I have worked in tech for, goodness, sixteen years now. And if you do, or have, worked in tech, you probably know I have a problem¹.

My brain is absolutely dead at the end of the day.

Now, I consider myself quite good at my job, but something I’ve learned is that being good at your job only makes people ask more of you.

But, that’s part of the problem. Now, I don’t have any clever solutions to that (other than being defensive of your time and kind to yourself) but I have found something that I think is helping me achieve balance, and it is woodworking!

Woodworking feels like the opposite of tech. Solutions are concrete, physical, measured in millimetres and minutes. You’re thinking not in abstract terms, but in real concrete terms. It also helps that I am working for myself.

In working for myself, I am learning to accept mistakes. I am learning to embrace the space between periods of intense focus. And I am learning to use my hands to make something tangible.

Slowly, and with an assortment of other life changes I have been making (not to mention therapy), I feel I am slowly fixing my addled tech worker brain.

I am really only getting started, but I’ve built a couple of little projects out of plywood, some power tools and some gumption and planning out on paper. It’s great. I feel so accomplished every time.

So if you feel similarly, I encourage you to find a way to build something physical. Find a problem in your life or just something that could be a little better and explore a solution. Build something for yourself and your loved ones, which will outlast the tech hype cycle.

And, frankly, I think this is making me better at work too.