I'm working 15 hours a week and making more than the average citizen.
Here's to $100/hour remote software development like a boss.
The compelling case for working less
121–130 of 242 posts
Re: The compelling case for working less
#122Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Humans are happy if they are relatively well off compared to what they know. This is super true. I've been congratulating myself all month on my new job, paying me BIG BUCKS, compared to my friends. Well, just found out an old friend of mine also found a new job, getting payed literally twice as much as me. Now I'm in a funk and it's irrational and stupid but I can't help but look at the same number in a totally di…
I often have it the other way around with a friend. Somehow only in the things he cares about. He has a car and a much better PC, still he envies my money.
Well, with your money he could buy an even better car and PC than he has!
Re: The compelling case for working less
#123I'm convinced that our decision for how much effort to exert on work is not governed by the rational part of our brain. It's part primal - fear of insecurity and belonging to a social structure - part ego - accomplishment as confirmation of existence and your salary as a concrete number to compare favorably to others - and part culture and habit. I also think overwork is a byproduct of a globally connected society. H…
I have a radically different thinking and I think it is related to culture and the country where you live. I rather prefer a strong health/education/housing umbrella where I have time to focus my energy in what I consider more important work than, for example, optimizing ads.
If you are thinking about some of the Western European countries I wonder if it's greater equality rather than anything else.
In the UK politicians like to talk about social mobility but I can't help feeling that is a lesser issue than equality. People only want to move up the social ladder because they are at the bottom.
Re: The compelling case for working less
#124How many of us are reading this article while "at work"? Just me? I don't think so. I open HackerNews four or five times a day and I read some of the articles. Right now I am in a company where I have to work at least 43 hours a week. Needless to say that I don't feel rested as I used to and my productivity is way lower compared to the past and I get distracted longer and more often than before.
I've never understood required hours. Because sometimes 20 hrs in a week is a lot. Other times 60 is no time at all. Those weeks where 20 are a lot I am extremely distracted and the next day I am not excited for work. The weeks where 60 is no time, most of that is productive and I want to go to work. Judging work by number of hours just seems like a poor metric.
yes, a poor metric but a measurable, quantifiable metric common to all regardless of their individual capacities in a given time.
Re: The compelling case for working less
#125Earlier quoted context omitted.
... You forget a big part I think: planning for your future. ... What I find remarkable is that in Thailand the people on the country-side generally seem to not think too much about the future. My Thai girlfriend sometimes tells me I should think less about the future, same like the Thai people do. She tells me sometimes I think too much about the future. The Thai people don't care too much about saving up for a pens…
Not worrying about the future works fantastically until the future becomes the present and you are woefully unprepared. I am all for living in the present and enjoying what you have, but you don't want to just pretend the future isn't coming. It is.
It depends on the culture, you can be a lot more relaxed about the future if you have the safety net of a large family or generous state to rely on.
Re: The compelling case for working less
#126Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not much, but they pay you a stipend while you're getting your PhD.
LOL! PhD you get time to think sure. About the same thing for 3+ years. Hit rate for going insane vs becoming a relaxed meditative thinker isn't as balanced as you'd hope.
What's wrong with thinking about the same problem for 3 years?
Re: The compelling case for working less
#127An interesting related thought I had recently was: why are we optimizing the technology we develop to help / increase the productivity of, those who work more/harder? ...and not the other way around? It seems like everywhere: even in software, languages and tools that increase the productivity of "lazier" people (aka more "contemplative" or "think a lot, do a little" type of people) are basically always abandoned by…
> nooooobody wants to develop device or apps that minimize user engangement
I'm going to take a guess and say that many developers would like to develop those apps. But marketing/sales/C-level says otherwise.
Re: The compelling case for working less
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
Age fixes that. Used to feel much the same. Now (approaching 50) I just couldn't give a shit anymore. A friend I've grown distant from over the last 4 years or so bought a 911 GT3 RS last year. And suddenly I hear from him. And I marvel at the waste. Purchases like that are meaningful on only two days - the day you buy it, and the day you sell it. I think a mid-20's me might've liked a car like that for the sex it co…
I'd argue that a 911 GT3 RS is not a waste. I would love to own a GT3, let alone a GT3 RS. Most GT3 RS owners are motorsport lovers, and use their GT3 RS for its true purpose. Motorsport and track events are also a great place to make new friends, as are organized road trips to incredible places in the world such as the PetrolHead tours.
I've done the motorsport thing. Drove a '79 M1 around the Nordschleife once. And yes, that experience has value to me, but knowing I did and another hasn't doesn't make me better, or them worse. It just... is. And I'm glad the M1 wasn't mine.
Re: The compelling case for working less
#129A few years ago, I decided I didn't want to work 40-hour weeks any more, and asked my employer to switch to 32 (four-day weeks), with a 20% pay cut. Satisfaction-wise, it's been fantastic, as four days isn't long enough that you'll get tired by the week, and three free days is amazing to recharge. Unfortunately, I've found that it's rather career-limiting, as people don't care as much if a lowly developer works four-…
How long had you been working there before you asked? And was there any push back? I'm sure this will vary from company to company, but I am curious to hear your case.
Re: The compelling case for working less
#130I'm convinced that our decision for how much effort to exert on work is not governed by the rational part of our brain. It's part primal - fear of insecurity and belonging to a social structure - part ego - accomplishment as confirmation of existence and your salary as a concrete number to compare favorably to others - and part culture and habit. I also think overwork is a byproduct of a globally connected society. H…
> Humans are happy if they are relatively well off compared to what they know. So true. I have enough money to pay for my apartment, hobbies, new technology etc. I know that a lot of my friends earn 3 times my salary and to be frank, it eats me up inside. I have not yet found a good way to combat this feeling.
[deleted]