WordCamp Europe 2014 notes - 1.2: Why sometimes happiness requires effort: depression in IT


I’m at WordCamp Europe in Sofia - taking rough notes on some of the talks

Yana Petrova http://2014.europe.wordcamp.org/session/yana-petrova/

  • Recipes for tackling depression
    • Breathing exercises
    • Make lists of things you want to do - force yourself to pick something off the list and do it
    • Engineer opportunities for small wins
    • Learn how to listen: helps to realise realities - stops you getting stuck on false ideas bouncing around inside your own head
  • Audience question - how do you convince the client that they’re working with People who need to not be driven into the ground (and need time to sort things out properly? Squashing technical debt for happiness and satisifaction?)

  • Pedometer - gamifying being active - helps to break patterns of always working. An example of making a small win.

  • Audience question - keeping good mental health in the face of difficult clients

  • Audience recipes:
    • Cycling - not just for the riding, but for meeting people
    • Yoga
    • Ringfence smartphone use
    • Remember - If you fail, nobody is going to die!!
  • Closing comment: If something is really important it will come back to you. Don’t stress about your inbox and don’t check your email at 1pm.