming now now now, you’re doing your best but the deck is stacked against you.
We all have been under the gun. A good tech is compelled to always evaluate what happened so he can apply what he learned. All true but how and when do you shut it off? The hard part…

 

[fazer]

Your thinking of quitting tech work? Expand what you mean please!

 

[pucho812]

Your thinking of quitting tech work? Expand what you mean please!

Oh god no. I would never, you will have to pry the soldering iron from my cold dead fingers.
Was more thinking in general to spark discussion of ways to not ocd or constantly think of pending whatever in the off time. Like what do you do to not think of work when you are away from work.
It’s a mental health question. Many a google link can be found on the subject.

 

[fazer]

Your life is your work. When you’re by yourself the voices start haunting you. I’ve been reading. Dostoevsky (slowly) to occupy my thoughts and making an effort to see and interact with people more so than things. I have family around and friends but it’s important to make an effort to see and interact with them. Teaching can be a way to be around people and share your knowledge with others. This site allows one to be a student and a teacher. Long live tech and Groupdiy.

 

[AnalogPackrat]

Meditate, do Tai Chi or Yoga, read a book for 30 minutes before bed. It sucks when you can't turn off your brain after a long stressful day. 2-5mg of melatonin may help you get to sleep. It works for me, but doesn't help if I wake up after a few hours and start thinking again. Lack of sleep will screw you up after a short time. Take care!

 

[JohnRoberts]

I used to go to the local gym and play pick-up basketball to unwind after work. I joked that this exercise saved a few people's lives (Half joked). Work stress can trigger fight or flight response. It is not healthy to allow these hormones(?) and stress reaction components to accumulate.

Strenuous exercise can help clear your body, and your head.

JR

 

[pucho812]

I used to go to the local gym and play pick-up basketball to unwind after work. I joked that this exercise saved a few people's lives (Half joked). Work stress can trigger fight or flight response. It is not healthy to allow these hormones(?) and stress reaction components to accumulate.

Strenuous exercise can help clear your body, and your head.

JR

Yes, excercise daily. It’s good for the soul.

 

[ruffrecords]

I keep a Day Book. In it I write down a summary of what I did each day and highlight any important lessons learned. Once a month I scan thought it. I am always surprised by how much I managed to accomplish. Good therapy, both the writing and the reading.

Cheers

Ian

 

[pucho812]

I keep a Day Book. In it I write down a summary of what I did each day and highlight any important lessons learned. Once a month I scan thought it. I am always surprised by how much I managed to accomplish. Good therapy, both the writing and the reading.

Cheers

Ian

I do as well. An individual who is worth a salt is compelled to evaluate what happened so he can apply what he learned.

 

[totoxraymond]

I walk my dog for an hour on the evening. To me it's the best way tu unwind a day and plan the next day. I find most solutions to my problems during these walks.

Cheers,

Thomas

 

[JohnRoberts]

+1 back before my knee went bad, I used to run 5 miles 3x a week...

I could ponder software problems I was working on and speculate about solutions.

JR

 

[sodderboy]

Quote: "All true but how and when do you shut it off?"

"If you love your profession then you never work a day in your life." Yes, but that sword has two sides wether you are a prison guard or a studiotech.
You cannot be a "screw" with your family when you get home from the prison, just like you cannot fix the world away from the tech bench or a mouse guano-infested studio.

"It" needs to be regulated from two sides. On the supply side, I turn off the houn' dog tech with fresh air, exercise, physical book reading, quiet space, and being with those I love. Sometimes if a gig gets too manic, then some manic play is in order. If a solution to a work problem rattles from afar into my stream of thought while fishing, cool! Observe and record. I get cool fishing ideas at work, too. In that respect, "it" only gets shut off during sleep, and even in your dreamscape, "wherever you go, there you are".

On the demand side, delegation and deferment are short-term solutions. In the long-term, "charge more, work less" is a great way to reduce the now now now! stuff.

It's all about balance and moderation. That said, I did not finish Covey's "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People". I was reading it at night and it was hyping me, and it was not an engaging, interesting day read.

Mike

 

[JohnRoberts]

It's all about balance and moderation. That said, I did not finish Covey's "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People". I was reading it at night and it was hyping me, and it was not an engaging, interesting day read.

Mike

Covey's "seven habits" is one of the numerous decent(?) self help books I've read and mostly forgotten over the years...

read them but don't take them so seriously that they upset you.

JR

 

[pucho812]

It’s amazing what the mind doesn’t want to shut off. While I am enjoying work, it does get overwhelming at times. To make matters compound, any issues?, ask the younger guy who is faking it. That’s fine except most of the time he shrugs and goes “I don’t know”.

 

[JohnRoberts]

It is not trivial to compartmentalize work place stress... good luck.

IDK is a pretty good answer unless it is a sham to avoid work. I recall years ago I had a technician working for me who approached every task as if starting from scratch asking for very specific rudimentary instructions. I refused to answer the same questions twice, so gave him a notebook and told him to write down the answers I gave him.

Perhaps he was taught to do that by a former boss. He was an oil rig technician in a former job and apparently not encouraged to think for himself.

JR

 

[pucho812]

It is not trivial to compartmentalize work place stress... good luck.

IDK is a pretty good answer unless it is a sham to avoid work. I recall years ago I had a technician working for me who approached every task as if starting from scratch asking for very specific rudimentary instructions. I refused to answer the same questions twice, so gave him a notebook and told him to write down the answers I gave him.

Perhaps he was taught to do that by a former boss. He was an oil rig technician in a former job and apparently not encouraged to think for himself.

JR

All good points except he really doesn’t know. When I find the answers he asks me how I did it and I end up showing him

 

[JohnRoberts]

All good points except he really doesn’t know. When I find the answers he asks me how I did it and I end up showing him

That doesn't sound so bad....

JR

 

[pucho812]

That doesn't sound so bad....

JR

No it doesn’t. Except if I am supposed to learn from him, he should know basic answers to basic questions.

 

[JohnRoberts]

It sounds like there is more to this story than apparent. Is he there to help you get more work accomplished, or are you there to help him?

I can imagine it being stressful if your boss does not understand what is going on. Be careful about stressing out your boss.

I used to give my employees a speech about how my job was to prevent my boss from getting stressed out, their job was to keep me from getting stressed out. Some junior employees think the work place revolves around them... now is probably even worse than back in the good old days.

JR

PS; Hey you kids get off my yard

 

[pucho812]

It sounds like there is more to this story than apparent. Is he there to help you get more work accomplished, or are you there to help him?

I can imagine it being stressful if your boss does not understand what is going on. Be careful about stressing out your boss.

I used to give my employees a speech about how my job was to prevent my boss from getting stressed out, their job was to keep me from getting stressed out. Some junior employees think the work place revolves around them... now is probably even worse than back in the good old days.

JR

PS; Hey you kids get off my yard

he and I are both there as multiples of the same position. While correct our job is to prevent the boss from having stress, we should be able to assist each other as we come from different skill sets and backgrounds. He started same time as I did.