DevX Days | Colum Ferry | Don't Get Swamped at Work!

Learn how to maintain work-life balance, avoid burnout, and stay productive with proven techniques for managing your time, setting boundaries, and prioritizing tasks effectively.

Key takeaways
  • Block off time for external events and family commitments in your work calendar to maintain boundaries
  • Implement an 8-hour workday policy and strictly stick to it to prevent burnout
  • Take proper breaks, including lunch breaks, to maintain productivity and prevent mental exhaustion
  • Analyze meeting effectiveness - consider cost of developer time and limit meetings to 30-60 minutes maximum
  • Use decision trees to evaluate task priority - assess if something is truly urgent/crisis before interrupting flow
  • Schedule dedicated learning time during natural work breaks (builds, CI, PR reviews)
  • Maintain hobbies and interests outside of work to create proper work-life separation
  • Practice good sleep hygiene and diet to support sustainable productivity
  • Use techniques like brain dumps and journaling to process work thoughts and reduce stress
  • When feeling overwhelmed, take proper time off - log out completely and avoid checking work communications