I’m not a developer. Not in the traditional sense, anyway. I didn’t get a fancy comp-sci degree. I didn’t intern at Google. I didn’t wake up one day thinking, “Let me master the React lifecycle or deploy a CI/CD pipeline before breakfast.” What I am is a guy who’s been broke, burned out, and trying to code his way out of a small-town cage with Wi-Fi just good enough to crash halfway through a Git pull. I taught myself the web one Stack Overflow thread at a time. I know just enough HTML to build something scrappy and just enough Python to break it. I’ve freelanced. I’ve stared at my screen until my vision blurred. am And I know this: devs need more than clean code. You need clean boundaries, too. Productivity Isn’t Your God We glorify hustle like it’s sacred. "Crush it." "Ship fast." "Outwork everyone." You know what’s sacred? Your sanity. There’s a difference between being committed and being consumed. Too many devs I’ve met are constantly tired, constantly plugged in, constantly chasing the next feature push like it’s going to fix their life. It won’t. You’ve got to build rest into your routine like you build testing into your code. Or else something breaks. And usually, it’s you. You’re Allowed to Not Know Impostor syndrome? That’s not a bug. That’s the whole damn industry. Nobody knows everything. Not your tech lead. Not that one guy on Twitter who builds 8 SaaS projects a week. Not even the guy who built the thing you’re working on now. I used to feel like a fraud every time I opened VS Code. Still do some days. But here’s the thing: asking questions doesn’t make you weak. It makes you real. If you’re stuck, ask. If you’re lost, Google it. If you can’t find the answer, build the damn answer Don’t Trade Your Life for a Launch Yeah, shipping is cool. Startups are sexy. Getting that dopamine hit from a successful deploy feels good. But too many devs are sprinting toward a finish line that moves every time they get close. You don’t have to sacrifice your friendships, your body, your late nights, or your sanity for another SaaS launch. There’s always going to be another sprint. Protect your peace. Side Projects Should Feed You, Not Drain You Side projects are supposed to be your playground, not another job. Build stuff that excites you. Make something dumb. Hack together something that doesn’t scale. If your side project starts feeling like a second boss, you’ve already lost. You don’t need to monetize every idea. Some stuff is just for joy. That’s allowed. Find People Who Get It Loneliness is real in this space. Especially if you’re freelancing or remote. Find a Discord. A subreddit. A group chat. Somewhere you can ask, “Does anyone else feel like they’re losing it trying to deploy this API?” Code can be solitary. But you don’t have to suffer alone. Tech Won’t Save You It won’t fix your heartbreak. It won’t fill your emptiness. It won’t replace the conversation you’re not having or the life you’re not living. I used to think if I could just build enough—websites, businesses, side hustles—I’d finally feel okay. That I’d finally get free. build enough But freedom isn’t found in output. It’s found in honesty. You can learn every framework on the planet and still feel stuck. So be real with yourself. What are you actually chasing? Burnout Isn’t a Badge of Honor If you’re exhausted all the time, that’s not grind culture. That’s a warning sign. Sleep. Hydrate. Walk away from the damn screen. Let your brain reset. Burnout isn’t proof you care. It’s proof you didn’t. Care for yourself like you care about your uptime. You’re Not Behind Everyone’s posting wins. New jobs. Product launches. Y Combinator rejections that still go viral. It’s easy to feel like you’re not doing enough. But listen: social media is a highlight reel. Not the whole picture. Your journey isn’t late. It’s yours. Keep building. Not because you’re trying to prove something. But because you still believe something beautiful might come out of this mess. I’m Sahadat hossen (Sagor). I write from a town most people forget. I build stuff with half-broken tools. I mess up. I restart. And I keep going. If you’re a dev and you’re tired—really tired—I see you. You’re not alone. You’re not failing. You’re just human. Build slow. Live loud. And don’t forget why you started. —Sahadat.

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Code, Burnout, and Late-Night Debugging: Life Advice for Devs From Someone Still Figuring It Out

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