How to deal with stress at work?

Question

Work organization

After two years of layout and writing jQuery scripts, I decided to move on and started delving into JS and learning React. The learning process was quite interesting. After a few months of studying, I started going to interviews and after a while, I got a job as a junior.
The first month was hard, the brain just boiled, there was no benefit from me from the word at all. The second month was the same. And the third. And now, I've been working for almost a year. Of course, now there is a benefit from me, I can take small tasks and do them without outside help. But this is the only thing that has changed since then.
The brain boils every day just like on the first day. A step to the left, a step to the right, and now, I don’t know anything and I can’t do anything. The task is either not done at all, or it is done and even eventually works, but the implementation is wrong, everything has to be redone.
Due to constant mental stress, I have recently begun to feel burnout, nervous exhaustion and a feeling that at work I seem to be not progressing, but rather degrading. Our senior is constantly coming up with ways to "improve" our work processes. Here we are using redux-saga. Only I got used to them, and now we switched to context. Now we have a project on the nose that will be done on TypeScript and Apollo.
This is all good, of course, but as a result, I absolutely do not feel my progress, there is no feeling of increasing expertise in this area. There is only constant stress, and there is no end in sight.
Of course, I will not give up this business, because. there are clear goals to which I am going, regardless of whether the path to these goals is pleasant for me or not.
Here's what interests me. Did you encounter something similar at the beginning of your journey? How quickly did relief come, and did it come at all? What did they do to survive this and not merge?

Answer 1

The brain boils every day just like on the first day. A step to the left, a step to the right, and now, I don’t know anything and can’t do anything ... the feeling that at work I don’t seem to be progressing, but rather degrading ...

I had this when I first moved to the frontend and tried to keep too many details about languages ​​and tools in my head. Over time, I realized that this does not make sense - everything changes faster than I remember. Moved from the thought "I use tools" to the thought "I make things" and immediately felt better, began to keep in my head only general ideas about how something is done, or what happens in some area at all, and specific instructions for use I study individual instruments along the way. Changed the focus of his self-education, if you can call it that. As a result, all preprocessors have merged into one, new libraries are becoming less and less difficult to master, since the ideas are the same everywhere, plus or minus, etc. Decisions have become much easier to make. And argue too. Sometimes one gets the impression that nothing new has appeared in our industry for five years, or even more. Yes, I forget how to use flex, confuse call() and apply(), google my answers on the toaster, but it doesn't matter. The head is busy solving problems, now there is no secondary information in it, and this is very cool. It also turned out to be useful to write articles - I wrote it, "put it on the shelf", and forgot it. And if you need it, you can take it out and have a look. Thus, this whole bullshit with boiling brains is practically gone.

Answer 2

Lol, welcome to web programming. It's a little bit not as bright and cheerful as they draw in articles on Habrochka and comics from XKCD, right?
My advice is to change the scope and / or place of work. Start with the second one, obviously it's some web studio with an endless stream.
No, seriously, change your seat.

Answer 3

To get started, rebuild the recovery as completely as possible. Any resources will run out if you spend them without replenishment. What I mean ? It seems like nonsense, but at a great distance it is very important. Sleep, sports, normal nutrition, walks, hobbies, trips, communication. Some recommend vitamins and so on, but IMHO this is not the most important thing. Simple things - Mode, sports, positive activities. The carcass and nervous system will thank you. It just has to become a habit. Instinct.
Further ... if there is a feeling that there is no progress, constant stress, again, IMHO, it may be worth looking for another job. I had a similar situation. I worked in a team of much stronger developers and gradually felt completely driven away. They easily juggled with all sorts of "elastic hearts" and other "dibi mongs", and I had to get into all this right away, which did not work out, let's face it. All the time I had the feeling that I was running "gallop across Europe", I was not sure about the quality of what I was doing, I had to quickly close tasks in jira and the like. In general, after a year of work in the project, I politely said goodbye. Now I have found a more suitable scope and profile of work for me. I continue to learn new things, the pleasure of programming is not lost. I have ideas for my projects. Otherwise, why is it all? :)

Answer 4

You are in the Valley of Despair, this will pass.
The fact that your TL constantly changes the tech stack is both good and bad: more variety - more opportunities to pick this or that technology. If the reason for changing technologies is justified by the desire to try something new, and not by specific benefits for the product, then your TL is apparently not of a traditional orientation.

Answer 5

and even in the end it works, but the implementation is wrong

Is this your own opinion or the opinion of the team leader? If your own - stop being a perfectionist - it works - don't touch :)
Faced. Extremely bad memories. Fifteen years ago, I administrated one which, no longer small, but not yet medium - about a hundred computers, several servers on FreeBSD, which I considered that I knew like my own pocket. They offered to move to another office and I switched ... and realized that I still don’t know a lot about FreeBSD :) The office was similar to yours - the management only cared about making a profit (it was a small-town provider), the former admin just left, no one did anything did not explain - apparently they thought that I myself should figure it out.
When I found myself feeling disgusted every morning when I went to work - that's me, a work junkie and brainless smart perfectionist! - I realized that it was time to bring down. And dumped.
If you do not want to blame, then separate yourself from work (this is the problem of all IT people). From 9 to 6 (or whatever you have there) - work, at six and one minute - everything, the computer turned off (or whatever it is according to the regulations), cleared my head of thoughts about work and walked to the exit. Do something - sports, for example, get a girlfriend (sex is not only emotional relief, but also a good exercise, especially for the press). Better than something active, and not something to hang around at the computer.

Answer 6

Closer to middle + comes an approximate understanding of how to do it, how not to do it. But if the team does not have a normal code review, at least smoke/unit testing, but even in production, then such an understanding may never come.
I would choose a calmer sphere and company (symfony, java) than js, you have a crutch on a crutch and sets of antipatterns right in the library sources (take the same react). Plus, there are constantly new standards in js, I would be sick of learning everything.

Answer 7

The brains of the juniors in system development boil orders of magnitude more.

Answer 8

Damn, so many answers, and so much a similar situation that I can't help but leave my experience.
I'm a backend, we're a bit more technical here, but I'd like to give my opinion on the leadership.
I am middle, I feel confident here, I have proven myself. And that’s why I ran into such a situation that they throw off “medium” and sometimes easy tasks on me, although we have two more juniors, it would seem better for them to throw this task off so that they would train their experience, and I would do other more complex ones tasks to help the company earn more. But the management doesn’t care, they think differently, since I will do this task faster, then the company will earn faster. Yes, faster, but no more. Because the junas "do not stuff their hand." And they need experience. Sometimes it pissed me off, pissed me off. I thought about looking for another job, but then I cooled off and realized for myself that since the bosses don’t see it all or don’t want to see it, then I don’t need it either.
It would seem, what is your situation here? Yes, everything is simple, since such a hat, throw off the responsibility for mistakes, improper distribution of resources (and we programmers are a resource in the hands of the authorities and our managers), technologies, tasks and other things that make your management do. Know how to benefit from it, know how to adapt to all the situations that life throws at you.
What about stress, burnout, etc.? It helps me to relax watching a detective series at my leisure. I put a big bolt on everything and relax. A couple of days later, it's like nothing happened.
As for knowledge, I also don’t know a lot, but I do. where can I find what I need and make it work. This also applies to the ability to adapt at work.
And believe me, everything is not as bad as it might seem, it can be worse.

Answer 9

I agree with Ivan and disagree with those who like to intimidate and humiliate.
I advise you to look around and look for another place.
Additionally - if there is one in your city - go to a conference, not necessarily on your narrow topic. It usually helps me a lot to "clear my head" and see things "from above".

Answer 10

You should probably get used to the fact that there will always be something that you do not know. and take it easy. Well, if you don't know, read the manual and you'll know. the main thing is to turn off the emotional component.
or choose a technology where there is less movement than in JS.

Answer 11

Did you encounter something similar at the beginning of your journey? How quickly did relief come, and did it come at all? What did they do to survive this and not merge?

Everything depends on the company.
I was lucky - the first work was calm. And here is the previous horror - an open office for 100 people, constant noise, constantly walking around you, sprints with constantly burning tasks, etc.
After 3 months he left - health is more expensive.

Answer 12

This is all good, of course, but as a result, I absolutely do not feel my progress, there is no feeling of increasing expertise in this area. There is only constant stress, and there is no end in sight.

Two factors that drive this:
1. Standard-setting giants in the IT industry.
2. Your supervisor/employer seeking to work on new ("latest") technologies.
You can average step 1 (by choosing the most used tools around the world to work with) and completely unwind step 2 (by changing jobs or starting to work for yourself).
Decide - only you.

Answer 13

Did you encounter something similar at the beginning of your journey?

At the beginning of the journey ... And after decades in the IT field, such things happen ... But nothing - you pull yourself together, sit down - and figure it out.

Answer 14

Practice, practice, and more practice... If your management tolerates you, then sit up straight and puff. You can get fucked up by anything, anytime. Now you are giving up, you consider yourself stupid, useless for business, you want to leave, but soon you will have a second wind, believe me. Do not try to cram technology, it is important to understand what, where, where and why. Theory is nothing without understanding and practice.

Answer 15

Relief usually comes after 5-6 months of work. Especially if you are on good terms with the team lead and the business is somehow based on your work. It can also be quite useful to open your resume and get a couple of job offers (to keep in mind that you are interesting and useful).
How to beat stress at work:
1) Read the code of your colleagues. Sometimes it is very reassuring that you see some clumsy code from another employee, you know that he is paid 120k + and praised for the "quality" of work.
2) Get yourself a girlfriend or a cat (better than a cat). They add motivation, because you know why you go to work every day.
3) To hammer on "substandards" at development. Usually every company has a list of how your code should look and work. And if you write it all, you can hang yourself. Therefore, you need to understand why you will be fucked and turned around for a review, and what will pass anyway.
4) Make yourself a list of knowledge that you need to get promoted, transferred to priority tasks, or get your dream job.