Why Cheat Days Are Important For Programmers To Be Happy & Peaceful

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We all have been intrigued by the work ethics of successful entrepreneurs like Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey and Jeff Bezos who are considered as the hardest working individuals in their respective companies. You might even see videos of people trying out their daily regime on YouTube and failing miserably. Trust me, I am also guilty of “living like Elon Musk for a day” which I failed (obviously) and I will not shy away from this fact at all. The question is, “Is it worth it?

I have been working as a Software Developer for some years now. Having a 9–5 day job (10–7 actually) gives me immense satisfaction and security, which many of my friends who work for themselves as freelancers following their passion, hate. However, I get time to work on my passion projects on coding, reading books and writing stories, and learning some new skills like blogging and investing. Since time is limited, I often end up doing all the things together which exhausts me to the core and no matter how much tired I become, I force myself to work which results in total misery.

In our generation, it is often projected that hustling is important to become successful. Working like hell may bring compliments, applause and maybe success from all corners of the world but it will exhaust you physically, mentally and most importantly emotionally. Yes, no matter how fulfilling and content your work and hobbies can be, too much of it can lead to burnout and this is not good news.

One must embrace the work-life balance which nowadays every organization is encouraging their employees. But for freelancers? No one is telling them. Yes, working on your goals 20 hours a day is great, but not at the expense of your health. If you end up developing a serious health condition, then there is no point in working hard for the future.

Like for bodybuilders, cheat days help them to take those extra calories from the carbs that are essential for the body. For programmers and developers, it is extremely important to have cheat days like going on a vacation or watching anticipated shows on Netflix. This would replenish the minds that would not only increase your focus but also make you happy.

I know, if you are like me, most of you will ignore this after reading but trust me in the long run, you would be grateful to yourselves for taking the much-needed breaks. Let’s not take our bodies to be granted. Let’s not take our beautiful minds for granted.


Thank you for reading!

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