I find it hard to do the bullshit company work(now it's more like startup, but corporate was hell too) while daydreaming I was spending my best hours and fuel on a number of things else that I'd rather do or work or build. But after 8-10 hours, since I only have the leftover fuel and small hours, then the incentives become more twisted.. e.g.: 5 hours left on the day, I've been thinking about working on my project all week, I need to rest a bit, I want to read, movies I'd like to watch, maybe I should skate or workout a bit to get a better mood, or get something to eat, will I get more stamina if I try to work at home or do I go to a coffee? Will it be worth it today to put 2 hours into my project, or will it just stress me out more? Maybe should I meet friends and have beer and hash because I'm already too stressed out?
So it becomes really hard. What I mean is that not having enough space/time to properly do your stuff really seems to matter to me. When I'm free for some days, I have no problem at all focusing on sorting through everything(treating myself, working on my projects, studying, doing physical activities, socializing), and I feel much more complete.
It's funny because what I consider to be for nothing is jobs, the biggest outcome possible out of a job is generally just another job in which you could have more of responsibility/flexibility/learning/money, but still just the same thing(I guess the payoff can be more promising in US or Europe, but I suspect this is an illusion for most). If you leave, they'll just find someone else to do the job, so really it doesn't matter.
It's the same for me. The answer has been to reduce my spending (incl. a decision to not have kids) and get well-paying fixed-time contract gigs. They require me to move from my (cheap) home town to a city (often in a foreign country) that's hellish for me (like London). I deliberately consider those period of my life as "working on an oil rig". I go to the rig, do the work for 6 or 12 months, am miserable there (from shitty work, no free time, no friends or family, usually substandard housing etc.) and come back with a nice bundle of money that can sustain me for a couple years. I have not managed to find a way to live a satisfactory life while holding a full-time job, and at this point I don't think I'll ever will.
This is pretty much the only reproducible solution. Investing in personal brand and networking can bring in remote contracts. Remote still consumes all your energy but it avoids a lot of the unpleasantness of being on contract.
I had some remote contracts as well. All in all, I prefer to move and work at the company's office. Remote software development is IMO much harder and less attractive that the in-person variant, so I prefer the hassle of a move.
So it becomes really hard. What I mean is that not having enough space/time to properly do your stuff really seems to matter to me. When I'm free for some days, I have no problem at all focusing on sorting through everything(treating myself, working on my projects, studying, doing physical activities, socializing), and I feel much more complete.
It's funny because what I consider to be for nothing is jobs, the biggest outcome possible out of a job is generally just another job in which you could have more of responsibility/flexibility/learning/money, but still just the same thing(I guess the payoff can be more promising in US or Europe, but I suspect this is an illusion for most). If you leave, they'll just find someone else to do the job, so really it doesn't matter.