Ask HN: How do you decide when you've done enough work for the day?

Post by jypepin » Mon, Oct 01, 2018, 12:41 PM UTC

chrisweekly wrote: post #80

jypepin wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't agree with that, because the number of hours you work are pretty irrelevant when not in a butts-in-seats setup. Also, burnout is not really directly related to the number of hours you work. Work should be focused on productivity, not hours spent. Employers, clients and managers have expectations of a quantity of work being accomplished for a specific budget, and it doesn't matter to them if its done in 2hrs o…

>"Employers, clients and managers have expectations of a quantity of work being accomplished for a specific budget, and it doesn't matter to them if its done in 2hrs or 200hrs." You're assuming every project is fixed-scope, fixed-cost and variable-time. In my experience that matches a small minority of projects.

Post by codewithcheese » Mon, Oct 01, 2018, 6:06 PM UTC

dstick wrote: post #111

codewithcheese wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find there is inevitably still tough days working for yourself on a project that takes more than a month. Overworking can lead to losing sight of your goals which can lead to burn out.

Fair enough! Breaks and structure remain important. I wake up every morning at 5:00, do some excersises, write down my goals, do pushups until I can’t any more and then process all emails from the past 24 hours. Once that’s done I set a todo list for that day and push things forward that aren’t a priority. So far, this ensures I’m able to stay on top, don’t lose track, can work 10 to 12 hours a day easily and not fee…