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I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

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Re: I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

#231

Post by andreilys »

asw12az wrote: post #155
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #102

I've been mentoring CS college students and new grad SWEs for a while. It's shocking to see how many of them perpetually feel like they're overwhelmed and short on time, yet they can't account for where they've actually spent their time. It's not uncommon for new grad SWEs to complain that an 8-hour work day is somehow consuming 100% of their weekday hours, leaving them without any time to do anything else. On furthe…

While some of what you are writing is probably true, a work day (especially pre-COVID), really takes up a lot more than 8hrs. If you live in a city and want to live somewhere affordable, you're often looking at 1hr+ of commute each way. You have to get up a little early to prep for the day. Some jobs don't count a lunch break towards your 8hr day, or expect you to stay later, so you end up working more like 9hrs. If…

“ If you live in a city and want to live somewhere affordable, you're often looking at 1hr+ of commute each way”

Here’s a suggestion: don’t live an hour away from work?

With more companies going permanent remote, I find the whole concept of commuting for 2 hours round trip a day unimaginable. Especially for those of us working in Tech that don’t need a physical presence to deliver results.

Re: I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

#232

Post by sjtindell »

rwnspace wrote: post #189
aledalgrande wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is not just spending time on those sites/apps, it's the pressure society puts on them to get to the next step on the ladder. Perfect houses on Instagram. 24yo making 300K on Blind. 18yo on Youtube making 1M+. Even if you don't want to compare yourself to others, comparisons are everywhere. That adds cognitive load to the slow grind of getting started on a new job, and now 8 hours feel like 12, and at the same time…

I think this effect is tough for anyone tuned to care what others think, and it tends to be rougher the younger you are. There's a significant lack of guidance in WEIRD societies about how to be a person, and this is topped off by the limited maturation rituals: learning to drive, first full-time job, graduating and buying a house come to mind - but we've somehow come to a consensus that putting a giant paywall in fr…

As evidenced by the current state of society in the United States, the 20th century was the Century of the Self (Adam Curtis) and the downfall of community (Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam). The idea of contributing to the common good comes along rarely, and those who pursue it face an uphill battle. The system is tuned for individuality and appears to only be getting worse in my opinion. There is an “every man or woman for themselves” mentality that pervades everything. Extreme wealth is seen as the only escape from the crushing grind of modern life, and so people chase productivity to get it. This is deep, bedrock stuff, I’m not sure what can change the course.

Re: I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

#233

Post by jim_and_derrick »

komali2 wrote: post #83

Man, hits home. 2020 is a bad year for 29, feel like the last of my twenties was stolen from me. I have so many things I wanna do, always wanted to do. Some of it I got done! Like becoming an engineer, creating a decent career for myself, riding a motorcycle. Take a step back and look at my life and it's pretty much golden, I could coast for the remainder of it and live better than 99% of humankind throughout the age…

i hear ya. diff strokes, i'm 29. got a wife and child and could care less about really any job or work. seems like maybe adult-hood has ruined my aspirations b/c i dont want to do any of that shit you described. I just want to continue carving out a little slice of life for me, wife, kids. Helping change the world in small ways like nice human interactions, teaching my kid who will be more self aware than anyone we hope.

You seriously want to do all those things you described? Or are you just naming things that sound fun? The list sounds child-ish to me. God tier engineer??? The hell is that? One of the 10-xers?? Please give me a break. Just be honest, communicate clearly, ask questions, dont be silent. Guess what, you are already better than like 80% of the people at my huge digital org that is a fuckin shit storm actually.

Re: I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

#235

Post by es7 »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #170
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Viewing this as business productivity versus distractions is a false dichotomy, though. Life isn't just a series of context switches between being productive at work and wasting time at home. The goal is to be intentional with how you spend your time. For example, coordinating a social dinner with friends isn't work, but it also isn't a waste of time. Going to the gym isn't typical productivity, but it isn't a waste…

> In fact, the people who are most motivated at work are often most motivated to arrange the after-work get together, or the weekend trip for the group of friends, or to invite people over for home-cooked meals so we can catch up. There seems to be a kind of phenomenon, like being in the zone but much longer (weeks at a time instead of hours), where you have an extreme drive to do everything you have to and want to d…

I know what you mean. I might feel that way a few days in a row every couple of months if I'm lucky and rarely ever more than 2 days in a row.

It's a weird, full-body change for me. When I'm in that kind of zone it's like my pre-frontal cortex finally took over control from my lizard brain. Or maybe it's just hormones.

I can do what I choose to do. To focus. To exercise and give 100%. Uncomfortable sensations like cold weather or spicy food feel easy to tolerate.

One other anecdote: occasionally I will have a day full of energy and getting motivated to work hard on things comes easily. Almost like clockwork, I will realize the next day that I'm sick (like a mild cold). I'm leaning to the reverse causation hypothesis (as the body is getting sick, it provides me the energy to work hard to prepare for the later downtime) but I guess it's also possible that whatever energy I'm feeling also leads to immune system weakness?

Anyways, just sharing some thoughts. If I could figure out how to live at that kind of level even one day a week reliably, that would be incredible.

Re: I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

#236

Post by jim_and_derrick »

_ah wrote: post #151
komali2 wrote: post #83

Man, hits home. 2020 is a bad year for 29, feel like the last of my twenties was stolen from me. I have so many things I wanna do, always wanted to do. Some of it I got done! Like becoming an engineer, creating a decent career for myself, riding a motorcycle. Take a step back and look at my life and it's pretty much golden, I could coast for the remainder of it and live better than 99% of humankind throughout the age…

The biggest thing for you to realize is that you can absolutely do any of those things. But you can probably only do one or two of them. Spreading your efforts around is going to get you mediocre everything, which may be okay, but if you want to be truly excellent you need to focus and concentrate on what's important. Life is about prioritization. Somehow the message that "you can be anything you want" has gotten tur…

yeah the original comments seem kind of child-ish to me. In a good naive way. Maybe i'm being a doosh but that is how it reads to me. "Look i want to be a firefighter when i grow up, AND a policeman, AND a boat captain, AND a teacher, AND a 10x engineer. =) cheers all . look for small victories in life you dont have to solve world hunger to find satisfaction in your life.

Re: I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

#237

Post by asya999 »

andreilys wrote: post #231
asw12az wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While some of what you are writing is probably true, a work day (especially pre-COVID), really takes up a lot more than 8hrs. If you live in a city and want to live somewhere affordable, you're often looking at 1hr+ of commute each way. You have to get up a little early to prep for the day. Some jobs don't count a lunch break towards your 8hr day, or expect you to stay later, so you end up working more like 9hrs. If…

“ If you live in a city and want to live somewhere affordable, you're often looking at 1hr+ of commute each way” Here’s a suggestion: don’t live an hour away from work? With more companies going permanent remote, I find the whole concept of commuting for 2 hours round trip a day unimaginable. Especially for those of us working in Tech that don’t need a physical presence to deliver results.

Pre-COVID that was the reality for many. But even post-COVID, certain types of commutes can actually help mentally "separate" the work time from home time. Working at home it's a lot harder to "go to work" and/or "leave work behind" when you "come home".

A friend used to say that majority of people who work from home fall into one of two types of people, the kind that never go to work or the kind that never come home.

Re: I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

#239

Post by wott »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #139
mistersquid wrote: post #105

Personally, the unquestioned Ethos of Productivity characteristic of early 21st century Western Society is much more dangerous than the distractions which can sometimes fill unstructured time. The psychological rigidity and social sacrifices required of always being productive (with little to no unstructured leisure time) actively harms individuals and the societies in which they are embedded, perhaps to the exact ex…

Viewing this as business productivity versus distractions is a false dichotomy, though. Life isn't just a series of context switches between being productive at work and wasting time at home. The goal is to be intentional with how you spend your time. For example, coordinating a social dinner with friends isn't work, but it also isn't a waste of time. Going to the gym isn't typical productivity, but it isn't a waste…

I am not sure but I think you misunderstood Mistersquid, in that he associates productivity not only with work but with other things and times in life too. That's why he speaks of unstructured time in contrast. He doesn't make an opposition work vs leisure, he makes an opposition between productivity and un-structuration.

Typically the people about whom you talk in your last paragraph are trying to be productive even in their leisure time.

Re: I thought I would have accomplished a lot more today and also before I was 35

#240

Post by Shivetya »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #102

I've been mentoring CS college students and new grad SWEs for a while. It's shocking to see how many of them perpetually feel like they're overwhelmed and short on time, yet they can't account for where they've actually spent their time. It's not uncommon for new grad SWEs to complain that an 8-hour work day is somehow consuming 100% of their weekday hours, leaving them without any time to do anything else. On furthe…

time is pretty much like money in that way, learn to manage one and you will manage the other. what you found works equally well with income as with time if you are not careful all the little numbers add up very quickly.
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