Burnt Out

I have been away from Twitter, away from design and away from code for what feels like an eternity.

In such a fast paced industry that is constantly evolving and adapting; taking a few months out can mean missing out on a lot of changes and it can feel like a struggle to catch up again!

I’ve taken over almost 2 years out…

… and it’s been bittersweet.

It’s been nice to take a break from my machine but for the most part of that period, I’ve felt like the industry has been pulling me back…

2 years ago, I took a freelance gig to create a WordPress site which was fairly complex for what I normally do. It had a nice design, and the challenge I was faced with made me want to accept the job… so I did!

Now there’s two sides to every story and I won’t go into specifics but there was a communication breakdown between myself & the agency and the project turned sour.

Multiple times throughout the project, I wanted to walk away and I should have but my morals got the better of me and I wanted to finish the project I had started.

The project should have finished within a month and it would have had the spec stayed the same. But scope creep, additional functionality and new sections almost doubled the workload whilst the delivery date stayed the same. I worked tirelessly through December and was juggling an increased day-job work load (11 hour days in the office), ever so precious family time at home and this project.

Christmas was ruined for me

It was tough on me mentally and emotionally and when I handed the completed project over at the end of Jan, I closed my laptop and didn’t open it for 6 weeks.

I was burnt out.

It was a horrible feeling and not one I want to experience again.

I remember saying to my wife that I’m giving it up for good. There was no value in it for me any more and spending time with the family was far more beneficial than wrangling WordPress tags and Gulp commands!

But do you know what? things change.

For the last six months, I’ve been feeling the urge to get back into the web. It tends to have that draw about it where you just can’t escape.

The thought of making sites more usable, creating little delights and treats throughout a build and getting feedback on something you’ve made is addictive!

So here I am. I’ve missed out on a lot of stuff, a lot of new tricks, tips and techniques but do you know what? I can still front-end! I can still HTML & CSS my way through a build and we’ll have enormous fun doing it!

I no longer feel burnt out; I no longer feel dread when I look at code; and I no longer want to be away from the industry I love so much!

And this makes me happy