Cures For A Fried Brain
 

Lately I just feel so fried I can't think anymore, which is a bit of a drawback for a programmer. Ideally I would like a holiday to unwind so I can get back into it but that's not really an option.

So I was just wondering what others do to unwind? I think I need a mental defrag.

Find one of those programs that allows you to light your desktop on fire...that always makes me feel good :).

Last time that happened to me, I was working 20 hour days keeping three art departments running over two shift and being "loaned" to other people at the company when they had something to barter. The production schedule we were on didn't allow for any breaks outside of weekends. I did server maintenance and cleaned up the video RAIDs on weekends.

My boss thought he was doing me a favor and hired two green tech's to help me, but I blew so much time training them and keeping them track of them (they liked sneaking away for 4-hour naps in the back of the machine rooms) that it nearly cost me my sanity. Nearly.

Exhaustion and frustration mounted. There came a point where I realized that I had literally lost a month -- I sleep-walked through the whole month with hardly any recollection of what I did from day-to-day.

I told my boss (not asked) that I needed a 4-day weekend. He was as close to the cartoon pointy haired boss as humanly possible, but when I presented it to him like that, he surprised me and just gave it to me... he did ask me to keep my department-phone and pager handy.

I turned OFF my phones and pager, left the laptop behind and took an all-day drive up the coast heading nowhere in particular. I hopped a ferry just for the heck of it and ended up at a pleasant B&B in the middle of nowhere. I stayed there the next day, wandering around a little village and just zoning. Then I just drove back.

It bought me six more months at that job.

I have some frustrating experiences. I'm in a Systems/Networking class at my high school (Finishing out Senior year), and I am building an EXTREMELY delicate network for my finals. It doesn't exactly help, when, you know, about the entire class of 6th period tries to muck everything up. The usual, they push switches, unplug things, general madness.

Though it probably isn't allowed in the corporate world, I always have an iPod or some kind of music player on my at all times. I just listen to a bit of music, and I come back down to earth and handle things the *right* way. (Wrong way being knocking their teeth out...)

I will sometimes try to do sudoku or other type of puzzle. I won't do it as fast as I can or even necessarily finish it in the time I have, but I'll go at a leisurely pace. Thinking about something like that is kind of fun and it gets my mind back in gear.

Another trick that works for me is taking a short break to read some news or a few pages of a novel. But then again, I'm somewhat of a bookworm.

Ride one of my motorcycles. Wheelies always make me smile.

Go out to the garage and build something from metal or wood. Welding in particular removes everything else from the mind.

Ride on the boat or even just work on it.

Another good way to defrag is to find some online comics and just read for a while...or maybe just bring some comics in from home and read those for a while (you know, so you don't have to look at a computer screen.) I usually read Japanese Comics, more of a story, but still pretty mindless.

I've also found doing something creative relieves tension. You know, like CAlvarez and welding. I just play the guitar for a while, write a couple songs or something (not necessarily good songs, just songs.) Maybe you could learn to bake ;-)?

I read a study the other day that showed that people who learnt or started a new activity during their break, felt the benefits of the break for a LOT longer than those who just chilled out. Not that I think just doing nothing isn't a really good and necessary thing sometimes, but if you can go do something completely unrelated and enjoyable and new that makes you feel "in your body" instead of your head then I think you'll feel quite refreshed.

My suggestion (is possible), go get some surfing lessons! Or try indoor rock-climbing.

Yeah, just doing nothing doesn't seem to help me any. I want something stimulating but different to think about, typically something creative and/or hands-on rather than just mental activity.

Hobbies? Interests?

I go for a drive to calm down.. 30 miles normally does it.

Thats my day job!

If I am really fried.... I find going to the pub, smoking strong cigarettes, drinking premium larger followed by good whiskey followed by alot of sleep and a fried breakfast the next day is quite good. :D .... (like that scene out of Lock, Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels) infact.... I plan on doing that tonight. :eek:

Sleep. Morning Coffee. Regular meals. Daily prayer.

And ... not for those still in high school, but great for some of us: a bourbon night cap!

This question made me stop and think. Usually I just read or listen to Psalms in the Bible, but when I really stopped and thought, CAlvarez's post really made me agree. The problem with computers is that it is all digital and requires digital thinking. You need to get out and do something analog for a while. Here are a few suggestions...

1. Plant a garden and work on it. Veg, flower, trees... take your choice.
2. Build something out wood. Something fun.
3. Get a non-computer hobby that you don't mind spending time on.
4. Go for a long walk in a secluded wilderness (if available)
5. Get together with other musicians and just play. (acoustic is best)
6. Read an intriguing novel. (I like reading James Harriet)

Me? I like to go to Disneyland and just wander Main Street or New Orleans Square on a weekday when crowds are low. There is always something to surprise me there.

golfing is medicine for my tired soul. macho-knee-jerk reactions aside, golf is a lot of fun. If you're a good golfer it's realxing. If you're a duffer, you can take out all your stress on the ball.

Most courses have cute girls to drive around and sell beer (or swing oil as it's known on the course). Even a bad round of golf is a 4.5 hour walk in the park...no computer in sight...unless you have a cart with GPS.

Hey fat elvis, is your sig a Randy quote from Christmas Story? Love that movie.

LOL, yup...that's one of my favorite movies. Even though I grew up where it never snowed, I was one of those kids deprived of a bb gun.

...and my father is asian and has a heavy accent, so we'd always sing Fa-Ra-Ra-Ra for him :D

.
Gregorian chants
Energizing: Köln Concert by Keith Jarrett. Santana or Hendrix. Planet drum.
A sudoku puzzle -- does wonders for clearing my mind

Garden work -- a tiny effort and nature does the rest!
Or just wandering the garden
A brisk mountain walk with a friend. Alone.
Or the opposite, slowing my pace and breathing, aware of every movement

Waking up to a day of no plans -- and just following my desire!

If facing difficult copywriting (the terror of the blank page), I find that doing a bit of straightforward translation "primes the pump".
Getting to know a stranger while travelling.

Where we lived in California: Walked down to the river at night, seeing animals coming to drink. On moonless nights using my senses in a different way

Gratitude for life
Meditation

All good suggestions. Music is definitely a favourite release for me (hey Arctic I love that Köln Concert concert, it's awesome) but even that's been stressing me out and I'll have to have a bit of silence. I think I really need some good down time. Take my wife and kids down the coast to see some rainforest (hopefully it hasn't been burnt out in the recent bushfires here in Victoria).

My boss always has a reason for me not to go but it's either that or I'm going to snap. Maybe if I tell him the sort of violence I imagine inflicting on him during one of our long pointless meetings...

Family time -- and Gregorian chants
 

Nothin’ beats quality time with your family, sharing beautiful scenery or new experiences.

Glad you too like Köln. I think I have just about everything Jarrett has released. You may want to check out Gregorian chants (only the real thing) as well, even if you’re not religious. During some of the most stressing periods of my life, I’ve found that this music just cleanses me!

Did he play with John Coltrane for a while there? I heard a recording once that was pretty cool and I think he played on it. Not that I'd call Coltrane relaxing. I had one of his albums called Interstellar Space and it was crazy. His earlier stuff's cool though with Red Garland and Miles Davis. I think the Jarret stuff was a bit later but still cool.

well you can do what I did. I was a lead tech for a company that did retail sales and service. I was in the service department and expected to support the sales staff. I did warranty repair, consulting for clients, installs, upgrades, etc. Got crap like 5 sick days per a year, if I was 1 minute late I was late, and had to work all the holidays.

I was like screw this and went to work for a school district. I now work a steady 8am to 415ishpm M-F, all holidays off, 3 weeks off during winter break, get off during spring break, and during the summer time we only work 7 hour days and half day fridays. On top of that I get 15 sick days 2 personal days, and 2 weeks vacation every year, which is all accumulate over time. Sick days have no cap, soI could feasibly earn 1000 sick days if I was there long enough. We also get paid salary with overtime too.

Sure I make a little less money but I also contract on the side. So I do a little of side work, on my own time for extra money and it all evens out (actually I am making more money now, because goverment jobs have salary schedules, meaning you get guaranteed raises every year). Working for yourself on the side is great because if I don't want to do something I just jack up my contract rate, which starts at a minimum of $50/hour and scales up based on the work they want done.

I am not 100% stress free but I am way better off than before and when I need extra money or want to refill my savings I just pickup the contracting job. Word of mouth spreads fast if you do good work, like 70% of my clients on the side came from current clients.

Breaks, for sure, especially focusing differently with the eyes. So reading of any kind, even if entertaining, doesn't do it for me. Getting up and walking around, doing something with one of my wine projects (I'm a homebrewer and always have bottles in various stages of the process), gardening -- something with my body!

Too much time on the computer leads to what I call "left brain freeze." Then come the headaches. If I don't take a break every hour or so, it will get to me by the end of the day. That's especially hard when I'm in the middle of something.

Yee-ha. Finally lined up that holiday. Got a feeling my boss will be chasing me to the airport. I've also got a feeling my mobile phone is going to mysteriously switch off for the duration.

So I finally got that break... sort of.

I had lined up three weeks off. One week in Queensland and two weeks bumming around the house catching up on some gardening and spring cleaning.

When it came down to actually getting the time off my boss decides there's too many 'urgent' jobs. His first idea is to postpone the holiday entirely. When I rejected this idea he say's what if my wife and kids go to Queensland without me (on our first family holiday)? Now this suggestion just stunned me and I was in a bit of a daze for the rest of the conversation. We finally settled on me working through the weekend prior to departure on the monday (leaving my wife to do all the packing and preparation for taking two small kids interstate) and canceling the last two weeks of home time.

I gotta get a new job.

Yeah, new job, sounds like the best idea. How on earth does someone like that retain employee's anyway? Your first post to this thread was...a year ago? I mean, honestly, no real vacation for a year and then you are left with less than a week? Hopefully they are paying you well...

Surely you jest? You mean you don’t have 4 weeks paid vacation from Year One?! :eek:

Correct that; here I believe it is unpaid in the first year, but you have a right to your 4 weeks off. It’s 4 paid weeks from year 2.

You might note that he has two children and has never been on a family vacation, logically we can infer that it's been 'a while' at least since he last had a vacation.

And yes, if how he describes his work environment is accurate, I would expect no less than 2 weeks per year.

Well I'm 'entitled' to four weeks paid vacation per year but there's never a break in the work for me to take them. They keep promising to hire someone else to share the load but so far it's just me. The last time off I had was when my nearly two year old was born and before that was when my four year old was born and I don't know that you can call caring for new-borns a holiday.

Is the company foundering or something? Maybe you should try to push them to hire, maybe even offer to help with the process?

Probably not what you want to hear but nutrition helps a lot. I take 1000mg vit C a day, a strong multivitamin/multimineral pil, Omega 3 and vit E, and a teaspoon a day of Lecithin. I really believe it boosts my Brain's energy levels. I have a very stressful job (my own business, need I say more) and since I eat better and take supplements my brain can take approx. 20% more load.

Vacation is nice too, it just takes so long to get back into work afterwards.

Do something analog. Go outside and plant something, or build something out of wood. Sometimes just cleaning out a room and organizing it helps. 6502 had a great answer, just go outside and drive. Stay at a B&B and just retrain your body how to just do nothing and relax and enjoy.

Since I live near LA, I like to drive to my favorite haunts to eat like Phillipe's and get an original beef dip sandwich, then Grommen's Chinese theater for a good movie. Just get a way for a while.

When the weather's good I bike to and from school, which is about two hours a day. The time would otherwise been wasted in a bus. Not only does it get my mind off work, the exercise wakes me up in the morning and makes life feel more real.

When asked the other week at work about a holiday, I thought back and realised that my last real, time away with the whole family, was 2002!

We went to Orlando for Disney and Universal Studio. My older boy was 14 and the younger was 11. We had a blast.

Now, I'm looking forward to when just my wife and I can get away together.

A couple more years and then the younger boy will be out of high school. Meanwhile, it's football/soccer, day in, day out, regular seasons, tournaments. My son and I'll be in Phoenix this coming weekend. Sort of a holiday, que no? :)

well, if you didn't have a wife, I'd suggest you get a girlfriend. you could still try that, I suppose... ;)

seriously, though, meditation works for me like a charm. if you can manage 20 minutes a day, a few days a week, you'll find it really revitalizes your brain.

I've always wondered how folks find the time to have affairs. Seems logistically difficult. And affairs probably add more stress than they relieve. :eek:

Generally speaking, rationality is not the motivating factor behind an affair.

there are affairs, and affairs, and affairs... if you're actively cheating on a spouse just for the hell of it, then you have to put a lot of time and effort into being sneaky and secret; that's draining, but for the people (loosely speaking) who are into that sort of thing it's a kind of sport, so it's invigorating at the same time. if you have a marriage on the rocks it's more emotionally draining than anything, but then a marriage on the rocks is emotionally draining regardless. you're only really in trouble if you happen to be in love with two people at the same time - that takes its toll... :o

Pretty interesting. These scenarios have the ring of authenticity. I can picture what you're describing. I'm glad I have photography and martial art training as my outside interests. This stuff sounds way too complicated.

Although I believe I may have just acquired a new mistress...
...a Canon 40D.

:D