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Becoming a high performing software developer working from your bedroom

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Re: Becoming a high performing software developer working from your bedroom

#101

Post by dazc »

csomar wrote: post #32

I have switched from working in bedroom, to working in a dedicated office, to working in a co-working space, to working from home in a dedicated office. 1. Working from the bedroom is hell. It's fun for the first few months but then you are likely to have severe eye strain and become very sleepy. 2. Working from a real office sets boundaries and forces a schedule. You have to wake up at xx:xx time and drive to office…

'I'm thinking now of renting an office but instead in the residential area I live in (think 2-5 minutes drive, 10 max)...'

I have been on a similar journey and now rent an office in small town centre (10 minutes drive from home). It gives me the discipline to work set hours and also the freedom to walk around where other people are going about their business so I don't feel isolated. It's also useful for shops, cafes, bars (for after work) and such.

No solution is ever going to be ideal but this is the nearest I have come so far.

Re: Becoming a high performing software developer working from your bedroom

#102

Post by sethammons »

fancy_walrus wrote: post #99
legooolas wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I personally hate working from home, and will only do it if there are reasons I can't work somewhere else, such as needing to be home for a plumber or being sick. Why are you working if you're sick?

You mean you actually get sick leave in your country? cries in American

While lots of American companies have utterly shit sick and vacation policies (I have friends who lose vacation days if they use up sick days which is fucked up), the company I work for has been very good at this. If you are sick, stay home. If you feel like working, eh ok, but you are encouraged to rest up. There are better companies out there.

Re: Becoming a high performing software developer working from your bedroom

#103

Post by sokoloff »

Robin_Message wrote: post #94
csomar wrote: post #32

I have switched from working in bedroom, to working in a dedicated office, to working in a co-working space, to working from home in a dedicated office. 1. Working from the bedroom is hell. It's fun for the first few months but then you are likely to have severe eye strain and become very sleepy. 2. Working from a real office sets boundaries and forces a schedule. You have to wake up at xx:xx time and drive to office…

There is some law that changing environmenteal conditions increases productivity, which then reverts to the mean, regardless of what the change is. I wonder if that's what's happening here. I also vary my work space, but I don't think one is necessarily the best, I think the mind is just made for variety.

Related (but maybe not exactly on the head of the nail): https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthorne_effect

Re: Becoming a high performing software developer working from your bedroom

#104

Post by andai »

blueboo wrote: post #97
robinduckett wrote: post #9

Sometimes I have unproductive weeks . It can be hard to overcome the miasma by refactoring code or picking favourites. I have found the easiest way to get out of the funk is to start making Todo lists of my life. Get the things out of the way that are bothering me or need to be done as a priority and then slowly chip away at it. Productivity isn't something you can hack. There is a maximum that you can do without sac…

You might be interested in the dynamic described here: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200130-the-life-hack-... I can attest to the efficacy of scheduling life things with respect to mitigating the ambient cognitive load of life. Otherwise, you can fall prey to what feels like boredom, or the next best thing, which is cleaning the house/doing chores as a form of procrastination. Beware: getting things out of t…

The most important things are long-term, and therefore don't seem urgent. The days may be long, but the years are short, and unless you specifically make time to work on important long-term things, they just won't get the attention they deserve.

That said, people often use less important things as a way to avoid dealing with the big ones. I often get to the end of the day and know I got a lot done, but also know I was avoiding something bigger all day.

Re: Becoming a high performing software developer working from your bedroom

#105

Post by jonny383 »

As someone who developed their career from the comfort of their bedroom, I always find it very interesting to see people all over the world from different cultures experiencing the same basic issues with this kind of work set up.

I absolutely loved working from my bedroom for years. It was great (despite the common down falls like the ones listed here). My family used to make fun of me at parties and seasonal celebration "OH YOU'RE NOT IN YOUR PAJAMAS TODAY", but joke was on them after a couple of years - I was making 5 to 10 times what they were per year, and I was waking up at 8:50am with no commute.

I eventually ended up investing in building my own "detached" office in the back yard - a dedicated space set up for working. This was by far the best thing I ever did. It created a visible boundary between home and work life, and I still didn't have to commute or work in any clothes other than my pajamas the majority of the time.

I couldn't image going back to a bedroom now. But even more so, I can't imagine how painful it is for people to sit in traffic every day, stressing they might be late, burning money on fuel and their car, and waking up earlier than they really should.

It's pretty reasonable to think you might spend $100 a week on a commute straight out of your own pocket. That money is gone forever. Now consider if you invest that money over 30 years in some low to medium risk areas and average 10 - 15% per year. That's a healthy addition to your retirement fund of around $1,500,000, plus a good amount of extra sleep.

EDIT: Okay 15% is maybe a bit hopeful and lucky. But still 7 - 10% will make a difference in your retirement.

Re: Becoming a high performing software developer working from your bedroom

#107

Post by sethammons »

AndrewDavis wrote: post #27
superbrane wrote: post #14

Here's another angle - not saying it's correct, just different. Why would you want to perfect working from your bedroom? It's ok to WFH for a while, but i would not recommend perfecting it long term. As a human being you should be looking to interact and socialize with other humans, in person, as well - this makes us better humans, more empathetic, more understanding to the needs and pains of others.

>As a human being you should be looking to interact and socialize with other humans, in person, as well - this makes us better humans, more empathetic, more understanding to the needs and pains of others. I don't disagree. But your assumption is that you would have less social interaction WFH is wrong (at least in my case). My current commute is 2.5 hours a day. WFH would give me an additional time to do different ac…

I went from around 2.5 hours or more each way for a commute to working from home. I socialize less now. Work accounted for the majority of my daily socializing. I have three kids and a wife. My returned time is spent with them (I don't consider this under socializing) or on hobbies.

Re: Becoming a high performing software developer working from your bedroom

#108

Post by dr_zoidberg »

barrkel wrote: post #67
guywhocodes wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had the same experience, still use them. Most ball point pens are not archival safe anyway, so to remove the guess work I scan my important stuff with my phone's camera anyway. It's my go to method for creating a graph for what I'm writing anyway. But if I were in uni or something and were forced to maintain multiple projects at the same time(modules) I would probably opt for something else.

Ball point might not be safe for archival, but I can still read the stuff I wrote as a child 30 years ago; the stuff I wrote with fountain pen and its water soluble ink, not so much.

Lately I've grown super fond of "micro" liners, which are 0.3mm water-based ink pens. To me, their feeling when writing is awesome. BUT IT IS WATER BASED. So even a light rain can wreak havoc on my notes.

Ball-point pens don't feel the same, and the colors don't stand out as much to me. I've accepted the fact that water is a dangerous thing to my notes now.

Re: Becoming a high performing software developer working from your bedroom

#109

Post by eitland »

7839284023 wrote: post #34
bschwindHN wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Frixion pens they sell in Japan are incredible for this. They're truly erasable, not like the shitty ones I remember from my childhood. The multi-color pens are especially useful. All the fun of brainstorming and erasability, without the bad smells and imprecise lines of whiteboard markers. http://www.frixion.jp/lineup/work.html?pid=product_ball-3-sl...

I would never use those to write something important in a notebook. I did this and left it in my bag, the sun shone on the bag and because of the heat most of my notes got erased. Well because friction = heat, so it was the same thing.

You can get it back by throwing it in a freezer, at least I was able to when I should prove someone wrong... :-)

(pilot frixion, blue, bought in Norway)

Re: Becoming a high performing software developer working from your bedroom

#110

Post by eitland »

mosselman wrote: post #87
makapuf wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mean I can put my old, blanked out by sun, notes in the fridge and they will reappear ? If that works you made my day, sir !

Incredible indeed. Please update to let us know if it worked!

It worked for me (I was trying to prove someone else wrong.)
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