I cannot say with certainty that I had a burnout. I absolutely have had a lot of "this is all pointless, and life itself is pointless and repetative" times in the last few years.
There's an oft-used expression: do what you love, and you'll never work another day in your life. (The meaning, for non-native English speakers, is that if you love what (the work) you're doing, then it won't feel like work and you'll be naturally motivated.)
I was in bad mental shape during my last gig. When the company decided not to renew any external contracts due to economic fears, my contract expired and I was without a job. I decided it was time to finally do something that I cared about, and do it my way. Maybe money would come from it, or maybe not. My runway is fairly short, but it's enough time to maybe build something.
It took at least two weeks of doing nothing computer related (other than reading HN, I'm sure) for me to start to see sunlight. And when I was tempted to look at jobs, it would only take reading one job req for me to feel sick. So I decided to make my own reality and stick to my belief that if I build something, something good will happen. We don't know how that story ends yet, but I know I'm infinitely happier and certainly healthier. My alcohol consumption is near zero now, down from a very excessive amount. My weight is down too. Bonus!
My advice is to take some time and try to discover what your interests or passions are. Then start making connections with people who have similar. If you don't know what those things are, then start doing new things which don't necessarily have anything to do with work or projects or money. Take some latin dance classes (much fun!). Take some fitness or sport classes. Travel and enjoy good food, and meet strangers.
Just maybe you will start to see where you can do things which make you feel energized, and just maybe it will become profitable.
Even mediocre managers are valuable. Some of us need a manager sometimes to keep us from falling into too many rabbit holes or to help us map goals and plans and stay on them. The way to find those people seems unclear or random, but it certainly seems that the more you connect with others, the better the chances are.
There's an oft-used expression: do what you love, and you'll never work another day in your life. (The meaning, for non-native English speakers, is that if you love what (the work) you're doing, then it won't feel like work and you'll be naturally motivated.)
I was in bad mental shape during my last gig. When the company decided not to renew any external contracts due to economic fears, my contract expired and I was without a job. I decided it was time to finally do something that I cared about, and do it my way. Maybe money would come from it, or maybe not. My runway is fairly short, but it's enough time to maybe build something.
It took at least two weeks of doing nothing computer related (other than reading HN, I'm sure) for me to start to see sunlight. And when I was tempted to look at jobs, it would only take reading one job req for me to feel sick. So I decided to make my own reality and stick to my belief that if I build something, something good will happen. We don't know how that story ends yet, but I know I'm infinitely happier and certainly healthier. My alcohol consumption is near zero now, down from a very excessive amount. My weight is down too. Bonus!
My advice is to take some time and try to discover what your interests or passions are. Then start making connections with people who have similar. If you don't know what those things are, then start doing new things which don't necessarily have anything to do with work or projects or money. Take some latin dance classes (much fun!). Take some fitness or sport classes. Travel and enjoy good food, and meet strangers.
Just maybe you will start to see where you can do things which make you feel energized, and just maybe it will become profitable.
Even mediocre managers are valuable. Some of us need a manager sometimes to keep us from falling into too many rabbit holes or to help us map goals and plans and stay on them. The way to find those people seems unclear or random, but it certainly seems that the more you connect with others, the better the chances are.