Burnout is common as a software developer and is actively talked about. Anyone who has spent enough time programming has probably experienced burnout at some level. Basically, from working long hours or work that induces stress - your brain will eventually shut off and it will become extremely difficult to work.
How I burned out
I believe it was a combination of things. To start - besides a few weekends here and there I rarely ever took time off coding. This went on for more than a year. During evenings and weekends I would put pressure on myself to learn something and/or to work on a side project.
As I started to work on more projects in work and personal projects, I would always strive to be one step ahead of the given tech stack and learn it before I started the project. It got to a point to where when I went on vacation - I took my laptop with me to study.
If I wasn't working, I was constantly thinking of what I could be doing or what I could be learning. This lead to a lot of unnecessary stress as my mind could not shut off from work. With web development there are an unfathomable amount of things to learn and it is extremely easy to get overwhelmed.
I had tight deadlines with my personal projects that lead to many late nights while dealing with less than ideal clients at work during the day. This combination took a tole on my mental health. I was able to successfully deliver my personal project on time and kept my responsibilities at work however I could feel myself going down a negative road.
My family and friends could see that I was stressed and not happy. I would constantly complain about my work and think towards making rash and not well thought through decisions. I began to get physical symptoms such as heart palpitations, eczema and trouble sleeping.
What I learned from burning out
This experience taught me a lot, primarily about life in general. We constantly judge ourselves by how we are performing at work, how good other people think we are (consciously or subconsciously) and how much money we make.
However what good are these things really if you cannot enjoy your own life? What is the point of hustling if it is making you unhappy?
The people who rave about hustling and working long hours are status signalling. Sure, you have to work hard to reach your goals and that may involve long hours. But often enough, I believe that you can reach your goals by making good decisions and good decisions do not mean spending more time working.
In fact, it means less time working and more time resting. When you are well rested you can put forth your best each and every day. You can tap directly into that creative energy you have and use it to its maximum.
The more grinding you do - the less capacity your mind has to make good decisions and therefore you end up wasting time.
How to avoid burnout
Pay attention to yourself and how you are feeling. If you want to be successful in your life and career there will be stressful times and there will be long hours that need to be worked. However, aim to make these the exception and not the rule.
Whenever you are feeling a lot of anger/stress try your best to take a step back and evaluate if this is worth it. If whatever is causing these feelings worth the sacrifice you are making.
This is easier said than done however try to let go of that nagging pressure to always learn more. If you need to learn something, take some time to learn the basics. However do not feel that you need to learn everything before starting a project. You will naturally learn as you go, it is must more important to be able to figure things out on the fly than to know everything at once.