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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

#321

Post by DoreenMichele »

secondcoming wrote: post #315
DoreenMichele wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At age 35, I was diagnosed with a genetic disorder. I spent years joking "They finally found a better name for my problem than lazy or crazy. " What gets labeled laziness all too often seems to be exhaustion, invisible disability or other hidden problems.

'all too often' is a bit subjective, and doesn't refute the fact that laziness exists.

I honestly don't know if that's true. Everyone I have ever known who was supposedly being "lazy" turned out to have some serious personal issues, often issues that were not being identified.

In my experience, if you want to cure "laziness," the best thing to do is identify the underlying cause of the failure to get anything done and address that.

I homeschooled two special-needs sons who had a lot of issues that did not resolve for being lectured or something. They resolved by figuring why X was happening and addressing that.

Sometimes other people find it empowering to get that point of view put out there. It's an epiphany for some people that they aren't actually lazy like everyone has always told them. They just don't have the energy for some reason and addressing that can help make their life finally work after decades of frustration.

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

#322

Post by underwater »

lol636363 wrote: post #271
bstar77 wrote: post #245

I was incredibly driven about 7 years ago... I was a founder of a startup and had really lofty aspirations. I told my wife that it was very possible that we would be millionaires by the time we hit 40. Fast forward to today and that did not happen. The startup is no more, but mainly due to burnout. We made money and did well, but not well enough. I never made my millions, but did have a substantial aqui-hire opportun…

For last few years, I have been telling myself to take it slow and do what you are doing now. I got a easy but a boring job. I figured this way I will save all my mental energy for my projects after work. But this is slowly burning me out. The boredom of not doing any real work for 8 hours is soul killing. I do a lot of busy red tape work but it is not intelluctly stimulating. So now I will do 180 and quit my job in…

I'm interpreting the "tortoise" comment as slow and steady, not apathetic to the day job.

Personally, I put my creative energy into my 9 to 5 job. Instead of using evenings to start side hustles or to "get ahead" on work, I unwind and get adequate rest. This is so I can be alert and switched on during my regular work hours.

I've found stretching myself thin starts to affect me quickly, and I feel like I'm actually operating at 50% on a permanent basis.

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

#324

Post by goatherders »

WrtCdEvrydy wrote: post #273
xxxtentachyon wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who has generally tried to take your current approach and has generally been rewarded for it, yours is a refreshing perspective. There's a persistent voice in the back of my head that questions whether I'm acting out of fear, rationality, or just following a happy stasis. It's always reassuring to see the other side of this.

Noone posts about how their startup exploded and took 5 years of savings in their prime money earning years.

Mine wasn't a startup per se, but my first business exploded, cost me my marriage, six figures of debt and a 70,000 IRS tax bill.

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

#325

Post by elwell »

puranjay wrote: post #207
abootstrapper wrote: post #116

Everyone here is reading this article as a cautionary tale on procrastination. To me it’s about the unrealistic expectations we place on ourselves. Maybe that’s due to our fake meritocratic society, or comparisons made on social media, or our parents expectations. I thought I’d be a millionaire by now, changing the world for the better, with a Wikipedia page and a yacht. But what I really want now is to put down the…

I thought I'd be a millionaire by 30 too. But I hit 30 last year and found that what I truly wanted to do was make music, write, and spend time with my family. I don't advocate mediocrity, but everyone doesn't have to be a high achiever. It's okay to live a fulfilling life doing what you like, even if it doesn't make you rich or earn you Wikipedia entries.

> Wikipedia entries

Dang, new life goals...

> make music, write, and spend time with my family

But seriously, that sounds about right for me too. Maybe insert 'code' after 'write'.

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

#327

Post by yabai_yatsu »

quickthrower2 wrote: post #309
sizzle wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you have kids? I feel like that is a hard stop and pushes you beyond burn out with sleep deprivation and all your undivided attention, free time and career notwithstanding.

I guess you have babies? It gets easier!

It doesn't get easier, it just gets a different kind of difficult.

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

#328

Post by underwater »

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…

A 9 to 5 job might only be taking 50% of their waking time, but it could be consuming close to 100% of their mental capacity for the day.

There seems to be a an expectation that everyone should have a side hustle or has a creative outlet outside of work so they can get ahead or explore their true passions. But employment is structured in a way that your employer gets first dibs on your time and energy.

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

#329

Post by Viliam1234 »

voisin wrote: post #86
voidhorse wrote: post #13

Funny piece. It can be so easy to waste time when we have the internet. I think the most dangerous distractions are the ones that feel productive but don’t actually work toward your goals. For example, browsing hacker news. Such an activity is useful every now and then, but at least for myself I often scroll around only to realize later that it was a massive waste of time I could’ve spent working on something I care…

> I often scroll around only to realize later that it was a massive waste of time I could’ve spent working on something I care about. Increasing the signal to noise ratio would help reduce time spent scrolling. A “filter” by keyword feature would be massively helpful.

When you increase the signal to noise ratio, it makes it even harder to stop reading. For all practical purposes, the internet is infinite; no matter how high you set your standards, gradually you will find enough sources to fill all your free time.

During the last few years, I switched from reading low quality content to reading high quality content. I am better informed about various things. But the problem of spending too much time reading remains unchanged.

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

#330

Post by jacobwilliamroy »

bstar77 wrote: post #245

I was incredibly driven about 7 years ago... I was a founder of a startup and had really lofty aspirations. I told my wife that it was very possible that we would be millionaires by the time we hit 40. Fast forward to today and that did not happen. The startup is no more, but mainly due to burnout. We made money and did well, but not well enough. I never made my millions, but did have a substantial aqui-hire opportun…

What were you going to do with a million dollars?
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