Ask HN: Are most of us developers lying about how much work we do?

It must have been a couple of months because...

> I keep this link sitting around and enjoy dusting it off every couple of months or so

> https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/10/07/the-gervais-principle-...

58 minutes after posting, your post has 134 points and sits at the top of Ask HN. I think that answers your question a lot more clearly than the comments themselves. What you've said is clearly resonating with a lot of readers, even if they may not say so in the comments.

This is the case for other parts of the workforce. I admire those in service that really work their ass off (drivers, cleaners, cooks, etc.)

From my work experience, about 90-95% of people do barely any work (have tasks that take months). I would get in a team of 15 people and I'd be the only one doing something, everyone else is just making some slides for weekly presentations and not even that. The amount of part-time people that do nothing is even greater. The amount of consultant experts that work for consultant agencies and get loaned to other companies that do nothing is massive.

I think it's the standard way of life in most cities. I do not quite understand why that percentage of the workforce won the work lottery.

I work really hard, but I might be an anomaly. I can't get much done in the time many people might.

My brain is bad at focusing on things, so it takes a lot of effort to engage, become productive, and then stop. There's a lot of time build up inertia, but then it's difficult to reduce that inertia as well. As a result I'm fairly inefficient by default.

I have a practice of never billing for inefficient time. I don't feel right doing it. As such, I tend to work an average of 10 hours per day but end up billing for more like 7 or 7.5. It's just a reality that I live with now.

So no, I can't get by on 5-10 hours per week. I would be fired quickly.

Although I have the knowledge to do my job well, I lack the executive function. Improving that is one of my main objectives but it's much easier said than done. I think it's the one thing that would improve my career and personal life the most.

All that is to say, there are plenty of reasons why some people work more or less. I work more than you because I'm not a productive person. I'm not a 10xer, I'm not more committed, I'm not more effective. I simply have to in order to get an acceptable amount of work done.

Same here. Once I realized that my efficiency in output only helps my immediate management look good (as opposed to me getting promos/bonuses), I lost all motivation to go above and beyond.

The only time I felt like doing my best was for a manager who genuinely wanted to get me promoted, and he did it smartly.