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Why I hate the weekends (2017)

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Re: Why I hate the weekends (2017)

#301

Post by eeZah7Ux »

darkmighty wrote: post #58

What 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…

Graeber's book on Bullshit Jobs gives an answer: we work more , and for longer hours, as a (fallacious) proof that our jobs are useful after all. Being busy, in a hurry, and tired is a form of validation.

Re: Why I hate the weekends (2017)

#302

Post by eeZah7Ux »

ajmurmann wrote: post #209
toomuchtodo wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So let’s legislate a four day work week. The productivity gains to justify it already exist, they’ve existed for decades.

I wonder if that would have to happen globally. We are still competing with companies in other countries. Chinese startups subscribe to the 996 schedule (9am-9pm, 6 days/week). I'm not sure if 954 allows us to compete.

Competition has little to do with working hours. If anything you have to look at hourly rate and company revenue divided employee-hour

Re: Why I hate the weekends (2017)

#303

Post by eeZah7Ux »

dorkwood wrote: post #223

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…

7) Move to a country where the cost of living is cheap, and work remotely as an employee in a remote friendly/remote only company.

Re: Why I hate the weekends (2017)

#304

Post by eeZah7Ux »

jondubois wrote: post #39

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

If you are referring to the framework of the month and the buzzword of the year - no, you can stay away from the type of company that follows the hype.

There are many companies that prefer stability over hype. They usually do industrial automation, aeronautics, civil infrastructure, banking and all sort of non-flashy things.

Re: Why I hate the weekends (2017)

#305

Post by coldtea »

chillwaves wrote: post #225
coldtea wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the median household income is over 60k Household income is not the same as one person's wage. The media household income includes tons of couples where both are working. And while "income is not the same thing as wealth", still making 80k in income (not wealth) puts you at the top 13%. You get into 1% of USA is 300K. As for the world, 80K (net) income put you at 0.1% globally. http://graphics.wsj.com/what-percent/

So they will have high net worth when they die prematurely due to stress and poor lifestyle.

Yeah, "prematurely" as in a good 2-3 decades later, and in much cushier positions, that people working their bones out every day in the developing work or working class jobs in the first world, making 1/50 to 1/5 the money.

Re: Why I hate the weekends (2017)

#306

Post by kuroguro »

gnulinux wrote: 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…

On loneliness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3Xv_g3g-mA

Re: Why I hate the weekends (2017)

#307

Post by ajmurmann »

squeaky-clean wrote: post #222
ajmurmann wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if that would have to happen globally. We are still competing with companies in other countries. Chinese startups subscribe to the 996 schedule (9am-9pm, 6 days/week). I'm not sure if 954 allows us to compete.

Why not? We're currently competing with 955.

I don't think we've really gotten to the phase (at least in software) where we are directly competing outside of China. I think we are starting to compete in markets like India. I'd be surprised if in a few years we won't be fighting over US market share. The recent Reddit investment by Tencent might be a harbinger of things to come.

Edit: I very much hope I'm wrong. I do see a danger of a future where a small percentage of people work long hours and everyone else is unemployed.

Re: Why I hate the weekends (2017)

#308

Post by patientplatypus »

gnulinux wrote: 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…

So...

If you are unhappy you should change. Take that as given.

I will second the people who say two hours is a lot. Honestly more time with lighter amounts of activity (thinking walking rather than deadlifting) is actually healthier for you in the long run. The human body is a 250,000 year old OS with the last update maybe 10,000 years ago, and for most of that time we sat around and ate a badger (or similar) maybe once a week.

If you want friends, join a group that does some light activity and then hangs out. Kickball is fun as is hiking or ultimate frisbee or kickboxing. Working out and friends can go together! Two birds stoned in the hand is worth three sober in the bush, or something.

Re: Why I hate the weekends (2017)

#309

Post by PascLeRasc »

photoguy112 wrote: post #195
nathan_f77 wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I'm in Japan. Last year I remitted $16k. My residence is paid for and I spent an additional $12k cash. In total, I live on 28k / year. Add in a residence if I had to rent, down where I am it's $500/mo for a 3 br "home". It's really a shanty by western standards but enough for me. On 34k if you rented, one can live comfortably in Southern Japan. Of course, this is not possible without a valid visa. I have lived in Mid…

Can I ask what city in Japan you're in? I wouldn't expect it to be that cheap.

Re: Why I hate the weekends (2017)

#310

Post by koheripbal »

nathan_f77 wrote: post #64
AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

This completely ignores inflation.

By spending that 3.5% on living, you are actually losing a portion of your wealth each year.

In order to remain "flat", you need to be earning 7%, in order to spend 3.5%.

...but of course, this also completely ignores the risk. Assets don't give 7% for free. The investor is accepting the risk - that's the whole point. So in reality, you need to be earning closer to 10% in order to mitigate the risk of a default on those assets.

Living off of investment income is almost never really winning battle.

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