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Why I hate the weekends (2017)

cdahmedeh.net

241–250 of 353 posts

Re: Why I hate the weekends (2017)

#241

I find the typical work in developer jobs very fatiguing. It involves reading through loads of old code that other people have written over the years, trying to figure out how it all hangs together and where I inject my change in. For some reason that does my head in. Greenfield work is a lot less tiring, but much more rare in my experience. It's also a career path of it's own and hard to get on. I.e. you need greenf…

I drop comments and refactor the spaghetti code so that each time I come back to it it gets easier. I think I like that better than greenfield, it's like being a topiary artist instead of a farmer.

Re: Why I hate the weekends (2017)

#243

Today I just wasted the second half of the day doing nothing at all; just watching mind-numbing videos on Youtube. I had been working on a side project most weekends for the last 10 years and been particularly busy in the last year so I forgot what it felt like to just waste time. Wasting time feels great. In this cut-throat competitive industry, it does feel like a luxury through. As a software engineer, I can't aff…

> I have the feeling that if I stopped working for just 6 months, my career would be over. That's not true. There are many companies who are still writing and maintaining new code in Java 1.6 for example. > Today I just wasted the second half of the day doing nothing at all; just watching mind-numbing videos on Youtube. I try to do this and just can't. I get antsy. When I 'binge' Netflix is max 2 episodes and I have…

Maybe that's fine if you want to be writing Java 1.6, but you've basically given up at that point if that doesn't bother you slightly. I've seen Java 1.4 in production as late as 2017 but I didn't have to work on it, nor would I be happy doing so. Some people are though I guess. And I'd say that's exactly right as we need those people to maintain that system. Or we just need clients who aren't such hellish tire kickers about upgrading.

Re: Why I hate the weekends (2017)

#244

Today I just wasted the second half of the day doing nothing at all; just watching mind-numbing videos on Youtube. I had been working on a side project most weekends for the last 10 years and been particularly busy in the last year so I forgot what it felt like to just waste time. Wasting time feels great. In this cut-throat competitive industry, it does feel like a luxury through. As a software engineer, I can't aff…

Just as a counter-point: I took off 3 years to stay home with kids. I recently started a new position after very little time looking with a >80k raise. I've felt the same pressure to stay current. But, turns out it's all about how you can frame what you bring to the table vs what you can't.

More and more I think this is true. But with a huge caveat that you actually have to be able to bring something to the table and know well what it is.

Re: Why I hate the weekends (2017)

#245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Moderation in all things" - Aristotle Like others I think you should see a therapist about it. Work - Gym - Netflix, misses so many things from reaching a balanced life. A person needs to interact with others apart from their work and gym. Also I do understand that through e.g Netflix you are sort of interacting with 'others' points of views etc e.g getting emotional about your favourite character etc. Thing is that…

Nobody wants to interact with me, can't speak for the grandparent, but not everybody has the same options as everybody else. With me, people have a visceral reaction of extreme dislike upon first meeting me, so I have to work twice as hard, and when "friendship" is so ephemeral it's a lot of work for little long term reward, tbh.

>people have a visceral reaction of extreme dislike upon first meeting me

What makes you say that?

Re: Why I hate the weekends (2017)

#246
post #9

This resonates with me. I love my work, I really like what I do, I think it's mentally challenging, interesting, and important for our world and civilization and I believe I'm compensated well enough. But it's tiring ok? And all I can ever do on weekends is lying on my bed watching netflix. I work 9 to 6 and work out intensely for 2 hours every week day. By the time it's saturday I'm both physically and mentally exha…

I used to work out 1.5hrs 4 times a week -- it was so exhausting on-top of my normal day (I'm a dancer as well) that I was about to just let it all crash and walk away. I since changed my schedule to 40 min, 3 times a week, 2 sets, maximum reps till failure with pyramids. Most gains in strength i have ever achieved with the least amount of work I have ever done. Less time - more ROI check out @maclulich on Insta -- I…

What's your routine?

Re: Why I hate the weekends (2017)

#247

I’ve tried to think of a way out of this, but so far none of my ideas are very good. 1) Use my spare time to study a more lucrative field, and negotiate a four-day work week. The pitfall here is that I need to spend all of my spare time working, so that I may be able to work less in the future (and it’s not guaranteed that I will). 2) Move to a country where the cost of living is cheap, and freelance with internation…

> Use my spare time to study a more lucrative field

assuming you are in software development field, it is tricky to get into a more lucrative one, probably easier to just stay here.

> Move to a country where the cost of living is cheap, and freelance with international clients

Not long-term sustainable. Might work for couple years (especially if you are single and have perfect health), but after a lot of problem will show up – relatives, friends, connections, etc. Also, you might want your own home.

Overall, you listed it. Other ideas are:

1. embrace it. Be consistent in your hobbies, and dedicate one day to it (like Saturday). It is tough for new hobbies, but if you are already in it, might be just fine. Not everybody has to produce something artsy and from their passion – your family, what you like might be enough. Try to reflect on it sometime, it might clear some things for you.

2. Retire early. If you live more frugally (or not so posh, depending on your preferences), you can easily save plenty of money, which will allow you to retire not in 65, but around ~45 (number depends heavily, but you got the idea).

3. Aggressively negotiate vacation days, and take off 1–2 days at the end/beginning of the week. You'll work much less (you'll notice it), and taking 2 days off reduces 2 weeks into 4 days work week.

Re: Why I hate the weekends (2017)

#248

Today I just wasted the second half of the day doing nothing at all; just watching mind-numbing videos on Youtube. I had been working on a side project most weekends for the last 10 years and been particularly busy in the last year so I forgot what it felt like to just waste time. Wasting time feels great. In this cut-throat competitive industry, it does feel like a luxury through. As a software engineer, I can't aff…

> As a software engineer, I can't afford to not be on the cutting edge. I have the feeling that if I stopped working for just 6 months, my career would be over. Stop following hype and focus on practical business solutions. You'll have no problem finding work after doing so. You need to remember that things like Wordpress solve the majority of business needs and skills related to it are in demand next time you feel l…

Isn't that just something WordPress developers say?

I work on enterprise "Line of Business" applications and WordPress has no place in that world.

I'd agree it solves most of the "we need a website" needs. And some of the "we need to be able to sell shit through our website" needs. But not "the majority of business needs".

Though I agree with your fundamental assessment of just focus on how to deliver business value and less on hype. It's true. But I'm going to hazard a guess and say it's possibly more true for some segments of the population than others.

Re: Why I hate the weekends (2017)

#249
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Totally agree with you. I think the biggest reason this is not universal is because not everybody hates their job or working. I get an incredible amount of Joy doing what I do. So much so that when I get home I have plenty of energy to do a little more on my own personal projects. This is obviously not true every single day but the vast majority of days it is. That dosent mean I don’t love my wife or my family, quite…

I love my work too. But this still resonates with me. Yesterday I left work at 8:30. Why? Because I'm designing a software architecture that will change a lot of people's lives around the world and I ended up having this stimulating conversion about our design with my coworker. Nobody does this if they don't like their work. I do this only because I believe I'm capable of contributing something to conversation, and I…

This is probably what I resonate with most.
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