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Ask HN: What's your working day like?

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Re: Ask HN: What's your working day like?

#281

Post by TeMPOraL »

aswanson wrote: post #270
macNchz wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I usually get this after-disco/cinema low when the amount of people in office starts to slow down When the office slows down and things get quieter is when I find myself finally able to get completely focused in on things that require all of my attention. I enjoy meetings, business talk, planning and miscellaneous conversations with coworkers more than (I think) most software developers, but to get any sizable soft…

Yeah that "reloading " process is hard for me as well, which is why I wear headphones. But some people don't respect headphones! They still interrupt with trivial bs, even after you've given them every possible nonverbal clue that you're trying to get shit done!

I actually ditched shitty Bluetooth headphones and bought myself a HyperX Butt set for work just because of noisy cow-orkers. Works wonders for ambient noise and I enjoy the quality of whatever I am listening to, but as you said, some people still don't get the clue.

Re: Ask HN: What's your working day like?

#282

Post by mrradd »

Taco Bell Manager in a mall food court [0800] - Wake up, shower, eat breakfast. [0830] - Ride my bike to work since I lived close to the mall. [0850] - Unlock the store, turn on lights, turn on re-thermalizer, groan about how crappy the night shift cleaned. [0915] - Wonder why I still work at Taco Bell. Drop the previous days's, along with fresh, beef/chicken/steak in the re-thermalizer to be ready to serve at 1000. [0920] - Run through the food/supplies to make sure we have enough for the day. [0930] - Another crew member shows up (usually someone I like since I make the schedules), I delegate work for them to do. [0935] - Prepare the cash drawers and do the morning count of the safe. [9050] - Stare at the wall of my office wondering why I still work at Taco Bell. [1000] - Open up the store and feed whomever eats Taco Bell for breakfast... [1130] - Swap out food line (replace stuff that will be 'unservable' in about an hour). A couple more crewmembers show up for lunch rush. [1200] - LUNCH RUSH/Deal with really crappy customers which make me wonder why I still work at Taco Bell. [1500] - Lunch Rush ends. Another manager shows up, and we do the change of shift stuff. [1600] - I finally get to take a break. [1700] - Clock out. Find out my bike is stolen. Walk home. [1800] - Eat some food, play video games. [0000] - Go to bed.

I'm no longer a Taco Bell manager. Now I am a software dev like many of you. I just thought I'd share since there was a lack of fast food in this post.

Re: Ask HN: What's your working day like?

#283

Post by lukewrites »

mistr0 wrote: post #30

I made an account to post this. I come to HN often because I find it interesting and I thought I'd contribute, in amongst the software engineers: Teacher (UK): 6:30 get up, eat, take child to nursery 8:15 arrive, plan lessons, mark work 9:20 teach 12:40 working lunch (meetings, helping students with work) 13:40 teach 15:40 plan lessons, mark, or attend meetings 16:30 gym 17:30 collect child from nursery and generally…

Profession: Teacher (primary school)

0500: Alarm goes off. Read the news for 5-10 minutes.

0510: Out of bed, making coffee.

0515: At my desk, coding one of my side projects or learning something new.

0630: Stop working, make breakfast for my wife, have breakfast with her.

0710: Shower, dress.

0725: Leave for work.

0755: Kids are in the classroom. Pandemonium for the next 6.5 hours. Each day I have two breaks (15 min in the morning and 35-ish minutes for lunch). If it's one of my two weekly plan days, I get another 90 minutes for planning/sitting in meetings.

1425: Dismissal, walk kids to the bus, watch everyone leave/get picked up. Head back to the classroom to cobble together the next day's materials.

1530: Out the door.

I'm applying for software developer positions - as much as I love teaching, I'm glad this will be my last year in the classroom.

Re: Ask HN: What's your working day like?

#284

Post by LyndsySimon »

Profession: Developer

[07:30] Wake up, prepare for day

[08:15] Leave home

[08:30] Arrive at work, figure out what the hell I'm working on today

[09:00] Standup

[09:15] Walk across the street to the diner, order an omelet, begin working

[13:00] Walk back to work, since my battery is dead

[15:00] Leave work again, head for a park

[15:15] Hang hammock, begin working again

[17:30] Realize I'm a half hour late shutting down, pack my stuff, and head home

Re: Ask HN: What's your working day like?

#285

Post by mrradd »

Taco Bell Manager in a mall food court [0800] - Wake up, shower, eat breakfast.

[0830] - Ride my bike to work since I lived close to the mall.

[0850] - Unlock the store, turn on lights, turn on re-thermalizer, groan about how crappy the night shift cleaned.

[0915] - Wonder why I still work at Taco Bell. Drop the previous days's, along with fresh, beef/chicken/steak in the re-thermalizer to be ready to serve at 1000.

[0920] - Run through the food/supplies to make sure we have enough for the day.

[0930] - Another crew member shows up (usually someone I like since I make the schedules), I delegate work for them to do.

[0935] - Prepare the cash drawers and do the morning count of the safe.

[9050] - Stare at the wall of my office wondering why I still work at Taco Bell.

[1000] - Open up the store and feed whomever eats Taco Bell for breakfast...

[1130] - Swap out food line (replace stuff that will be 'unservable' in about an hour). A couple more crewmembers show up for lunch rush.

[1200] - LUNCH RUSH/Deal with really crappy customers which make me wonder why I still work at Taco Bell.

[1500] - Lunch Rush ends. Another manager shows up, and we do the change of shift stuff.

[1600] - I finally get to take a break.

[1700] - Clock out. Find out my bike is stolen. Walk home.

[1800] - Eat some food, play video games.

[0000] - Go to bed.

I'm no longer a Taco Bell manager. Now I am a software dev like many of you. I just thought I'd share since there was a lack of fast food in this post.

Re: Ask HN: What's your working day like?

#286

Post by TeMPOraL »

erikb wrote: post #280
TeMPOraL wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Somebody has to do something. If everyone is running around talking to everyone else like a bunch of agitated monkeys, no real work actually gets done.

Well, have you noticed that I argued exactly the opposite?

I did, but I was replying to 'grogenaut in reply to 'nyrulez, by pointing out that while one doesn't have to feel responsible for writing all code, somebody has to feel responsible for writing some code, at least some of the time.

Re: Ask HN: What's your working day like?

#287

Post by manmal »

iOS Freelancer

I have 2 offices, so 2 schedules. Here is the one for the shared desk in the center of my hometown:

[06:45 - 07:00] Alarm goes off, most of the time have a shower.

[07:00-08:30] Wake up my older son, make him breakfast, prep for kindergarten and take him there (~50 meters). Also ready myself in the meantime. This is very intense because my son often does not really want to go, he'd rather stay at home. But being there he loves it - kids :)

[08:30-09:00] Eat (if not IF'ing), read up on HN and general news

[09:00 or 09:30] Off to the office (8m by bike), catching up on email and more HN/media

[10:00] Start billable work

[12:00-12:45] Lunch with friends in coworking space

[13:00-17:15] Billable work

[17:15] Cycle home

[17:30-19:00] Family time, dinner (Cooked by me, most of times), or, very seldom, billable work (putting out fires).

[19:00-20:30] Force older son to brush teeth and go to bed, then I surf HN or Netflix on the phone while we lay in bed and he listens to an audiobook; or I read or tell a story

[20:30-~22:30] More HN, often TV with fiance, very seldom side projects, sometimes billable work. Lately, playing with toddler daughter, but not as much as I should or wanted to.

Reading what I just wrote, there definitely is room for improvement.

Re: Ask HN: What's your working day like?

#288

Post by lotyrin »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #269
Etheryte wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your work schedule speaks to mine on a spiritual level. I can't imagine working anywhere where strict hours (9-5 or similar) are required.

It's mostly hard for me because of... some weird mix of biology and psychology, I guess. Since the end of highschool, I'm incapable of maintaining a "morning person" lifestyle for longer than half a week, full week at best. Nevertheless, I do appreciate the benefits of having some time alone in the office, when I can focus.

Have you done a sleep study? I used to feel this way about my own sleep schedule, turns out I sucked at breathing and sleeping at the same time (sleep apnea).

Re: Ask HN: What's your working day like?

#289

Post by zepolen »

davzie wrote: post #14

Profession: Web Developer, self employed working remote with startups and creative agencies. Workday: - [08:00] Wake up in a daze and make my wife and son tea and breakfast - [08:30] Shower, get dressed and ready - [09:15] After prepping water canister and tea caddy, head to garden office. - [09:30] Procrastinate - [14:00] Realise the work day is nearly over. Panic. Cram work in. - [17:00] Finish work, make son dinne…

So uh...what does your wife do?

Re: Ask HN: What's your working day like?

#290

Post by TeMPOraL »

erikb wrote: post #146
treehau5 wrote: post #46

Profession: Software "Engineer" [06:15] First alarm goes off; [06:45] Finally wake up, get out of bed, shower, shave, make espresso for me and the wife [07:15] out the door, 30 minute commute to office [07:45] breakfast bagel at my work cafe [08:00] arrive at desk, begin contemplating work -- work on something I procrastinated on the previous day so that I can have a good standup report [9:00] everyone arrives at off…

Many people complain about the usual work chaos. I'm also an engineer and I don't get it. For me, having other people come and ask questions is not distraction but an opportunity to help, learn to know their point of view, learn new things. Meetings are a way to influence the direction of the company however small my influence may be. Other people talking can really distract if it's heavily on topic, but usually also…

> What's the actual "engineering work" you are trying to do without interacting with people all the time?

Building systems. Adding features to software. Debugging it. Anything more trivial than generating and wiring classes that someone else designed for you.

I guess a lot depends on the kind of work you're doing. In all of the projects I worked on, 90% of work time would be spend on actually doing it, and only 10% on talking about it (and most of that at the beginning, and then at some critical moments in the project). After the design discussions had been concluded and we've settled on appropriate division of labour (critical aspect: modularity, so that people can work in isolation and have to agree only on interfaces), it was mostly individual work.

Now don't get me wrong, I love helping others and answering their questions, or sitting with them and figuring stuff out. Just not all the time, and not in the very moment I'm trying to do something cognitively demanding (like redesigning half a dozen subsystems, or carefully weaving in new features requested by the client in a way that doesn't disrupt the rest of the application).

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