You’re a mechanic? Great. Try floral arrangement.

A painter? Fantastic. Build a bird house.

By all means, find and expert and ask for help. You may be terrible at it. That’s ok. You may find a new hobby. Either way, you’ve exposed yourself to a whole new world.

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Simplify, and add lightness is the motto of Colin Chapman, a major innovator in Formula 1 racing. It boils down to this: adding power makes you faster on the straights; subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere.

Instead of using the brute force approach, or throwing more server power at the problem, try solving the problem using a cleaner and more effective coding solution. When a product is in startup mode and you’re going after that minimum viable product, don’t keep tossing features on. Keep an eye on what you’re trying to achieve, and build for that.

Basically, do this: work smarter, not harder.

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Usually, walking away and taking a breath gives you a new perspective on the problem. Solutions frequently come to me in the shower; most likely because I’m not staring at the computer screen, stuck spinning my wheels. So go for a walk, work on a completely different problem, have a snack. Your brain is still working on a solution in the background. Sometimes you just need a little distance to get clarity.

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Change the way you think. Consider others first.

It doesn’t mean being a doormat — sometimes I love you means doing the hard thing.

Also, remember: you are loved.

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I love my job. I love the people I work with. Here’s how I’ve been able to do that: I love doing something else, too.

You need to love something besides work, otherwise you’ll burn out. Don’t worry. If you work on computers all day, you can still have a computer hobby. It can be a side project that you’re passionate about.

For me, I play with wrenches. Mostly motorcycles. Sometimes old cars and trucks.

You should see my garage. Actually, you probably shouldn’t. It’s crazy. There are 11 motorcycles in there, and I love it. It’s where I go to decompress and recharge. Everyone needs a happy place.

Your happy place can be a frustrating place. Rusty bolts are often hard to loosen, and occasionally they result in bloody knuckles. So, your happy place can be a gross place, too. It’s all cool.

Everyone at Software for Good seems to have something they love, and those things usually don’t really have anything to do with work. That’s what makes us great, and that’s why we do great work.

We love people who are passionate. About code, because, yeah, that’s what we do. But also about other things, too. Outer space? Sure. Motorcycles? Obviously. Pedal bikes? Why not? Calligraphy? Awesome. It really doesn’t matter what it is. Just have something that recharges your brain batteries.

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