if you don't like what you're doing, stop doing it
Why I hate the weekends (2017)
61–70 of 353 posts
Re: Why I hate the weekends (2017)
#62Honestly I hate these self-absorbed, live-is-tough posts by Software Developers doing creative work in a nice air conditioned office. Get a real job, try milking a few hundred cows at 6am, work as a cop in a bad city, or outside in construction when its freezing or scorching hot. Not to mention doing it on a 20k wage with a few kids. I get it, figuring out how to get our software working can require a lot of thinking…
There are two types of time:
Time when you have to do something you don't want to be doing, and time when you are doing something you want to be doing.
Everyone has these two types of time, regardless of what they choose to do during each.
While you may do something you love, if you have to be doing it, it's still work.
Re: Why I hate the weekends (2017)
#63Honestly I hate these self-absorbed, live-is-tough posts by Software Developers doing creative work in a nice air conditioned office. Get a real job, try milking a few hundred cows at 6am, work as a cop in a bad city, or outside in construction when its freezing or scorching hot. Not to mention doing it on a 20k wage with a few kids. I get it, figuring out how to get our software working can require a lot of thinking…
Of our ancestors were like you we wouldn't have a 40 hour work week
I dunno, I find it off putting when the 1% complain about how tough their lives are. It would be more palatable if it were surrounded by intense gratitude they are afforded off the backs of the less fortunate who are doing the grinding work of keeping the world functioning. But the gratitude is practically nonexistent.
Re: Why I hate the weekends (2017)
#64Some possible solutions: 1) Ask for a 30 hour work week, or find a company that can offer this. Your salary should still be high enough to aim for a comfortable retirement at 65. 2) Adopt a more frugal lifestyle and increase your savings rate. You need to save a few million dollars to retire with $40-$80k in investment income. It should be very possible to do this with a backend developer's salary over a period of 10…
> You need to save a few million dollars to retire with $40-$80k in investment income. You need a lot less than a few million dollars if you're willing to live at a more reasonable retirement income. I mean, you won't have to commute anymore, or buy all those services that did things you never had time for, or pay for daycare, or live in an overpriced city, etc. Hell if you move to a country with a lower cost of livi…
A conservative "safe withdrawal rate" is about 3.5%, so you need around $1.1M invested in index funds in order to have $40k income per year.
I'm living in Thailand, and $40k goes a long way. Many people would be happy with this lifestyle, but it's not quite enough for me, and I wouldn't want to spend the rest of my life here. I'd much rather have $80-100k and live somewhere like Toronto. But to each their own.
Re: Why I hate the weekends (2017)
#65I think the malaise stems more from a personal sense of dissatisfaction than it does the objective conditions of an oppressive work week. Either accept the trade-off, develop a better attitude toward it, or change your life.
Re: Why I hate the weekends (2017)
#66I used to work a 4-day week (a true 32-hour week, not 4 x 10 or something) and it was the greatest thing I've ever done. All the "weekend stuff" you can do on your extra day, and get two full days off. I can't believe how great it was.
Same here. There is a world of difference between 32 hours/week and 40/week. I'm looking forward to being more settled in my current job so I can move back to 4 days/week (and be more productive too).
I’ve just been hired by big tech (TM) working 4 days a week. Have done this in the last 2-3 jobs. Ask for it (after you have been made an offer), blaze the trail. We can make this become the norm!
Re: Why I hate the weekends (2017)
#67What I don't understand here: Why can't we just work less ? I know it's not trivial, but it can't be impossible either. I doubt he would starve if he got a part-time dev job (are those easy to find? I have no idea). I agree wholeheartedly with all that he said. I think a life of work-home-work without breathing is almost meaningless unless you can have possibly unreasonable amounts of fun and freedom in the job (few…
The biggest reason is because bosses don’t want us to. They want to make as much money as possible, and that’s about it really. The good news is we have made progress, through mass action, people have won the right to weekends, fewer hours and other rights. The final battle is one to win control of the workplace itself, a self-managed and owned workplace.
Re: Why I hate the weekends (2017)
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
Of our ancestors were like you we wouldn't have a 40 hour work week
I dunno, I find it off putting when the 1% complain about how tough their lives are. It would be more palatable if it were surrounded by intense gratitude they are afforded off the backs of the less fortunate who are doing the grinding work of keeping the world functioning. But the gratitude is practically nonexistent.
I'd wish i was one of the 1%
Re: Why I hate the weekends (2017)
#69It seems to me, this has nothing to do with a 40 hour work week. This person has overcommitted themselves in their personal life to the point where it is conflicting with their work responsibilities.
/s(arcasm) ?
Re: Why I hate the weekends (2017)
#70Honestly I hate these self-absorbed, live-is-tough posts by Software Developers doing creative work in a nice air conditioned office. Get a real job, try milking a few hundred cows at 6am, work as a cop in a bad city, or outside in construction when its freezing or scorching hot. Not to mention doing it on a 20k wage with a few kids. I get it, figuring out how to get our software working can require a lot of thinking…
What bothers me about these posts is that it seems to diminish any sense of personal responsibility for one's own happiness. Stop acting defeated and invest in other areas of your life where you can be more fulfilled. It may require changing jobs but it's better than slowly pissing your life away.