Juggling Fireballs

What do you do when your team of two becomes a team of one, and the projects are on fire?

For the last couple of weeks, I've been flying solo. My partner in crime, my "working buddy," is out dealing with a situation I know many of us face: burnout.

I’m doing my best to support him, but in the meantime, the work doesn't stop. It feels like I’ve been handed a set of fireballs to juggle. And they’re all different sizes. Each one represents a project, a client, or a critical deadline. One was a priority, an emergency, a bug that had to be fixed ASAP. It took everything to put out that fire. But it's done. Extinct. Doused in cold water.

Two are still burning. I’m doing my best to keep them in the air and not drop them. Delivering as much as I can, without compromising quality, but I know they won’t be extinguished as fast as the first one was. I need to be transparent about what's achievable.

This situation reminds me of something crucial: real expertise isn’t just about putting out fires. But it’s about the grace and calm you bring when you find yourself in the middle of a crisis you didn’t create.

Navigating a Solo Mission

• Prioritization: When everything is urgent, nothing is. I had to identify the one true emergency and focus all my energy on it. The rest can wait, and I've communicated that clearly.
• Communication: Over-communication is key here. I'm regularly updating my boss on the status of our current projects, managing expectations, and being honest about what is and isn't possible.
• Self-Compassion: I'm reminding myself that I am only one person. I can’t do the work of two at the same pace. This is a marathon, not a sprint.
• Title and Responsibility: Requesting a title change, to better reflect my responsibilities and the value I bring to the table. It’s not just about the work I do, but the expertise and holding the line.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, to want to rush, to make a mistakes... learn and reiterate... But what I'm learning is the value of a steady hand. The ability to slow down, take a breath, and tackle each problem with a calm focus.

With this current circus my headspace really went into a state of flow. And I was really productive to turn off the fire on one project and now working to finish the other.

The Claude Conundrum

On another note, my reliance on AI tools has been tested. I've ran into the weekly quota limits with Claude, and it’s incredibly frustrating. It feels like hitting a wall just when I'm in my flow state, just when I need a partner the most. This experience reinforces a truth about these tools: they're not a substitute for core skills, but an augmentation of them. And when they fail, your foundational knowledge is all you have left.

Should I build my own LLM ?

It’s a powerful reminder of digital sovereignty. The tools you own and control, your own code, your own knowledge. They are the only ones you can rely on completely. All others can fail you in a critical moment. It's a waste of time and energy trying to circumvent those limitations. At least I've found a way around this particular problem with the help of Gemini. But I still need to be able to trust my tools. I'll be more mindful of this in the future.

This experience is teaching me how to be a better developer, a more disciplined consultant, and a more resilient individual. And for that, I am grateful.

Thank you for reading.