Keynote: Meditations on Software
summary
Narrative ties software work to a 67 mile walk on the Wildwood Trail and claims burnout lingers long after leaving a job, not just a bad week. Rails console and JSON demos spark early delight, then imposter syndrome drives overwork until exhaustion forces a quit, followed by four months off to recover. Specific fixes include tracking bodily signals, keeping 40 hours limits, doing a root-cause postmortem, decoupling identity from output, and protecting curiosity that once made Rails console results feel joyful.
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chapters (27)
- 0:00Intro
- 0:56Meditations on Software
- 4:00Rails Girls
- 5:27THE // FLATIRON SCHOOL
- 9:11Sociotechnical
- 10:26Try and fix it all
- 14:43The worst version of myself
- 16:06There was no coming back
- 16:48Chronic, work-related stress
- 19:09Meditative
- 21:12Imposter syndrome
- 22:55Insecurities
- 24:22Cautious
- 25:39Coming out of burnout
- 27:35Lose meaning
- 30:21Refactoring
- 30:45The building itself
- 31:50Sprinting
- 32:26A lack of social support
- 36:06Pay attention to your body and mind
- 36:48Remember your agency
- 37:34Hotfix for burnout
- 38:08Don't skip the post-mortem
- 38:54Decouple yourself from the work
- 39:19Work is just one part of life
- 39:59Careers are bigger than jobs
- 40:14Being the DRI of Your Career
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