General Musings with Kevin Powell

Most developers say they like the AI tools they're using, yet motivation is down and burnout is everywhere. This week I look at what the 2026 Stack Overflow and State of Devs surveys say, and what you've been telling me in the comments. Then I get to what the people who are happier with AI are doing differently, and what could actually fix this.

Sources:
Stack Overflow 2026 Developer Survey: https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2026
State of Devs 2026: https://2026.stateofdevs.com/en-US

My primary YouTube channel where I teach frontend development, with a strong focus on CSS: https://youtube.com/@kevinpowell

✉ The written version of my newsletter: https://www.kevinpowell.co/newsletter
💬 Come hang out with other dev's in my Discord Community: https://discord.gg/nTYCvrK

Help support my channel
👨‍🎓 Get a course: https://www.kevinpowell.co/courses
👕 Buy a shirt: https://teespring.com/stores/making-the-internet-awesome
💖 Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kevinpowell

0:00 Developers like AI, so why the burnout?
0:15 The paradox in the Stack Overflow survey
1:58 What you've been saying in the comments
3:06 Reduced motivation is the top burnout symptom
4:13 Poor management, the top workplace difficulty
6:11 Some people are happier with AI
8:21 The job isn't typing, it's shipping products
9:33 Management needs a rethink
11:42 Lessons from Photoshop
14:45 What you can do
15:41 What do you think?

✅ Thoughtful Design Systems: https://thecascade.dev/courses/design-systems/
✅ StyleX: https://stylexjs.com/
✅ Jeremy Keith’s blog post: https://adactio.com/journal/857

My primary YouTube channel where I teach frontend development, with a strong focus on CSS: https://youtube.com/@KevinPowell

✉ The written version of my newsletter: https://www.kevinpowell.co/newsletter
💬 Come hang out with other dev's in my Discord Community: https://discord.gg/nTYCvrK

Help support my channel
👨‍🎓 Get a course: https://www.kevinpowell.co/courses
👕 Buy a shirt: https://teespring.com/stores/making-the-internet-awesome
💖 Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kevinpowell

Beyond Tellerand: https://beyondtellerrand.com/
Thoughtful Design Systems: https://thecascade.dev/courses/design-systems/

The Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeAI/comments/1wm5c21/i_am_done_with_this_shit/

My primary YouTube channel where I teach frontend development, with a strong focus on CSS: https://youtube.com/@kevinpowell

✉ The written version of my newsletter: https://www.kevinpowell.co/newsletter
💬 Come hang out with other dev's in my Discord Community: https://discord.gg/nTYCvrK

Help support my channel
👨‍🎓 Get a course: https://www.kevinpowell.co/courses
👕 Buy a shirt: https://teespring.com/stores/making-the-internet-awesome
💖 Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kevinpowell

Piccalilli: https://piccalil.li
Master.dev blog (run by Chris Coyier): https://master.dev/blog/
Smashing Magazine: https://www.smashingmagazine.com
Ahmad Shadeed: https://ishadeed.com
Josh W. Comeau: https://www.joshwcomeau.com
Bramus: https://www.bram.us
CSS Tip (Temani Afif): https://css-tip.com
CSS Weekly: https://css-weekly.com/
Geoff Graham: https://geoffgraham.me

Articles and posts that I mentioned during this video:
Chris’ article: https://chriscoyier.net/2024/02/28/where-im-at-on-the-whole-css-tricks-thing/
Geoff’s first goodbye to CSS-Tricks: https://geoffgraham.me/goodbye-css-tricks/
Geoff’s latest post on why it went quiet: https://geoffgraham.me/why-css-tricks-has-been-quiet/
DHH’s post annoucing the funding: https://omarchy.org/news/2026/09/digitalocean-joins-as-founding-corporate-patron/

👉 Start writing CSS with confidence, with or without AI 😅: https://thecascade.dev/courses/css-demystified/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=regular-video

My primary YouTube channel where I teach frontend development, with a strong focus on CSS: https://youtube.com/@kevinpowell

✉ The written version of my newsletter: https://www.kevinpowell.co/newsletter
💬 Come hang out with other dev's in my Discord Community: https://discord.gg/nTYCvrK

Help support my channel
👨‍🎓 Get a course: https://www.kevinpowell.co/courses
👕 Buy a shirt: https://teespring.com/stores/making-the-internet-awesome
💖 Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kevinpowell

Jeremy Keith's article: https://adactio.com/journal/857

My primary YouTube channel where I teach frontend development, with a strong focus on CSS: https://youtube.com/@kevinpowell

✉ The written version of my newsletter: https://www.kevinpowell.co/newsletter
💬 Come hang out with other dev's in my Discord Community: https://discord.gg/nTYCvrK

Help support my channel
👨‍🎓 Get a course: https://www.kevinpowell.co/courses
👕 Buy a shirt: https://teespring.com/stores/making-the-internet-awesome
💖 Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kevinpowell

The boring internet: https://www.terrygodier.com/the-boring-internet
CSS Weekly: https://css-weekly.com/
The Index by Piccalilli: https://piccalil.li/the-index/

My primary YouTube channel where I teach frontend development, with a strong focus on CSS: https://youtube.com/@kevinpowell

✉ The written version of my newsletter: https://www.kevinpowell.co/newsletter
💬 Come hang out with other dev's in my Discord Community: https://discord.gg/nTYCvrK

Help support my channel
👨‍🎓 Get a course: https://www.kevinpowell.co/courses
👕 Buy a shirt: https://teespring.com/stores/making-the-internet-awesome
💖 Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kevinpowell

Vale's article: https://vale.rocks/micros/20260521-0440
Matthias' article: https://matthiasott.com/notes/ad-infinitum
My article that I mentioned in passing: https://www.kevinpowell.co/article/tell-someone-you-appreciate-them/

My primary YouTube channel where I teach frontend development, with a strong focus on CSS: https://youtube.com/@kevinpowell

✉ The written version of my newsletter: https://www.kevinpowell.co/newsletter
💬 Come hang out with other dev's in my Discord Community: https://discord.gg/nTYCvrK

Help support my channel
👨‍🎓 Get a course: https://www.kevinpowell.co/courses
👕 Buy a shirt: https://teespring.com/stores/making-the-internet-awesome
💖 Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kevinpowell

CSS Demystified: https://thecascade.dev/courses/css-demystified/?utm_source=general-musings&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=regular-video
CSS Day: https://cssday.nl/
ZurichJS: https://conf.zurichjs.com/

I recently went through a period that could have led to burnout, but I managed to avoid it, so I thought I'd share how I managed to get through it.

CSS Day: https://cssday.nl/
ZurichJS: https://conf.zurichjs.com/
CSS Demystified: https://thecascade.dev/courses/css-demystified/?utm_source=general-musings&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=regular-video

In this episode, I talk about why being an expert still matters in a world of AI tools, and how those tools can sometimes make us think we know more than we do. I also touch on imposter syndrome and the importance of knowing what we don't know.

My primary YouTube channel where I teach frontend development, with a strong focus on CSS: https://youtube.com/@kevinpowell