Aimlessness, Anxiety and Remote Work

Stress from the guilt of "wasting away" or "languishing".

Nov 06, 2023

Hello humans,

Welcome back to issue #3 of Waves and Code weekly 😄.

First off, some housekeeping, we have some changes this week based on reader feedback—a massive shout-out to everyone who took the time to vote on the survey in issue #2. Going forward, I will be publishing guides or how-tos as separate posts on my blog. I will then share some thoughts on these articles/guides and link to them under the “Dev Insights” portion of the newsletter. I’m hoping these changes make the weekly issues easier to consume for readers and make the overall flow more enjoyable.

In this week’s issue, I share some of my thoughts and experiences with aimlessness and anxiety, my go-to when surf conditions suck, and as always some of my favorites from this past week.

Aimlessness and Anxiety

I recently started a new job and moved from full-time remote working to a slightly stricter hybrid office-remote working model. I stumbled across a clip by Jordan B. Peterson (whom I have conflicting feelings about - which honestly I’d rather not get into right now 😅) that sparked some self-reflection. The clip speaks to how aimlessness and anxiety are intricately connected, with aimlessness causing anxiety due to having an overwhelming number of choices. Thereafter the absence of a clear goal results in a lack of positive emotions since our brains are set up to produce dopamine when we achieve steps towards our goals.

This caused me to acknowledge a noticeable change in my mental state after just over a month in my new position. Going into a full office again has left me feeling more productive and focused than I have in the last 6 months.

Now the concept of “aimlessness & anxiety” is by no means a new concept, in fact, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs places self-actualization at the highest level. This essentially states that when individuals lack a feeling of progress toward a goal (i.e. they feel aimless), they may encounter feelings of stagnation and frustration.

My Reflection: This led to my “big ah-ha moment” in which I realized that as much as working remotely (from home) brought a sense of convenience and freedom, there were some sneaky drawbacks that I had not prepared myself for. The blending of my personal and work life was so pronounced that it became difficult to differentiate the physical spaces I used at home for work from those meant for personal use. While working from home, I was suddenly aware of all the tasks I needed to do at once, both at work and at home, which left me focusing on too many options at once but doing nothing. This resulted in me bouncing between work and personal tasks without doing either effectively; often feeling anxious for no apparent reason and having a lack of focus.

Thinking back to those feelings, I immediately saw a correlation to the analogy in the clip above of “the person dropped in the middle of the desert with way too many possible directions to go” which left me feeling aimless all the time since every responsibility beckoned. In hindsight, I can say that I certainly did experience a lot of anxiety during my last big dev project at my last position.

Now I know that being pro-in-office working is an unpopular opinion but I cannot deny that I have felt a big positive shift in my focus, drive, and level of anxiety since going back into a full office (with my dev team present). I am now able to leave work at the office at the end of the day and I have a healthy separation between my personal and professional life which in my opinion makes me a better developer.

So to conclude my reflection, I think the remote working environment evolved quickly without allowing us to evolve with it. The pandemic thrust us into a remote space which gave us the convenience of working from home but without allowing us to adjust and form healthy boundaries for our personal and professional lives. I’d like to leave you with my thoughts on some healthy remote working habits that could have helped me and could maybe help you.

My thoughts on a few healthy remote working habits:

Set up a dedicated “office”:
Make a space that is ergonomic and comfortable to work from. This will allow you to shift into a focused frame of mind when you start your day.
Create a morning & end of day work routine:
I know it can be tempting to roll out of bed into your first meeting of the day but having a small routine/ritual to mark the start and end of your day can allow you to create healthy boundaries between work and home. It can be as simple as making a cup of coffee to going for an afternoon gym session.
Enjoy your break:
Don’t skip lunch breaks or eat at your computer! Just don’t! You can’t both work and eat effectively. Rather concentrate on one thing at a time.
Coffee shops are friends:
If you feel overwhelmed by all the possible tasks/distractions you have at home, find a quiet coffee shop with good internet and work there for a bit. You’ll be surprised how effective this can be in helping you focus.
Keep your “office” workspace clear:
Cluttered workspaces can add to the feeling of being overwhelmed. Make it a habit to keep your workspace neat.
Connect with people:
Yes, you work from home but that does not mean you need to be a hermit. Socializing and seeing people is an important part of the human experience. Engaging with others can spark ideas, create memories, and motivate you in ways you don’t expect.

Adventures: Surfing when there’s no surf

As the season is changing, the conditions for the past few weeks at my local stomping grounds have been absolutely terrible! This means I haven’t been able to get into the water for a few weeks now 😭.

So, what does a surfer do when there isn’t any surf?!?

Why land surf ofcourse (better known as surfskating) 😆 !!! I’ve been surfskating for about a year and a half now and it’s been a tremendous help in supplementing my surf contact time. A surfskate is essentially a skateboard designed to simulate the sensation of surfing, with a unique truck system for enhanced carving and maneuverability. It’s helped me to practice and acquire the muscle memory for top and bottom turning. If you are an absolute beginner it can also help with your overall balance. I’m lucky enough to have a pump track nearby as well where I’m able to improve my agility and balance at different orientations.

Favorites this week ⭐

Podcast Episode: The Tim Ferris Show #696: Be Useful - Arnold Schwarzenegger on 7 Tools for Life, Thinking Big, Building Resilience, Processing Grief, and More
This episode pleasantly surprised me. I admit I judged it from the start due to a preconceived idea of the actor but I now have a newfound respect for Arnold Schwarzenegger and his outlook on life.
Note-taking App: Obsidian
I moved from Notion to Obsidian for note-taking a few months ago and haven’t looked back. The big decider for me came down to speed and configurability. I can highly recommend this if you know how to use Markdown. (This could possibly be a future article…nudge…nudge)
Website: daily.dev
A really useful way to get served interesting and useful articles if you are a developer. This can create a homepage on your browser that serves you a personalized feed.

Thank you for joining me on Issue #3 of Waves & Code. I’d love to hear some of your thoughts and opinions on remote versus in-office working. I’d also love to hear any feedback and opinions you may have on Waves and Code weekly so that we can shape this community together.