The life of a programmer is not just about their chair and computer, or the breakfast, brunch, lunch, and afternoon snacks we often see in "A day in the life of a programmer" type videos.

A programmer can experience a lot of stress. Deadlines, new technologies, client and manager demands. But also stress in their life outside of work. Family issues, health problems, financial struggles, and many other things that can stretch our nerves.

So what can we do? I won’t speak as an expert, because I’m not one. But I will speak from experience. Unfortunately, if there are no solutions to our problems, we cannot get rid of stress. What we can do is change our philosophy and the way we see things.

Stoic philosophy and the effort to bring our mind into such a state can help us in daily life. Simply put, if a problem has a solution that we can apply, then we do it. Otherwise, there’s no need to stress about it. If a problem has no solution or the solution is out of our hands, then we let it take its course. We wait for it to resolve.

And how do we deal with people who cause us stress? We try to understand them. We try to figure out what it is they want from us but don’t say directly. Most of the time, everyone wants something from us, and for various reasons, they don’t express it. So, we must learn how to draw out from others what they want or what need they have but haven’t realized themselves.

But how can we stay calm and keep a clear mind? One practice is meditation. For 10 minutes each day, we should train our mind to concentrate on one thing and not drift away with useless thoughts. For example, we can spend 10 minutes each day focusing on our breath or on the sounds of nature and the environment.

Of course, all of this can fail. I believe the reason for failure, especially when we’ve put in the maximum possible effort, is a sign that something needs to change radically in our life. To change jobs, set boundaries, resolve misunderstandings, or whatever else might be necessary. In any case, diving deeper into Stoic philosophy and practicing meditation can help with the daily stress of our profession or our personal problems.