Do a bunch of new things. You will find problems you want to solve, and writing that code is likely to be gratifying and exciting.<p>I was rapidly approaching burnout in software related tech work. Was light on code, but I did write code fairly regularly. And I just hated all of it, but was also really good. Trapped.<p>I purged one day. Had a whole bunker running in my house. All those enterprise apps and lots of cool things I made to do the job and make magic sometimes. It was my edge and curse. All around me in the end.<p>Changed scale. For me, that meant going back to the roots, the stuff that would keep me up at night.<p>Went small. Bought some dev boards and suddenly I was back to fun problems. Making video display signals, drivers for hardware, sensors. Decoded to set up an 8 but workstation. Apple 2 /e decked out with a faster clock, some I/O cards... just to pick up electronics where I left off decades ago.<p>Found out I still love all that stuff, but also found out I was sick of enterprise software.<p>I love embedded. Hardware, purpose built software, that whole thing is fun and very different.<p>Time to really change up, new career, new people. All of it, and that was scary as hell. Still is, but in that good, rise to the challenge way.<p>Today, I am into additive manufacturing, mostly polymers until last year when I got started on metal. There is a startup in my future and a chance to make a big impact and I am super excited about it all. I love the people I work with too.<p>Now I range more widely, electronics, having a scope, soldering things, writing code, connecting to CNC machines, making parts, and helping others to make the challenging parts they need, and more are an every day deal. Hobby fun, plus a lot of well honed, transferrable skills turned into a new reality and I am learning a ton!<p>I also found out I love that. Being around others who I can grow with and helping them too. We all have skills and hard won knowledge we share and apply to the problems at hand.<p>If you dread it every day, whatever that is will just keep eating at you. It goes slower and can be held at bay when you work with great people. I did and it delayed all this for roughly half a decade.<p>In the end it was the same, just slower. But it hit hard anyway.<p>I had to have change.<p>Once I started, and I did that by taking a general management job well outside my comfort zone, but that did require my various domain knowledge be applied to assist and understand the people being managed.<p>I found out I am the servant leader type. Empower the people, keep the crap out of their lives and put the best tools and people in their hands to get great results, and a fair amount of hands on. Cool, but I wanted a bit more entrepreneurial experience. That led to being part of an additive company starting up.<p>Did all that on some good advice from a friend who could see where I needed to grow and where some skill gaps were. Turns out that GM work was just the thing I needed to weave all I had learned together and be able to join a small team building great things.<p>Start seeking. Take a jump, maybe two. I ended up doing two, and may well do one more to in the new gig to come.<p>Have people who know you and who care?<p>Listen to them.<p>Often, we can see this stuff in others and give good advice and wisdom. We also often can't see these same things in ourselves. Too close.<p>Worst case is you have to do what you are doing now to recover, pay bills save a little and then try again.