How to Deal with Overwork Effectively (As a Software Engineer)

Have you ever felt overworked in recent years? Perhaps there was a time when too much was on your plate, too many things were happening simultaneously, and something unexpected completely threw you off, making it impossible to meet the deadline you promised to your customer or boss. On top of that, you felt exhausted and in need of a vacation, but we all know there is no time for that.

When I was working at a growing startup, I remember planning important projects. A significant amount of my time was spent detailing features with customers, analyzing technical implications with the team, and forecasting the time required based on our development team's history and feedback. I considered everything, but when I presented my estimate to my CEO, he always reacted the same way: “Ben, that’s way too much time. We can't afford to take that long while also need to do all those other important projects. Why does it take so long?”

As someone ambitious who never shied away from a challenge, my initial 8-week estimate was invariably cut in half. The CEO had a way to convince me I could be more productive, reduce unnecessary work, and eliminate some buffer. However, it turned out my original estimate was almost always right. My difficulty in saying no meant I wasn't advocating strongly enough for my own belief.

If you consistently underestimate the time needed for tasks and overestimate what you can achieve in a day, feeling overworked shouldn't come as a surprise. Sometimes, this is due to your own poor decisions, but other times it's the result of someone else's. Have you ever been given a deadline that you though was unreasonable but had no control over it? That’s tough, isn't it? _(Sorry!)

What’s the Root Cause?

Overwork can be fundamentally defined as being expected to do more work than you believe you can handle. When your expectations don’t align with reality, burnout is right around the corner. I like to sum up overwork with this simple formula:

stress_level = expected_todo - expected_done
overworked = stress_level > energy_level

To avoid overwork, there are three variables you can play with. First, you can reduce what’s expected to do. This includes lowering the number of tasks you’re expected to complete each day, pushing back deadlines, eliminating non-essential tasks, or delegating them. This essentially means saying 'NO!' to more things so that you can remain committed to delivering your 'YES!' with excellence.

Each time you say 'yes' to something, it implicitly means saying 'no' to something else. Often, you might neglect important but not urgent matters like strategic thinking, self-care, exercise, taking breaks, or spending time with family and friends. While no one may scream at you for skipping these, neglecting them can harm your mental health.

You might think, 'Sure, this sounds good, but I have no control over my workload; I can’t just say no to my boss.' You can, but suppose the decision is beyond your control and there’s nothing you can do about it. In that case, frequent communication becomes crucial. Begin by agreeing on a clear plan for achieving your goals. If sacrifices are needed for an important project, make it clear that this is temporary and recovery time will be necessary. Then, keep your team updated on your progress and any obstacles, both daily and weekly.

I recall a time when we had a client who needed a project done for the holiday season. Landing this client meant significant growth for the company. For a week, I arrived at the office at 6 AM and left at 2 or 3 AM - yep, 18-hour workdays, including two all-nighters. In hindsight, I realize how stupid I was. Luckily, my workspace had windows; otherwise, I wouldn’t have seen the sun all week. Eventually, the project was cancelled by the client after one week. That was a hard lesson on the importance of more careful dialogue with clients before overcommitting.

When you're uncertain whether agreeing to another task will be too much, it indicates a need for more thorough planning. Remaining constantly in 'execution mode' and overlooking existing commitments is risky. By staying proactive and reviewing your commitments weekly, you maintain balance. It’s a continuous balancing act that requires regular adjustments.

What About Your Productivity?

When software developers feel overwhelmed, they often believe they just need to increase their productivity. It seems much simpler to try to fix ourself than to challenge others and refuse additional tasks. This approach avoids conflict and appears to be in our control, but it's fundamentally flawed. When feeling overwhelmed, it's actually more effective to first reduce your workload rather than trying to boost your output. Often, this step is necessary to regain focus and subsequently enhance productivity. But what if you've already said ‘no’ to as much as you can and your planning is done? What's next?

The three pillars of productivity are time management, skill development, and collaboration.

Time Management

Good time management starts with clarity. Are you defining your priorities and most important tasks every morning and week? If you are not prioritizing these essential tasks, it’s no surprise if you find yourself exhausted by the end of the day. Living in reaction mode can be incredibly draining. Starting your day by checking emails or Slack messages means you’re living in other’s people agenda.

Consider using blocks of time, especially outside of meetings. Many find the Pomodoro technique effective, where you work for 25 minutes followed by a 5-minute break, free from distractions and fully focused. Personally, I’ve discovered that 50 minutes of work and a 10-minute break is better for complex tasks, as it often takes time to get into the flow. Set a timer, work until it rings, and then take a genuine break — not on your phone or computer. Social media and entertainment are designed to captivate your attention, not help you recharge. Stretch, drink some water, do some push-ups if you like — the key is to MOVE. After your break, sit down, set your intention, and start again.

Skills Development

What skills do you need to develop to become more effective? Are there specific types of tasks that you struggle with? Does a lack of knowledge about the tools you use slow you down? Do you find it challenging to communicate effectively and influence people? Soft skills are often underestimated, yet they are crucial because interacting with humans is far more complex than dealing with machines. Are you reserving time in your week for skills development?

Collaboration

Being a skilled coder involves more than individual capability; it's also about how much you lift up those around you. Do you recognize the areas where your colleagues struggle and how you might be able to help? Are you setting high standards and encourage others to do the same? Do you engage in co-creation, enabling everyone to learn and feel a sense of ownership?

This is precisely why I believe measuring individual productivity is nearly impossible in our field. Collaboration can't be quantified objectively, and I would choose a good collaborator over a technically genius who is a pain to work with who is difficult to work with any day of the week.

Even With All of This I’m Still Wiped Out

You might have a reasonable workload and know you can handle it, yet find yourself lacking the motivation to start. This often happens when your energy level is low. When energy is high, you can handle stress with calm; when it's low, even mundane tasks can be overwhelming.

The first step is to disconnect from your job frequently. The pandemic made this particularly challenging for those working from home, as the physical boundary between work and personal life disappeared. This is a common struggle for startup founders, executives, and key employees. Maintaining a clear schedule and planning vacations are essential. Failing to take breaks is like continuously using a knife without ever sharpening it—ineffective. This principle applies to being on-call as well.

Here's a simple trick to boost your energy level by at least 30%: sleep more. Research shows that the average adult needs 7 to 9 hours of sleep to function optimally. Sleeping only 6 hours often leads to underperformance. If you struggle with getting enough sleep, consider exploring sleep hygiene, a really interesting topic.

Regular exercise is also crucial for maintaining energy levels. Most health experts recommend two cardiovascular sessions and two short, intense workouts per week. While many people dislike exercising, the energy boost and enhancement in creative thinking it provides make it worthwhile.

Lastly, let's talk about diet. Eating healthy foods not only helps you stay sharp on the day of consumption but also impacts your energy for the following three days. A good starting point is to reduce caffeine intake. Cut back on energy drinks and coffee consumption, especially after 3 PM, as it affects sleep quality. My personal strategy is to alternate with decaf, ensuring I don't exceed two cups per day.

The Secret Ingredient

When COVID-19 forced restaurant dining rooms to close, many were thrown into a state of emergency. Suddenly unable to operate as usual and lacking online ordering systems, they relied solely on phone orders, which was a logistical nightmare to manage. Our sales team came up with a brilliant idea: the now-famous 24-hour integration promotion. Sign with us, and you could start receiving online orders in less than a day. It was a game-changer… except that our average integration delay was 10 days. Now we had to cut that down to 24 hours.

We had to wait for the customer, the point of sales partners, and the payment processors. We got creative, initially using Stripe despite its higher cost and shipping tablets overnight to manage orders out of the POS. It was a mission to save the restaurant industry from a crisis that could easily lead to bankruptcy. Everyone was involved: the product team assisted with sales demos, partnership managers took on sales roles, and engineers focused on critical changes. It was a frenetic time, but we were making a real difference in the lives of many business owners.

I share this story to illustrate that when you’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed, connecting your work to a greater purpose and building strong relationships can empower you to achieve more than you ever thought possible.