Ask HN: What do you do when you've lost motivation at work?
I might be in a unique situation to handle this (smallish company, fairly independent), but I just tend to bullshit my way through a work week when this happens.<p>I will talk big and vague in meetings about what I&#x27;ve accomplished. I&#x27;ll talk about why what I&#x27;m building turned out to be more complicated than thought originally, and will take more time than allotted. If necessary will build interfaces that <i>look</i> like I&#x27;m doing the work when in fact I&#x27;m not.<p>Keep in mind, I don&#x27;t do this maliciously to &quot;steal&quot; from the company. I do this because I have a certain amount of creative energy, and <i>sometimes the well just runs dry</i>. I can&#x27;t think about complicated things (much of my job is architecting systems) and I have trouble focusing. Instead of pushing myself to burn out further, I understand it as part of a boom&#x2F;bust cycle and take a break at work. Sometimes this lasts up to a week (even more in a few cases).<p>Then one day during the bust, I&#x27;ll get the wind back in my sails and start up again.<p>This happens once every few months, although sometimes it can be triggered by a larger project. Sometimes I&#x27;ll allot a week for something, not do anything on it, and then complete it all a day before it&#x27;s due. When I say &quot;not do anything&quot; I mean I&#x27;m not actually coding, however I think my subconscious is mulling the problem over and I&#x27;ll have an &quot;AHA!&quot; moment when needed.<p>Really, it helps to get good at bullshitting and buying yourself time. Practice, practice, practice. Once again, not maliciously, but for your own well-being. Pad your days out when giving estimates to people.<p>Hope that helps&#x2F;is applicable to your situation.