good programmers are masochists

mental health is important.

when your mental health is damaged – whether it be worrying about too many things, anxieties skyrocketing (something i have particular trouble with), or just personal, family, or work issues, there needs to be a process to stop and step back.

i can already feel a personal day coming up, but some of the things i've learned to do when i've not had any sort of opportunity for utilising a personal or vacation day is to try to compartmentalise the situation and determine what's important or what isn't.

then, i try to tackle the things that will be the quickest so that the list doesn't seem so long. yes, there are still big and longstanding things, but making the list not seem so long is also a huge benefit.

the key thing there though is that there are a lot of people telling you what's important and what's not – and at the end of the day, those opinions don't matter. the most important thing is your mental health, and everything should take a backseat to that.

Discuss...