I wonder if live streaming your work to the whole internet, potentially allowing others to comment, i.e. to help you to spot mistakes along the way, would also work. This wouldn't be applicable to everything, but for open source side projects or open companies like GitLab, that could be amazing. It would also be extremely valuable for other people, particularly in junior positions, as they could see how other people work, that they're not omnipotent, they make misteaks and sometimes get stuck too.
I let a stranger watch me work for a day and I've never been more productive
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Re: I let a stranger watch me work for a day and I've never been more productive
#62Tangentially related: is there any sort of dashboard service that would let me create a dashboard showing things like: * email inbox count (differentiated by email inbox) * unmoderated comment queue on website * Facebook unread message count. Similar ones for other social media inboxes * and maybe some custom metrics or ones triggered by a spreadsheet or todoist or something I think this would be immensely useful for…
No, but that sounds like a great startup idea. Sign me up!
I looked into it since commenting. Klipfolio might be able to do this, but it wasn’t clear how to get a gmail inbox count.
Then I remembered I use Numerics to put monthly sales on my apple watch. I checked, and it can get email inbox counts at least! They have a ton of data customization. Will see what other services I can add.
Ios only for now unfortunately. May come to mac once Marzipan happens: https://cynapse.com/numerics/
Edit: doesn’t have messages beyond email unfortunately. Though there is perhaps a way to jerry rig something using zapier and one of their supported services such as Trello or Todoist. Klipfolio does support Slack.
Re: I let a stranger watch me work for a day and I've never been more productive
#63Anybody else get an immediately negative visceral reaction from this? If I'm understanding this correctly, the aim is to manipulate our sense of shame/guilt to boost productivity. After sitting with the feeling for a bit, here are some ideas that come to mind: 1. Maybe we should ask why we feel shame/guilt in the first place. Is it "normal" to feel this? If it isn't we should not rely on it for our happiness (or prod…
> For me, guilt/shame is something to be overcome, not used as a tool. Wow, I think I quite strongly disagree. What do you think it exists _for_ ? It is good for society that people have the capacity for guilt and shame. If we did not, I cannot see any other recourse other than fear!
It sounds like you are basing your life on negative emotions only. Just so you know, there is another universe out there, based on positive ones.
Re: I let a stranger watch me work for a day and I've never been more productive
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
That’s fine. Having a tool I can use a few hours a few week to get me through things that are the highest product of important and annoying is super valuable. Doesn’t have to be a lifestyle.
You won't be the one choosing when and for how long to use the tool...
Normal office environments already have managers that are plenty capable of watching and critiquing everything you do all the time, but at least in my experience, that's almost never how it goes. Good managers know that freedom and autonomy are empowering. I'm sure others have had much worse experiences, but I think it's mostly well-established that micromanagement is a bad thing.
Whether it's in-person or with a tool like this, if your employer is creating an unreasonable amount of pressure/stress, then that puts them in a weaker position in the job market than companies that treat their employees well. Give them feedback, and if they're not receptive to feedback, see if you can ask for a raise or find another job.
Re: I let a stranger watch me work for a day and I've never been more productive
#65My first month of pair programming was utterly exhausting, but once I got into the pace, it was the best thing I've ever done. The mutual focus is definitely a big part. You're in a social context, and there is no place to stray from the mutual task, and that discipline is very liberating, weird as it may sound, for someone prone to procrastinating like myself.
There are some pre-requisites to Pair programming. That you need to have a well defined task, that you need not be bogged down by insane deadlines and can afford to have 2 people work on the same thing and both need to be well versed at the task at hand to live up to the promise of productivity. My experience pair programming for a year was sh*tty enough to never consider it again unless I have these pre-reqs met. I'…
> you need to have a well defined task, that you need not be bogged down by insane deadlines
Aren't these pre-requisites to all work? How does working alone solve them?
The thing that's often overlooked is that pair programming is a skill, and you need to learn it to do it well. Just putting two novice pair programmers at a computer and asking them to "just do it" will usually result in a lot of frustration.
I was fortunate to be pairing with a lot of seasoned pros in my first time.
Re: I let a stranger watch me work for a day and I've never been more productive
#66I can't really imagine a job in which someone is bothered to pay you to do work, but cares so little about the work you're outputting that they don't notice whether or not you're working efficiently/effectively. I've worked from home full-time for just over 5 years now. I'm self-employed and answer to my client directly. I operate almost entirely autonomously and am given a heap of freedom, both tech-wise and with re…
When you take a walk and come up with clever solution to expensive problem wouldn't it be more valuable than proving you deliver keystrokes constantly?
I think you need to have some explanation, at least for yourself, what kind of value you deliver even when you are just around not so occupied.
Re: I let a stranger watch me work for a day and I've never been more productive
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
There are some pre-requisites to Pair programming. That you need to have a well defined task, that you need not be bogged down by insane deadlines and can afford to have 2 people work on the same thing and both need to be well versed at the task at hand to live up to the promise of productivity. My experience pair programming for a year was sh*tty enough to never consider it again unless I have these pre-reqs met. I'…
> you need to have a well defined task, that you need not be bogged down by insane deadlines Aren't these pre-requisites to all work? How does working alone solve them? The thing that's often overlooked is that pair programming is a skill , and you need to learn it to do it well. Just putting two novice pair programmers at a computer and asking them to "just do it" will usually result in a lot of frustration. I was f…
Not all problems are well defined. Generally the more business impact you have, the more undefined your work is.
Re: I let a stranger watch me work for a day and I've never been more productive
#68There is a bunch of freelance/contract companies who screenshot your screen and webcam every couple of minutes and record mouse/keboard activity constantly, then after every week they validate the number of hours you spinned and that makes your paycheck.
Maybe this is ok for some line work but not for more complex problems wher you need to discus or brainstorm things. My friend who is dev/architect quit such job after year with severe burnout. Hourly compensation was very good though.
Re: I let a stranger watch me work for a day and I've never been more productive
#69Hawthorne Effect:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthorne_effect
In short iirc at first they thought the changes they were making was what caused the increase in productivity but then they found out that the people worked harder because they were being observed and felt special.
Re: I let a stranger watch me work for a day and I've never been more productive
#70cut rate freelancer here. whenever i feel blocked, i bring my laptop to Starbucks and situate myself with my back to the room. without thinking about it, I'm automatically more productive. it's not for show, just having my screen be public knowledge liberates me to not impulsively check aggregator or newspaper sites. Call it environmentally enforced focus. i gighly recommend it for anyone who works physically isolated from a team.