I don't have good work-life balance but I work insanely productive. 70 hours a week on average. 23 years old.
That just means that you work a lot, not that you get a lot done. :-)
Ask HN: How are some people exceptionally productive?
11–20 of 137 posts
Re: Ask HN: How are some people exceptionally productive?
#12I don't have good work-life balance but I work insanely productive. 70 hours a week on average. 23 years old.
24 here, I don't have one either.
It'll pay off for kids like us some day.
Re: Ask HN: How are some people exceptionally productive?
#13 1. Work on something that you MUST get done.
2. Plan your day the night before.
3. Wake up early and start working immediately.
4. Other people's "obstacles" are your opportunities to invent.
5. One day at a time, regrouping each night.
6. VERY short to do list at any given time.
7. 2 computers, work in 1 room, internet in another.
8. NO distractions while working (email, phone, others).
9. Short intense sprints with short breaks between.
10. Moderate & healthy eating.
11. Full night sleep.
12. Analysis time away from computer.
13. Clear (revisable) vision of end product.
14. Dinner with mate (or family) every night.
15. Have no other major projects (or interests) for now.
16. No day job.
17. Accept input from others, but go with your own gut.
18. No TV.
19. It's a marathon, not a sprint.
20. Get off Hacker News (stop posing, start acting).Re: Ask HN: How are some people exceptionally productive?
#14I don't have good work-life balance but I work insanely productive. 70 hours a week on average. 23 years old.
Working 70 hours a week doesn't mean you are productive, just that you are working 70 hours per week. Being productive means getting things done.
Maybe you are crushing it and doing 120 hours work of work in 70 hours. Or maybe you are doing 70 hours of work in 70 hours.
Re: Ask HN: How are some people exceptionally productive?
#15It's the little bit everyday that adds up. Like piano practice session, you don't wake up one day being a master, you grind it out over 10 years, every day little by little. The most productive sessions are the ones where you struggle at a slow pace because this is how you get better.
Re: Ask HN: How are some people exceptionally productive?
#16If I was to point out only one quality that I have seen stand out (personal experience working with similar people), it is Focus.
When they are doing something, they're extremely focused and quite often that results in not just the task finishing faster, but with desired quality. This reduces the time and number of iterations they need, creating more space for other things.
Re: Ask HN: How are some people exceptionally productive?
#17The two people you describe are experts in their fields and dedicated themselves to that small area.
They share a lot of common ground - both work on software solving a common problem, that really just needed one person to dedicate themselves to fully understanding the problem and to do a very high quality job.
Neither has had particular commercial success through doing that, but both have excellent reputations that they are now able to leverage.
If you those are your role models, you need super-expert knowledge and dedication. And, some means of supporting yourself to do that - Wickham's work fits alongside his PhD and professorship, and Otwell has been taking one day a week from his work.
Tough. Good luck :)
Re: Ask HN: How are some people exceptionally productive?
#18What I found is that productivity is much related to the state of one's well being and quality of one's relationship with close ones.
Re: Ask HN: How are some people exceptionally productive?
#19What I found is that productivity is much related to the state of one's well being and quality of one's relationship with close ones.