Lately, I’ve been working through some of the most intense burn out I have ever felt. My second semester of graduate classes started about a month ago and my two classes [embedded systems and digital signal processing] are quite challenging. So, I’ve been brainstorming about effective ways of managing burn out for engineers. In this article, I hypothesize that practicing free-form writing and journaling is one of the most effective ways for STEM professionals to manage burnout. The value of language arts to the exhausted mind of, say, an engineer, is the provision of sufficient yet novel stimulation. There is a familiarity I experience when I am searching for the right way to frame a paragraph. A feeling of proximity to the unknown. It is the knowledge that the answer is just around the corner, just a little bit more personal effort.

I have also found myself drawn to the language arts because of their ability to act as an explicit and concrete guide for the mind. More specifically, journaling is a very effective method to slow down one’s mind and consider one’s life in detail and with precision. When I say precision with regard to one’s life, I mean something entirely different than what I may once have. Only a few days ago, I would have told you that the solution to my burnout was some measure of optimization, discipline, or scheduling. When technology is involved in the answer, I become even more excited. I have trained myself to think that the answer to my problems lies at the output of an actuator or the input of a sensor.

I was wrong.

As a part of my continual personal journey in minimalism, I have had to very carefully consider whether or not technology, in its current excess, is truly serving humanity. The answer is that it isn’t. We have too much technology that we don’t use and don’t need. Every new device created represents another flatulation of carbon sent into our atmosphere. The idea that we must always pursue new levels of performance is only somewhat merited. Nominally it is true that in order to meet the needs of the world’s citizens, we must have more secure and performant machines. But fundamentally it is a flawed notion because we, as a species, still haven’t learned how to grow sustainably.

As I lay on my bed last night journaling about what I would put in this article, the notion of trying some new way to solve my burnout occurred to me quite saliently. I became driven to find some other way to manage by burnout besides my habit of rise and grind. I needed the precision afforded by technology to address my unique needs, but I needed to stop using technology. Language offers a separate type of precision. It is the precision that allows you to articulate the true state of your life to yourself. It is a mirror of words as well as a chisel to hone the marble of your life. I intend to use the instrument of language arts for a few reasons.

• To be able to explicitly guide my own actions and decisions based on careful consideration of my just deserts
• To be able to stimulate my mind in a way that is both enjoyable, sustainable, and relaxing
• To be able to build a more well-rounded mind

I already began this effort (though not with awareness) when I began this website. The original intention of the blogging section of this website was to have a place to share my creative writing as well as a place to share my hobbies. It has grown into a place for me to articulate my thoughts on a variety of subjects. They say that the age of the blog is over. I think that is an accurate statement. The attention span of myself and my fellows will continue to decrease if there is not the considerable effort put out by each of us to delay gratification and build an interest in the subtle.

I don’t expect many people to read these articles. I don’t read many articles myself. That’s a personal flaw and writing these blogs is a part of my method of healing my mind and restoring a sense of presence and concentration. I aim to achieve the same through patient and diligent study of engineering, but because that skillset is practiced so often, I have lost the perspective to be able to manage it at a meta level at this time.