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40 Hour Work Weeks Suck

blog.regehr.org

51–60 of 66 posts

Re: 40 Hour Work Weeks Suck

#51
post #12

I work 40 hour weeks. Nine to five. I got into the habit when I started my PhD, because I knew that if I didn't force myself to work to a certain schedule, I'd probably slack off. If I only worked when I felt like it, on what I felt like working on, I would never have finished my thesis because, heck , who wants to do proofreading when you could be at the beach? And if I ate whatever I felt like, whenever I felt like…

I think I am done with HN.

Re: 40 Hour Work Weeks Suck

#53
post #12

I work 40 hour weeks. Nine to five. I got into the habit when I started my PhD, because I knew that if I didn't force myself to work to a certain schedule, I'd probably slack off. If I only worked when I felt like it, on what I felt like working on, I would never have finished my thesis because, heck , who wants to do proofreading when you could be at the beach? And if I ate whatever I felt like, whenever I felt like…

I think I am done with HN.

Given that your account appears to be eighteen minutes old... wow, that was fast!

Re: 40 Hour Work Weeks Suck

#54
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I work 40 hours weeks, and love my job. Do you work exactly 40 hours? As in, start and 9am, leave at 5pm and never arrive early or leave late? Never a week of 41 hours? Because if I worked at a job I absolutely loved - as you describe - I would probably choose to work 50 or 60 hours. I think that the assumption here is that if you work 40 hours, you're probably doing it because that's what is expected of you and yo…

I very much think this is a question of personality and not a question of which one is better. Personally, I'm like you -- if there's something really interesting to work on, I like to dive in and really attack it until I'm done. Even if that means 14 hour days for a stretch. But other people I've worked with work differently -- they like routines. Go to work, have 5 things to accomplish that day, accomplish them, th…

Yeah, some of us just don't fit in the modern world though. I can't focus on any one thing for 40 hours in any week. I get bored and lose interest. I can put 14 hours of high speed hacking in one day. But the next day I'll be lucky to get two hours of focus on code. On the other hand, I could easily put 8 hours of back breaking labor into the garden that next day. On the third day I won't be able to garden or focus on code, but I might be able to write a great blog article or work on that book I've been chewing on.

There is currently no space for someone like me in the work world. Jobs just aren't designed for generalists who need so much variety. So I'm stuck as a 40 hours a week programmer and struggling with it, because no matter how I try, I'm lucky if I can find 20 hours of real focus on programming a week.

Re: 40 Hour Work Weeks Suck

#55
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think I am done with HN.

Given that your account appears to be eighteen minutes old... wow, that was fast!

"Nom Nom Nom", says the troll.

And then you see a signpost up ahead, plainly stating "do not feed trolls."

Re: 40 Hour Work Weeks Suck

#56

"People who hate their jobs often work 40 hours weeks, why be one of them?" Working 40 hours doesn't make you one of them. It's not even a symptom of the real problem. I work 40 hours weeks, and love my job. And I loved my last job. And I liked all the jobs before that. That's because I have pride in doing my job well, I've worked for people who appreciate it (even if that sometimes means the customer, and not my bos…

"People who hate their jobs often work 40 hours weeks, why be one of them?" The quote smacks of truisim. Most people work roughly 40 hour weeks, so it sounds to me like saying "Most people who hate their jobs have jobs. Ergo, don't have a job".

You'll find plenty of part-time workers who hate their jobs as well - lots of hospitality workers, for a start.

Re: 40 Hour Work Weeks Suck

#57
post #12

I work 40 hour weeks. Nine to five. I got into the habit when I started my PhD, because I knew that if I didn't force myself to work to a certain schedule, I'd probably slack off. If I only worked when I felt like it, on what I felt like working on, I would never have finished my thesis because, heck , who wants to do proofreading when you could be at the beach? And if I ate whatever I felt like, whenever I felt like…

Some people don't like completing work for the week in 14 hours and having to be physically present yet doing nothing but reading on the web the other 26. Do more work? Nope, gotta wait for the clients, the devs, the managers, etc.

Re: 40 Hour Work Weeks Suck

#58
I recall reading someplace recently that it isn't about working only eight hours a day before rushing home, but rather about doing as much as you can in eight hours before devoting the remainder of your time to other pursuits you may find meaningful.

There are so many interesting things in the world; how can you shut yourself out to all of them but one?

Re: 40 Hour Work Weeks Suck

#59
Great post. I worked 30 hours of the last two days, slept 9 hours total, and spent the other 9 hours in deep relaxation (2 hours getting massage, 2 hours walking, 2 hours having relaxed nice meals, 3 hours hanging out with my friends who have a cute newborn baby).

It's been an awesome couple days. Being able to gear up and gear down on workload is one of the nicest things about running your own show.

Re: 40 Hour Work Weeks Suck

#60
post #12

I work 40 hour weeks. Nine to five. I got into the habit when I started my PhD, because I knew that if I didn't force myself to work to a certain schedule, I'd probably slack off. If I only worked when I felt like it, on what I felt like working on, I would never have finished my thesis because, heck , who wants to do proofreading when you could be at the beach? And if I ate whatever I felt like, whenever I felt like…

Have you ever tried going earlier? If you want to do eight hours, try out 4:30AM to 12:30PM sometime. It's hard to stick on it (you've got to be disciplined about going to bed early), but it's great for getting things done while it's still super quiet and peaceful out, and it's awesome having completed the workday at lunchtime.
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