Code, Leadership & the Remote Dev Life

Tag: Burnout Prevention

  • Setting Boundaries: Managing Workload, Not Just Projects

    Setting Boundaries: Managing Workload, Not Just Projects

    There’s a difference between managing projects and managing workload—and I learned that the hard way.

    Years ago, I was tracking all the right things: timelines, tickets, blockers. Everything looked “green” on the outside. But inside the team, people were burning out. Quietly working late. Missing lunch. Pulling weekend hours they weren’t talking about.

    The projects were being managed. But the people weren’t.

    That’s when I realized: managing workload isn’t about assigning less—it’s about setting and respecting boundaries.

    Boundary #1: Working Hours Are Not Elastic

    If your default culture is “just get it done,” the work will always expand to fill every hour—and then some. I started explicitly reinforcing working hours. If someone posted on Slack outside of their supposed working hours (we choose our own schedule at work), I’d DM and say: “Why are you online?”

    Not to scold. To remind them that work doesn’t own their life.

    Sometimes people just need permission to stop. Your silence might be read as approval otherwise.

    Boundary #2: Protecting Focus Time Is Non-Negotiable

    Meetings creep. Chat pings multiply. Before you know it, your devs have no deep work blocks.

    I began blocking out “no-meeting hours”—team-wide. The effect? Less context switching, more velocity, and (most importantly) less frustration.

    Managing workload isn’t just about what’s on someone’s plate. It’s about how fragmented that plate is.

    Boundary #3: Push Back On Poor Planning

    One of the hardest things I had to learn as a manager: urgency is not the same as importance.

    Just because someone higher up says “we need this by Friday” doesn’t mean it’s realistic—or respectful. I started asking for context: “What happens if this ships next week instead?” Often, the answer is… nothing.

    Pushing back protects your team’s bandwidth. It also teaches stakeholders to plan better.

    Boundary #4: Normalize Saying “No” (Or “Not Now”)

    Burnout thrives in a culture of yes.

    So I made it a habit to publicly say “no” to things (not just at work but in every aspect of my life as well). “We’re at capacity. Let’s revisit this next sprint.” By modeling that behavior, others followed.

    Saying no isn’t negative—it’s leadership.

    Burnout Isn’t a Resource Issue. It’s a Boundary Issue.

    You can’t spreadsheet your way out of an overloaded team. You need to lead with empathy, not just efficiency. That means checking in. Not just “How’s the project going?” but “How are you doing with this load?”

    Sometimes the fix isn’t reassigning tasks. It’s redefining expectations.

    You’re Not Just Managing Work. You’re Managing Energy.

    If you care about sustainable output, you have to care about human input. Burnout costs more than missed deadlines—it drains morale, trust, and creativity.

    Set the boundaries. Protect the energy. The projects will follow.

  • Keeping Morale High During Crunch Time

    Keeping Morale High During Crunch Time

    Crunch time. Two words that make most developers groan and most managers sweat.

    No matter how well you plan, estimate, or try to keep the team agile and lean, there’s always that moment when a deadline barrels toward you like a freight train, and suddenly it’s all hands on deck. It’s stressful. It’s exhausting. But most of all—it’s dangerous for morale.

    I’ve been through enough crunches in my career to know that how we manage those moments can make or break a team—not just in terms of productivity, but in terms of long-term trust and culture. So today I want to talk about what’s worked for me when the pressure’s on, and how I try to keep morale from falling apart during those intense sprints.

    Acknowledge the Reality Without Sugarcoating

    When the pressure starts building, the worst thing you can do is pretend everything is fine.

    I don’t like management-speak like “we’re almost there” or “let’s push through just a bit more” when I know the team is looking at 12-hour days for the next two weeks. It feels dishonest, and worse, it makes people feel like their suffering isn’t seen.

    Instead, I try to be real. I’ll say things like:

    “I know this next stretch is going to be brutal. We didn’t plan for this scope creep, but we’re in it now, and I appreciate each one of you stepping up.”

    That kind of transparency sets the tone. It says, “Yes, this is hard. And yes, I see it. I’m here with you.”

    And sometimes, that’s all people need—to be seen and understood.

    Communicate More, Not Less

    During crunch time, communication needs to increase, but not in a micro-managey way.

    I set a rhythm. Quick daily check-ins (async if possible), a short wrap-up every couple of days, and clear updates on priorities. I avoid random pings like “how’s it going?” and instead ask, “Do you need anything to unblock X?” or “Is there something we can cut or shift?”

    The idea is to reduce ambiguity and avoid the “black box” feeling—where team members don’t know what others are doing or what’s expected next.

    When everyone knows what they’re responsible for and what’s on the horizon, they feel more in control, and that’s a big morale boost when the days are long.

    Protect the Team’s Focus

    Meetings during crunch time? No thanks.

    Unless it’s absolutely critical, I cancel or reschedule. The goal is to give everyone long stretches of uninterrupted time to just do the work. If I can act as a buffer—shielding the team from stakeholders, random scope changes, or impromptu calls—I’ll do it gladly.

    Even better, I’ll communicate that I’m doing it:

    “Hey, the client wanted to check in again this week, but I told them we’re heads down and will give them a proper update Friday. Just keep building—we’ve got your back.”

    That kind of message is gold. It tells the team that their time is valued and their focus is protected.

    Celebrate the Small Wins

    One of the fastest ways to kill morale is to make the mountain feel insurmountable.

    I like to break the work down into visible chunks and celebrate the progress. Finished the frontend login refactor? High five. Got the backend cache working smoothly? Take a screenshot and share it in Slack with a 🎉 emoji.

    You’d be surprised how energizing it is to feel like you’re actually making progress—especially when it feels like you’re sprinting on a treadmill.

    Perhaps even throw in micro-incentives:

    • Friday shout-outs in the team channel
    • “Bug squashers of the week” leaderboard (totally optional, no pressure)
    • Or even a simple, great job this week sent as a private message

    It’s not about turning it into a competition—it’s about injecting a little fun into the grind.

    Recognize Human Limits

    Here’s something I learned the hard way: people can’t sprint forever.

    Even if your team is made of high performers, even if everyone is “motivated,” and even if no one complains—burnout doesn’t knock. It creeps.

    So I try to monitor for signs. If someone’s commits are getting erratic, or they’ve stopped responding like they used to, I’ll check in. Not as a manager, but as a fellow human:

    “Hey, I noticed you’ve been pushing late into the night a few days in a row. Everything okay? Want to take half a day off this week to reset?”

    More often than not, the answer is yes. And they come back better the next day.

    Crunch time isn’t just a technical challenge—it’s a mental one. If we pretend our teams are machines, we’re going to break them.

    Don’t Forget to Laugh

    This sounds minor, but it isn’t.

    Laughter might be the only thing keeping some teams sane during a hard push. I’ve seen devs running on zero sleep still light up when someone drops a dumb meme in the group chat or makes a terrible pun in the commit messages.

    You don’t need to force it, but leave space for fun. Be okay with goofiness. Share silly gifs. Celebrate inside jokes. In those moments, the stress fades—just for a second—but it makes a difference.

    After the Crunch: Recovery Matters

    Here’s where a lot of managers drop the ball: after the deadline, they just move on.

    Big mistake.

    After a sprint like that, people need time to decompress. Give them a real breather. Cancel non-essential meetings for a week. Let folks start a little later. Say, “Nothing urgent this week—take care of yourself.”

    And thank them—publicly and privately. Acknowledge not just the results, but the effort. Say their names. Share the wins. Let people feel it.

    That recovery phase isn’t just good for morale—it’s the bridge between “We survived” and “We’d do this again with you if we had to.”

    Final Thoughts

    Crunch time isn’t ideal. No one should plan for it. But it happens. Projects run late. Clients ask for too much. Features need rework. Life throws curveballs.

    When it does, our job as leaders isn’t just to hit the deadline. It’s to get there without breaking our team’s spirit.

    That means leading with empathy, protecting focus, injecting fun, and celebrating every little win along the way. And when it’s all over, letting people breathe.

    Morale isn’t magic. It’s a choice—built through small actions, every day, especially when it’s hardest.

    Here’s to surviving the crunch—and coming out stronger.