Open source projects can be like bags that we carry. We’ve been holding them for so long that when we put them down, we feel imbalanced, as if something is missing. Let’s give ourselves permission to let go, and learn how to give more by giving less.

For so many of us who work professionally in open source, we’re emotionally invested in the projects, and we have little to no separation between our volunteer-professional and personal lives. We log into office hours whilst on vacation, merge PRs when we’re at social gatherings, and feel like we have hard obligations to the many randos on GitHub who are absolutely losing their minds in the issue tracker.

Seriously though: identifying the issue is the first step to solving it. The next step is explaining why it’s a problem. Only then can we understand that we only do our best work when we’re feeling healthy and happy. We’re going to talk about boundaries, and about wilful disconnection, and how to make sure that you feel good about you, your code, and your community.