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Ask HN: Is it too much to work AND play with tech?

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Re: Ask HN: Is it too much to work AND play with tech?

#21

Post by badpun »

truth_be_told wrote: post #16

The answer is simple; if you do NOT need the money from working as a SE in the Tech Industry, don't go in. You will burnout. It will affect your brain and health in ways whose consequences we do not yet fully understand because the effect is cumulative over time. Even if you don't dramatically break down one day, you will be worn down in ways which you may find hard to reconcile with your past self. Now Tech itself i…

> ou will burnout. It will affect your brain and health in ways whose consequences we do not yet fully understand because the effect is cumulative over time. Even if you don't dramatically break down one day, you will be worn down in ways which you may find hard to reconcile with your past self.

This can be said about a lot of other jobs as well. Work in its current 40 hours per week form is generally not good for us in my opinion.

Re: Ask HN: Is it too much to work AND play with tech?

#22

Post by konha »

Kaiyou wrote: post #18
AlchemistCamp wrote: post #17

Get a truly ergonomic keyboard. I like the Kinesis Advantage 2 for home, and the Kinesis Freestyle Edge when traveling. Both are more expensive than the somewhat ergonomic keyboards made by MS or Logitech, but both are well worth it!

Unfortunately, I never found those truly ergonomic keyboards available with a QWERTZ-layout, which isn't just a software problem, since German has four letters more (äÄ, öÖ, üÜ, ß) and those ergonomic QWERTY keyboards never account for this, so the value is diminished.

The Kinesis Advantage 2 ist available with a QWERTZ layout (including German umlauts).

Re: Ask HN: Is it too much to work AND play with tech?

#23

Post by Kaiyou »

konha wrote: post #22
Kaiyou wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately, I never found those truly ergonomic keyboards available with a QWERTZ-layout, which isn't just a software problem, since German has four letters more (äÄ, öÖ, üÜ, ß) and those ergonomic QWERTY keyboards never account for this, so the value is diminished.

The Kinesis Advantage 2 ist available with a QWERTZ layout (including German umlauts).

Which shop? Couldn't find it on amazon and local stores don't have stuff like this in stock.

Re: Ask HN: Is it too much to work AND play with tech?

#24

Post by AlchemistCamp »

rdbell wrote: post #4

Consider trying an ortholinear split keyboard like the Ergodox EZ for your RSI. I was starting to experience wrist pain after several 12-hour days of vim. Ergodox solved the problem for me. The learning process is annoying and you'll probably be tempted to give up during the first couple weeks, but the benefits are worth the learning curve.

> Ergodox EZ

Wow. This is basically a mashup of my two favorites—the Kinesis Advantage 2 and the Kinesis Freestyle Edge!

I'll definitely consider trying one of these out, too.

Re: Ask HN: Is it too much to work AND play with tech?

#25

Post by raindropm »

For me, the key to not burnout (fast) is to have separate mindset for hobby and work.

Say, my hobby will not relate in anyway to my work (that's quite obvious) but also not about personal development, nor about maximizing my "potential", nor about peer pressure, nor a way to make passive income or how it'll help me in my life in the future, because that'll be the best recipe for burnout. Those business/self development jargon words can stay within 'work' realm. Your hobby can have those features of course, if it comes naturally, but I will not put it as priority as to WHY I choose something as my hobby.

Hobby for me is purely hobby. Things I can lose myself into and not worry about ANYTHING ELSE except things in front of me.

P.S. My day job is high-precision graphic designer, my hobby is clay sculpting. There's something calming and relaxing about its low-pace nature — unlike digital hobby though.

Re: Ask HN: Is it too much to work AND play with tech?

#26

Post by AlchemistCamp »

Kaiyou wrote: post #18
AlchemistCamp wrote: post #17

Get a truly ergonomic keyboard. I like the Kinesis Advantage 2 for home, and the Kinesis Freestyle Edge when traveling. Both are more expensive than the somewhat ergonomic keyboards made by MS or Logitech, but both are well worth it!

Unfortunately, I never found those truly ergonomic keyboards available with a QWERTZ-layout, which isn't just a software problem, since German has four letters more (äÄ, öÖ, üÜ, ß) and those ergonomic QWERTY keyboards never account for this, so the value is diminished.

Both keyboards are programmable, and it's extremely easy to do so with the Freestyle Edge.

Re: Ask HN: Is it too much to work AND play with tech?

#27

Post by [deleted] »

badpun wrote: post #21
truth_be_told wrote: post #16

The answer is simple; if you do NOT need the money from working as a SE in the Tech Industry, don't go in. You will burnout. It will affect your brain and health in ways whose consequences we do not yet fully understand because the effect is cumulative over time. Even if you don't dramatically break down one day, you will be worn down in ways which you may find hard to reconcile with your past self. Now Tech itself i…

> ou will burnout. It will affect your brain and health in ways whose consequences we do not yet fully understand because the effect is cumulative over time. Even if you don't dramatically break down one day, you will be worn down in ways which you may find hard to reconcile with your past self. This can be said about a lot of other jobs as well. Work in its current 40 hours per week form is generally not good for us…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Is it too much to work AND play with tech?

#28

Post by truth_be_told »

badpun wrote: post #21
truth_be_told wrote: post #16

The answer is simple; if you do NOT need the money from working as a SE in the Tech Industry, don't go in. You will burnout. It will affect your brain and health in ways whose consequences we do not yet fully understand because the effect is cumulative over time. Even if you don't dramatically break down one day, you will be worn down in ways which you may find hard to reconcile with your past self. Now Tech itself i…

> ou will burnout. It will affect your brain and health in ways whose consequences we do not yet fully understand because the effect is cumulative over time. Even if you don't dramatically break down one day, you will be worn down in ways which you may find hard to reconcile with your past self. This can be said about a lot of other jobs as well. Work in its current 40 hours per week form is generally not good for us…

True to a certain extent. However it is not just a matter of labour. The nature of Software Development is so very different from other jobs that we need to study it from first principles. The main issue is the tremendous cognitive effort demanded of Software Engineers (Dijkstra's paper "The Humble Programmer" is relevant here) which exceeds the plasticity/adaptive capacity of the Human Organism. Couple it with the complete lack of physical activity due to our modern sedentary lifestyle and you have a recipe for maladaptation. "Ego Depletion", "Decision Fatigue" are all real disorders.

I have a feeling that as we advance our study of the Science of "Epigenetics" we will understand better the consequences of our current "Tech Industry Lifestyle".

Re: Ask HN: Is it too much to work AND play with tech?

#29

Post by muzani »

Yes. This was the key for curing me from burnout. Vacations didn't help. My "non tech hobby" was spending time with the kids.

This was fine but I went out of touch with what I loved about tech. Teaching helped a little, but lost the edge when my students didn't continue down the SE path.

So I built things. I built them ruthlessly. No plan. No career goals. Just free fall hacking.

Join random online games, then hack together solutions that help you beat them. Don't just limit yourself to MySQL, NoSQL, etc, try making databases in Google Sheets or plaintext. Maybe try optimizing things for no reason. If you feel curious about something do it without planning, unless you're in a planning mood.

Basically you should actually enjoy the hobby.

Re: Ask HN: Is it too much to work AND play with tech?

#30

Post by raindropm »

muzani wrote: post #29

Yes. This was the key for curing me from burnout. Vacations didn't help. My "non tech hobby" was spending time with the kids. This was fine but I went out of touch with what I loved about tech. Teaching helped a little, but lost the edge when my students didn't continue down the SE path. So I built things. I built them ruthlessly. No plan. No career goals. Just free fall hacking. Join random online games, then hack t…

"No plan. No career goal. Just free fall hacking"

Hell yeah. Your word sums up the 'play' spirit we all used to have when we were young (that somehow got lost when we entering adulthood)

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