Ask HN: Underperforming, feeling stuck • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Underperforming, feeling stuck

#111

Post by SanjayUttam » Wed, Oct 06, 2010, 4:34 PM UTC

krschultz wrote: post #108

aboodman wrote: post #59

I used to have something like this problem, and it turned out to be very simple: hunger. I had a bad habit of not eating when I was deeply into something (or deeply stressed), and my body would simply run out of fuel. I think there is something weird about my physiology that causes me to not notice hunger as much as others. So I wouldn't feel super hungry, but I'd get this spacey, apathetic, faded feeling and have tr…

I have a very similar problem, especially where you said "my body would simply run out of fuel ... I'd get this spacey, apathetic, faded feeling and have trouble focusing". Somehow a doctor figured out I was mildly hypoglycemic, basically you have to eat consistently and everything, but if you haven't eaten in too long you get that long crash where you end up just being almost exhausted for no reason. I always make s…

++ Breakfast. I won't even try to do anything that requires thought without my breakfast...usually just some non-sugary cereal.

Re: Ask HN: Underperforming, feeling stuck

#112

Post by teyc » Wed, Oct 06, 2010, 4:37 PM UTC

Have you considered it a problem of committing? Sometimes, when you have bucketfuls of experience, there doesn't seem to be any good choices, and you are paralysed by the fear that you might incur a technical debt that will be expensive to pay later.

Secondly, is it your development environment. Some tools have gotten very large and can disrupt the flow of reasoning.

Thirdly, try doing as much of the design work away from the computer. Then when you are there, you are just writing code.

Re: Ask HN: Underperforming, feeling stuck

#113

Post by araneae » Wed, Oct 06, 2010, 4:54 PM UTC

lawn wrote: post #88

Lot's of good responses but there's one thing I'm missing: working out. A few years ago I was playing icehockey maybe once a day or something and I felt great, school was easy and I had a lot of energy to spare (well, for a teenager anway). Then I quit hockey and I started doing nothing, just sitting in front of the computer and guess what happened? I got inexplicitly tired and burned out. I love math but it got bori…

On the other hand, if you hate working out and working, and you have a limited amount of willpower, you might end up spending all of your willpower working out.

Re: Ask HN: Underperforming, feeling stuck

#114

Post by maxawaytoolong » Wed, Oct 06, 2010, 5:16 PM UTC

jacquesm wrote: post #62

Consider a complete change of career, if that is at all an option. I know that sounds pretty dramatic and drastic, but you've already changed jobs several times within the profession and that does not seem to solve anything. Apparently your inspiration is at a very low tide and you don't seem to derive much enjoyment from your work. This is not something you are going to 'fix' (unless you're just looking at the short…

I too do not think you have ADD or depression or any of those things. You are just not really meant for this career. I am in the same boat. It's a bit of a tough pill to take, as this is an exciting space to be in, but if your body and brain are trying to override your will at every step, you're not in the right occupation.

I don't want to get into specific advice, as I don't know you, but don't forget that there are many types of programming. If you are doing web stuff and are super bored, maybe you really should be programming robots or video games. Personally, this didn't work for me. I do like the thought processes in software, and I like typing in code, but I greatly dislike sitting in front of a computer for longer than about 2 hours.

Someone on HN mentioned a couple of self-help books by Barbara Sher. I've found them very useful, they are not flaky or very "self-helpy" just more practical advice about career changing and trying to figure out what I'd rather be doing.

Good luck.

Re: Ask HN: Underperforming, feeling stuck

#115

Post by grammaton » Wed, Oct 06, 2010, 5:37 PM UTC

Not much I can offer in the way of practical advice here. Mostly all I can say is, you're not alone on this one. I'm going through much the same thing right now, and I suspect there isn't much for it other than time. About the only thing I've noticed is, cutting out extra time in front of the computer - e.g. browsing mindlessly at home - seems to help a bit.

Re: Ask HN: Underperforming, feeling stuck

#116

Post by ollysb » Wed, Oct 06, 2010, 5:57 PM UTC

varjag wrote: post #37

I think it's a common pattern, only perhaps the magnitude is worse in your case. I observed it on myself as well on other programmers back when doing a project management stint. What helps me personally is having a notepad where I jolt down TODO items, to the most atomic level if possible. To give an idea what's on it here now: - probe for activity on the I2C bus - find the SIGCHLD problem - remove rectangle in the l…

I've had a lot of success with the pomodoro technique. You start with a todo list for the day and then do work in 25 minute chunks with 5 minutes off in between each chunk. I've found that giving myself those 5 minutes of time to deliberately not work makes it much easier to actually focus for the 25 minutes when I am working. It also forces you to look at what you're doing every 25 minutes so you don't head of down rabbit holes.

Re: Ask HN: Underperforming, feeling stuck

#117

Post by plurinshael » Wed, Oct 06, 2010, 6:22 PM UTC

araneae wrote: post #113

lawn wrote: post #88

Lot's of good responses but there's one thing I'm missing: working out. A few years ago I was playing icehockey maybe once a day or something and I felt great, school was easy and I had a lot of energy to spare (well, for a teenager anway). Then I quit hockey and I started doing nothing, just sitting in front of the computer and guess what happened? I got inexplicitly tired and burned out. I love math but it got bori…

On the other hand, if you hate working out and working, and you have a limited amount of willpower, you might end up spending all of your willpower working out.

True. But you're probably exerting yourself too hard if a workout session taxes you that much (or you have it built up in your mind so you'll hate it no matter what). Remember Worf's exercise of holding 13-pound weights straight in front of him? To do that, you don't even start with weights, you just hold your arms out. There's no shame (literally none, this is actually the secret of developing an exercise mentality/physiology) in lifting incredibly light things, even just your arms. I do hear you, willpower is precious. But since exercise helps create willpower, too, and stress mitigation, it's a highly lucrative investment.

Re: Ask HN: Underperforming, feeling stuck

#118

Post by mason55 » Wed, Oct 06, 2010, 6:37 PM UTC

araneae wrote: post #113

lawn wrote: post #88

Lot's of good responses but there's one thing I'm missing: working out. A few years ago I was playing icehockey maybe once a day or something and I felt great, school was easy and I had a lot of energy to spare (well, for a teenager anway). Then I quit hockey and I started doing nothing, just sitting in front of the computer and guess what happened? I got inexplicitly tired and burned out. I love math but it got bori…

On the other hand, if you hate working out and working, and you have a limited amount of willpower, you might end up spending all of your willpower working out.

If there is literally no physical activity you enjoy and no job you enjoy then you are probably suffering from some kind of depression.

Re: Ask HN: Underperforming, feeling stuck

#119

Post by araneae » Wed, Oct 06, 2010, 7:29 PM UTC

plurinshael wrote: post #117

araneae wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the other hand, if you hate working out and working, and you have a limited amount of willpower, you might end up spending all of your willpower working out.

True. But you're probably exerting yourself too hard if a workout session taxes you that much (or you have it built up in your mind so you'll hate it no matter what). Remember Worf's exercise of holding 13-pound weights straight in front of him? To do that, you don't even start with weights, you just hold your arms out. There's no shame (literally none, this is actually the secret of developing an exercise mentality/…

I think you underestimate how much I hate exercise.

Re: Ask HN: Underperforming, feeling stuck

#120

Post by lsc » Wed, Oct 06, 2010, 8:01 PM UTC

mrtron wrote: post #28

sliverstorm wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I second the ADHD check. This sounds like classic ADHD symptoms to me. Once you sort of reach that pinnacle you've been striving for, it's easy to lose the drive when you can relax and quit striving or when things are less challenging. You will find your motivation will wax and wane, week in and week out. You start avoiding the real work so much with distractions that it becomes painful just to face it and your own…

I think everyone finds themselves with those thoughts and feelings. I think that the lack of drive and focus is a symptom of something, in rare cases perhaps ADD/ADHD. However from personal experience I usually discover a core problem that was causing these symptoms. Resolving that problem takes care of the lack of motivation and focus. Perhaps the specific work environment isn't for you. One job I worked directly ou…

>Anyways, the moral of the story was stepping back and discovering the root cause of these symptoms can be very beneficial. Don't block it out with meds unless that is really the cause.

If the meds fix the problem, and they have proven fairly safe, why not use them? (I mean, they aren't absolutely safe, but they are very safe compared to, say, driving to work every day.)

It's not a lifetime choice, either. You can decide that you need some help, and get it for the next six months, then stop and work on your personal issues. This is actually what I'm doing now (though, I'm nearing the end of my rest... it's time to get some work done.)