Programming is a job. It's not a life.

Source: Dev.to

Balancing Programming and Life

I’m determined to be open and honest about my mental state throughout this very, um, interesting time in our industry. Right now, I feel perpetually behind because I’m not letting myself focus solely on AI every waking moment.

I imagine many of us are feeling immense pressure. It seems like every moment on social media is spent either lamenting how AI will take our jobs or proselytizing that we need to be learning the latest about AI. But the latest thing seems to change daily.

I’ve never seen an industry reach a singularity so quickly. With all the different things I need to learn and all the things I feel I do not know, it is easy to feel like I need to spend every waking moment expanding my programming skills.

My husband is also an engineer and a true builder at heart. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve come into our living room at 11 pm and he’s on his computer, working on one personal project or another. “Don’t you get tired of just programming all of the time?” I ask, and he responds, “No, it’s fun.”

I am not like that. Don’t get me wrong—I do enjoy programming and the satisfaction of building something or solving that one particular problem at last. But I do not live and breathe it. I have other hobbies for filling my emotional cup, like sewing. Now more than ever I worry about those boundaries slipping, as I continue to feel like I’m not working fast enough, not understanding AI enough, not building on my own enough.

I think I’m lucky that I’m a bit older and not coming fresh into this industry. I am better about maintaining a work/life balance and keeping relatively firm on my boundaries. But I can’t imagine being young and fresh and seeing the absolutely insane amount of information and context we are expected to ingest daily in our industry.

So, I write this to implore you—and remind myself—not to spend all of your free time trying to learn every single thing coming out right now. Our industry is churning at lightning speed, and it’s okay to feel like you’re just holding on. I know I am. I’m combating imposter syndrome against the 1 % of AI power users, even though logically that’s not the majority. Honestly, if you’re using AI at all, then you’re probably ahead of the game.

Sure, you can spend some time outside of work to experiment with AI on your personal projects if that makes you happy or fills your cup. But if you’re like me, and you need to plant some flowers, sew something, or hang out with your kids to stay sane, then do it. Programming is a job. It’s not a life.