I'm critically demotivated and the only time I get any work done is when I'm drinking in the cafe across the street from my house. Everything at work is just so incredibly tedious it's so hard to actually sit down and get anything done (so much Jira and deployment automation bullshit, I probably spend 2 weeks a year doing anything I would consider actually productive.) I don't want anything materially (I have a yacht etc etc) and although I would be much less comfortable I have enough in my 401k that I could live without working. The only reason I stay employed is to afford the things that impress women (cars, large house etc.) I don't even use half my house, it's probably been months since I've been in half the rooms.
I don't want to look for a new job either. That's so incredibly painful especially since I didn't finish my degree (I did all the course work, but I was 20 hours short on community service and between COVID and the semester boundaries the administration decided that I needed to retake a bunch of liberal arts classes which had been rearranged and I hated the first time I took and passed them.)
I feel like if I don't change something I'm eventually going to get fired for under performing which is something I'd like to avoid. I'm wondering if you guys have any suggestions/coping mechanisms other than just drinking to get through it all.
I think that it's hard to reduce work hours too - it's how a lot of us in industry define ourselves; commits, features, bugfixes and projects are how we look back and measure success.
But reducing work hours and taking time back for yourself is part of the solution, I reckon.
I took a week off work a little while ago and went for a 300+ mile multi-day cycle ride (stopping in at restaurants, bars and hotels along the way -- nothing fancy, but all different experiences and conversations).
I don't know if it's realistic to spend more than a month doing that -- or whether I'd begin to feel guilty because not everyone can take the opportunity to -- but it genuinely improved my sense of self and health, for a while at least.