[taterbase]

What you're describing sound like the challenges that come from working at a big company. In my opinion you have a few options; each better suited towards different levels of burnout, which I believe you might be experiencing.

1. If you're severely burned out take some time off, as much as you can. A few weeks would be nice but a month or more would be even better. I've found that after spending the first few days (or even the first entire week) being a sloth on the couch I'll begin desiring to program again. Working on personal projects or just learning something new without worrying about work often helps me out of these valleys you're describing.

2. If you're moderately burnt out you may want to consider joining a smaller company or startup. The need for code is much greater and the agency you get at a smaller company is incredible. No need to ask for permission, they want you to code.

3. Finally if you're not quite burned out or if switching to a new company is not an option I'd honestly recommend reading some books like Peopleware, Mythical Man Month, Coders at Work and others. This will give you some respite as what you're experiencing is not uncommon. Learning how others have experienced what you're experiencing and how they push back or fight against cruft like this will embolden you to hopefully make change within and push back intelligently.

I hope you feel better and that the joy of coding comes back. And if it doesn't I hope you ultimately find happiness, wherever that may be.