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How to Relieve Stress πŸ”₯

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How to Relieve Stress πŸ”₯

Understanding the sources of stress, monitoring your state effectively, and tips and strategies to defuse burnout.

Luca Rossi
Jul 21, 2022
11
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How to Relieve Stress πŸ”₯

refactoring.fm

Hey πŸ‘‹ this is Luca! Welcome to a new πŸ”’ weekly edition πŸ”’ of Refactoring.

Every week I write advice on how to become a better engineering leader, backed by my own experience, research and case studies.

You can learn more about Refactoring here.

To receive all the full articles and support Refactoring, consider subscribing πŸ‘‡

Become a better tech leader today ✨


For almost 10 years, I have been CTO and co-founder of a VC-backed startup.

We often worked long hours and weekends. There have been tough times, and I may have experienced burnout.

I say β€œmay” because, really, how do you know?

Recognizing stress has never been easy for me β€” especially by living and working in a fast-paced environment where it’s hard to find room for self-reflection.

Fast forward today, in the last six months I have worked almost exclusively by myself, on Refactoring.

I spend most of my days reading, writing, engaging (async) with the community, and developing product improvements for Refactoring itself. I have almost zero calls and very few distractions.

In such an environment, I became much more sensitive to how I feel, how productive I am, and my relationship with work.

Mind you, it’s not all rainbows and unicorns.

The work as a creator, or solopreneur, brings its own set of challenges and worries, which I would love to cover in another article. But the point is, for the first time, I managed to develop my own process to keep myself in check.

In the last few weeks I reflected on this and got curious about how others deal with the same. I surveyed the community and talked with some of the smartest people I know.

This article sums up what I learned, and is organized into three main blocks:

  • πŸ”₯ What causes stress and burnout β€” the six main areas of your work life.

  • πŸ” How you can monitor your state β€” systems and tactics to keep yourself in check.

  • πŸ§˜β€β™‚οΈ How you can relieve stress β€” real-world routines that help your mind, your body, and your relationships.

Let’s go πŸ‘‡

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