Burnout Prevention

Volunteer work shouldn't burn you out.

Warning Signs

✓ You're excited about contributions
✓ You enjoy the community

✗ You feel obligated to respond 24/7
✗ You're frustrated with ungrateful users
✗ You can't say no to requests
✗ The work feels like a job
✗ You're not sleeping well

Preventing Burnout

Set Boundaries

This is NOT your job:
- 24/7 support
- Free custom features
- Handling entitled users
- Being the sole maintainer

You're allowed to:
- Take breaks
- Say no
- Go on vacation
- Step back if needed

Time Management

Healthy:
- 5-10 hours/week max
- Scheduled times, not random
- Fixed commitment, not open-ended
- Clear off-duty hours

Unhealthy:
- 30+ hours/week
- On-call all the time
- Never-ending tasks
- No boundaries

Community Support

You need:
- Other maintainers to share load
- Delegated decision-making
- Helper contributors
- Clear expectations

Self-Care

Take actual vacations
Automate repetitive tasks
Delegate when possible
Close laptop at fixed time
Have life outside open source

If You're Burning Out

It's okay to:

Take a break
Reduce involvement
Delegate more
Hand off to others
Step down entirely

Your health matters more than any project.

Sustainable is better than brilliant but burned out. Protect yourself.

Becoming a Maintainer Overview