You close the laptop at eight. You did not finish. You ran out.
A lot of people in San Francisco are telling me the same thing this year. The tools got faster, and the day stopped having a point where the work is done. There is always one more thing you could do, and now you could do it quickly.
There used to be a moment of completion at the end of a hard task. You finished it and felt good about it. You shut the laptop and knew you were done for the day.
When the work never finishes, you lose that moment of completion. You stop, but you do not feel finished. You feel interrupted.
In my work with people in tech, this comes up often. They are productive. They get a lot done. And yet they cannot remember the last time they felt done.
When a task that took a day now takes an hour, you do not get seven hours back. You take on more.
Your manager expects more, because more is possible. You expect more of yourself for the same reason. You are being measured against what the tools can do now, and that keeps changing.
Whatever you finish today, the list is longer tomorrow.
Look at when you actually stop working. For most people, it is when they run out of energy. The work is still there.
That means you end most days empty. You wake up still carrying yesterday. Weekends go to recovering instead of to anything you enjoy.
If this has been going on for months, read our post on how to deal with burnout in tech. It covers the early signs, before it turns into something harder to reverse.
Each morning, pick two or three things. When they are done, the day is done. Even if more is possible.
You will feel the pull to keep going. Stop anyway. You are practicing ending the day on purpose.
It helps to mark the end with something physical. Close the laptop and put it in a drawer. Change clothes. Walk around the block. Give yourself a clear signal that you have left work, even if you work from your kitchen table.
I often ask clients to track this for two weeks. On how many days did they stop because they were done, and on how many because they were empty? The count usually surprises them, and it gives us something concrete to change.
Our post on tips to combat tech burnout in San Francisco has more practical steps along these lines.
A therapist can help you set a finish line and keep it. Good Therapy SF works with professionals across San Francisco, Marin, and the Peninsula. Reach out for a free 15-minute consultation.
Dr. Tom McDonagh, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and the founder of Good Therapy SF. He trained at Vanderbilt and completed his postdoctoral work at Kaiser Permanente. His practice focuses on anxiety, OCD, panic, and work stress, with a special focus on San Francisco professionals. Good Therapy SF is located at 870 Market Street, Suite 617, San Francisco, CA.
