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I just don’t want to be busy anymore

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Re: I just don’t want to be busy anymore

#201

Post by tayo42 »

tenaciousDaniel wrote: post #9
gregd wrote: post #2

As a 54 year old Software Engineer, who has had a nice IT career for over 26 years, I'm spent. This is coming from someone who has always had a growth mindset and had a really hard time sitting still. I used to loathe naps and felt like I was missing out if I took one. Now, I take a one hour nap almost daily and I'm finding that after 1pm I'm basically fried (I start working around 7AM). I'm not sure what to do about…

I feel that way now but I'm only 37. I knew it was a bit soon so I went to a doctor, and turns out my testosterone is at 250 (whereas at my age it should be over 1,000). No idea if that's something you've already explored, but felt it couldn't hurt to share.

Your testosterone is supposed to be dropping off as you get older though? Does your doctor actually treat this still?

Re: I just don’t want to be busy anymore

#202

Post by hnzix »

tartoran wrote: post #94
tudelo wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

any more details on "positive effects"? Have you had blood work?

I’ve done bloodwork prior to taking Ashwaganda and will do again in two to three months. Testosterone was low, not excessively so but was feeling exhausted and unmotivated. Ashwaganda appears to have given me the energy and motivation back but I’ve only been taking it for a week so am not exactly sure how I’ll fare in the longer term. It gave me enough energy to work out now so Im hoping to raise my energy to prior l…

Also worth checking Vitamin D levels - inside all day at the computer, especially with lockdown, can lead to a deficiency which has direct physiological impacts.

Re: I just don’t want to be busy anymore

#203

Post by Talanes »

bumby wrote: post #155
sillysaurusx wrote: post #109

One thing that helped me is not to care so much about my employer's goals. It's almost heretical. But once you embrace this mindset, it does wonders. Or at least, it has for me so far. I think a lot of us want to be proud of the work we do, and we feel that if we slack off, then we shouldn't be proud. But it's the other way around. I think the slackers have it right. You're probably not going to get rich from working…

This is tough if you actually try to have a team-oriented mindset. I’ve worked in groups (hard to really call them a team) where everyone, everyone , stiff armed duties. The end result is that the hard stuff, or low status stuff, never got done. I get there’s a balance, but if you entered a career where you actually care about the mission, it’s hard to just see that mission suffer because people want to take the easy…

There's room to have pride in your job and still erect those boundaries. Maybe not doing the literal "bare minimum," but recognizing where your duties end. If you're constantly going beyond your duties, there are likely structural issues that are not being addressed.

Re: I just don’t want to be busy anymore

#204

Post by yibg »

bluefirebrand wrote: post #150
knightofmars wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was how you could get rich. Maybe I'm overly cynical, but I feel that these days VC and founders know all the right tricks to play to remove value from the contributors and reallocate it to the investors.

Yeah, staff does not get big payouts anymore because investors want that money. If you're a founder you might get rich

Plenty of staff got rich from the Uber / Airbnb / snowflake etc IPOs though.

Re: I just don’t want to be busy anymore

#205

Post by paulryanrogers »

pwdisswordfish0 wrote: post #131
paulryanrogers wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And SO and kids?

Don't underestimate the practicality of telling people to fuck off, even if it will have to be put in different words. If for some reason that's not practical, then that's a problem in itself, so try working on that. As harsh as it might sound to put it this way, the answer for how some people will be able to manage better with their SO and kids is, "because I don't have your SO and kids for my SO and kids," or more…

Having an SO and/or kids can involve more than just tendency and personality issues. Even with the healthiest of boundaries some constraints are non-negotiable and possibly outside ones control.

Re: I just don’t want to be busy anymore

#206

Post by torgian »

gregd wrote: post #11
mettamage wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Typed on my phone. Six hours of work? Lie the other 2 and call it a day. Or, renegotiate a contract for 6 hours per day. Given how much productivity I presume you bring, I’d lie. I don’t feel bad about it since companies care too little (in general). If they care, then I would care. E.g. a 10x more productive engineer doesn’t get 10x the pay. I met one of these people, they lied. They worked 2 hours, shipped one hour…

Part of the problem is that I'm a Software Engineer as well as a Business Analyst and Project Manager. I'm also managing a dev team, so it's really difficult to only work 6 hours a day. Hell, I can't even do all my work in a 40 hour work week. Yes, I realize this isn't a me issue and I'm looking for other work. The problem is that I'm encountering a lot of ageism in this field too.

I’m afraid of ageism too, and I’m 39. I’m lucky to work for a company that looked beyond this and saw my skills as a self-taught programmer, and took me on with a freelance contract.

My main concern is continuing to find work whenever this current job ends. It’s a good field, and I enjoy it because it’s helpful to society ( nursing related software ) but I know I’m not the greatest programmer out there.

My current gig should last a few more years at least, and I have no plans on leaving this company. Still, ageism and staying current is always on the back of my mind, and a part of me wonders if there’s something I’m missing regarding my career

Re: I just don’t want to be busy anymore

#207

Post by abhiyerra »

sillysaurusx wrote: post #109

One thing that helped me is not to care so much about my employer's goals. It's almost heretical. But once you embrace this mindset, it does wonders. Or at least, it has for me so far. I think a lot of us want to be proud of the work we do, and we feel that if we slack off, then we shouldn't be proud. But it's the other way around. I think the slackers have it right. You're probably not going to get rich from working…

I started doing this around 7 years ago. A company I worked at imposed a nights and weekends working schedule. I left mostly to move to be closer with my current wife who lived further (> 1 hour) away. At the time it was still early in our relationship. Seven years later she is my wife and the company that asked for nights and weekends, no one cares about.

Re: I just don’t want to be busy anymore

#208

Post by asdfasgasdgasdg »

whatever1 wrote: post #161
bumby wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is tough if you actually try to have a team-oriented mindset. I’ve worked in groups (hard to really call them a team) where everyone, everyone , stiff armed duties. The end result is that the hard stuff, or low status stuff, never got done. I get there’s a balance, but if you entered a career where you actually care about the mission, it’s hard to just see that mission suffer because people want to take the easy…

I don’t want overworked medical professionals. I want the hospitals to hire more people to work healthy 8 hour shifts. There is a viable different approach, but the employers do not like it. Let’s stop pretending.

Ultimately, it's payers -- taxpayers and insurance payers -- that aren't down the the "hire more people" solution. Another stakeholder group that's not down with it? Doctors. The AMA, who doctors control corporately, don't certify enough medical schools to train sufficient doctors to make the reality you want possible.

Re: I just don’t want to be busy anymore

#209

Post by MeinBlutIstBlau »

resonious wrote: post #198
sillysaurusx wrote: post #109

One thing that helped me is not to care so much about my employer's goals. It's almost heretical. But once you embrace this mindset, it does wonders. Or at least, it has for me so far. I think a lot of us want to be proud of the work we do, and we feel that if we slack off, then we shouldn't be proud. But it's the other way around. I think the slackers have it right. You're probably not going to get rich from working…

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like the premise here is that the only purpose for a career is to "get rich". I think a lot of people genuinely enjoy the work they do, and the relationships they have with their co-workers. Or, on the darker side of things, over-work themselves because they can't find anything engaging _outside of work_. For both of those groups of people, they might not actually enjoy getting…

>the only purpose for a career is to "get rich".

What other reason is there for a career? If there was no financial incentive for most, I highly doubt anybody would waste the time learning how to be a lawyer, programmer, or doctor. People don't just go into a career hoping to make a menial wage and work 40-60 hours a week.

Re: I just don’t want to be busy anymore

#210

Post by TradeThrowAway3 »

thewarrior wrote: post #133
fixingproblems wrote: post #102

I say this all the time - programming as a job is not a sustainable life. The fact is that sitting in front of a computer doing mental gymnastics is not in any way something humans are able to cope with over any period of time. People will say "it's just the managers", "it's because you aren't working on interesting things", etc, but it is none of those things. I have worked on interesting projects, been my own boss,…

This comment resonates with me but I’ve read on HN from people who’ve done physical labor that an office job is still much more preferable. Also what you said applies to any office job and not just programming. Physical labor maybe something that we enjoy but say running a farm requires insane amounts of it day in day out.

My career has looked like tech startup (fullstack programming) -> finance sales -> B2B tech sales -> unskilled labor -> skilled labor (HVAC/Electrician/Plumbing, etc. for OPSEC reasons, won't specify)

Skilled physical labor is where its at.

Unskilled labor is basically a few steps removed from being a slave. 10 hour days (many times 11-12) at bottom-barrel wages, working as fast as you can (because corporate tracks efficiency. Yes, it's actually quantified! HAHA), and getting injured no matter what. It's mind-numbing. I hated it.

Now I've been doing a skilled trade, and I feel rejuvenated from being burnt out of white collar/office shit. Get to work around 6-7am, leave around 2-6pm (depending on workload. Usually it's around 3. However, this is with paid overtime. Once you start making the big bucks, your overtime becomes obscene). If you work for a small shop/family-like environment it's very laid back. You develop the stamina needed in about 6-8 weeks, and after that you get very fast at everything physical you do.

There's a lot of learning involved (especially keeping up with your state's local building code), but once you know the code and how to use the tools, you basically don't need to relearn the latest way to build something, or spend weeks trying to wrap your head around a tool, or hours late at night wracking your brain trying to decipher shitty mandocs and undocumented APIs, or troubleshooting/debugging while simultaneously wanting to blow your brains out.

Everything is simple to learn, troubleshoot, and wrap your head around; it's all in the physical world.

Fuck office jobs. Fuck unskilled labor work. Being a farmer is almost like being a glorified landscaper.

Nonetheless, I don't see myself doing this forever, so I'm working on a side business so I can break out of the labor class, and join my fellow capital-owning brothers.

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