All Work, No Play and One Last Compile

During our software engineering career, we should take time out to sit back, reflect and think about “what next”.

So, it might be 3 am. You might be three espressos deep in your latest “unsolvable” bug. You might be working during a normal common or garden Tuesday afternoon. Whatever is happening in your life we’re going to look through the absurdity of being a software developer and what that means for your life.

Life Through a Screen

Software developers are a special breed. That means the highlights of our lives might not be those moments spent with loved ones, adventures or creative achievements.

When you spend your life staring at a screen chasing the latest elusive bug you might see things differently. You can take delight in your refactor that simplifies things.

Long hours at the desk can mean that you are in the right place for those bursts of inspiration.

It’s not tragic if it’s the reality of loving what you do. You don’t need to care what others say if you have a beautiful life in your own eyes, you will remain passionate and productive.

Meaning in the Mundane

Life is more than a JIRA ticket, clearly (as I need to wash my clothes and can do so without a ticket).

The mundane existence of being reduced to simple changes in a JIRA ticket can be a track. Complete a ticket in record time? You might get a little rush. Squash that bug? Ditto.

Since developers often pour our entire selves into our working lives we might wake up to the grim reality. We aren’t being counted on to solve the next great problems, we are living issue to issue and looking for those small quiet victories and watching our lives flash by ticket by ticket.

That’s *fine*, there are worse fates for our working lives. Yet couldn’t it be a little bit better?

Looking Back in Your Final Moments

When you’re so deep into the grind you might forget that there is more to life than work.

In your final moments, you might take a stroll down memory lane and find it populated by projects, commit logs and that PIP you were once put on. It might be beautiful to you, but at what cost?

Here’s the deal. As much as we cherish work moments, we need to remember we might (will, with AI) get laid off without so much as a “thanks for that PR”. None of your work colleagues are coming to your deathbed (apart from Jenny from accounts). You need to balance your working loop with some real-life highlights.

So, make sure your balance works for you. It might not be the rock and roll lifestyle some might seek, but it’s ours. Just make sure you have something other than VSC to look back upon when your time is up!

Conclusion

Code is beautiful, but there is a reason why we don’t paint watercolors in binary. 

Work hard but play hard, as none of us know how long we have left.

No, a LeetCode isn’t a vacation well spent.