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What “work” looks like

blog.jim-nielsen.com

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Re: What “work” looks like

#21

Post by i_dont_know_ »

I agree with the message overall: impactful work might not 'look' like work, but I'm not sure what the author's deal is with conflating 'collaboration' with 'meaningless meetings'.

I guess I've just had different experiences, but for me, 'collaboration' means 'understanding that this project/task does not exist in isolation and looping in those relevant stakeholders early to make sure they decide with you as opposed to discovering roadblocks too late'. I can't imagine how someone can be against that.

From context, I feel like the author is using that word to mean 'gather people in a room and pretend to work'... is that how it's used normally?

Re: What “work” looks like

#22

Post by Test0129 »

et1337 wrote: post #7

For the past 3 years I’ve worked in an almost 100% pair programming environment. It works wonders for a lot of problems, especially around “code ownership”. It’s much harder to get precious with your code, or point fingers at someone else’s code, when the responsibility for every line is shared by at least two people. But I found that the pressure of pairing shuts down a lot of thought. Long silences are forbidden in…

I'm shocked you made it 3 years. I did a stint trying to do what they call "mob programming" and felt borderline suicidal. I couldn't think because I was constantly vocalizing what I was doing. Nothing added up and every ticket felt like it was just a hodge-podge of different ideas with no real flow. Lord help you if someone wanted to disagree. Now you have to completely stop your worker thread and handle that. There was no art to it. Its just one robot and two guys standing behind you ordering you to do this or that. I found it impossible to reach a flow state and produce actual good work. I left every session feeling like I accomplished nothing for myself. I am not attached to my code, but I am attached to my accomplishments. When all your work is atomized between people you are effectively no one. In this case, I believe, it's better off to leave.

Pair programming in moderation can be enlightening. Much like traveling to a different town as an artist to learn from other artists. Too much of it and you lose your identity. It is completely possible to remain detached from your work but still desire to work mostly alone on your own tickets. Code ownership is a silly concept. On one hand everyone suggests being detached from your work. Yet everyone simultaneously realizes having your name in a PR matters. I make a habit of crediting people who worked with me in the PR message. It's pretty simple.

Re: What “work” looks like

#23

Post by jjzhiyuan »

dark_star wrote: post #4

Software development is creative work. Creative insight can come anywhere, any time. Better ideas can make difficult things easy. And make the impossible– possible. So the most important thing on a software team (or really any team creating high technology products or services) is an environment where team members feel safe to be themselves– psychologically safe, where they can try out new things, make mistakes, fail…

Can't agree more :)

Re: What “work” looks like

#24

Post by mathieuh »

Test0129 wrote: post #16

I've had more ideas come to me after hiding in my office to take a nap than sitting at my desk. It got to be such a gold mine of solutions that I still to this day allocate 30 minutes of my day to a nap. Non-negotiable. So many hard problems that have been brought to me, or complicated needs for architecture, etc were solved by simply turning my active brain off. When I was in graduate school I'd regularly get stuck…

I'm the same except with guitar. I always keep a guitar next to my desk, and when I start getting frustrated or stuck with work I'll noodle around for 20 minutes. Usually I feel very refreshed after doing this. Working from home has been a godsend for me.

Re: What “work” looks like

#25

Post by throwaway_au_1 »

Test0129 wrote: post #20
a_bonobo wrote: post #14

IMHO why companies don't push the 'step away and let the problem gestate in your brain' message is that it blurs the lines between 'payable time' and 'free time'. For my creative work, a lot of solutions occur in the evenings after I've clocked out. Since I'm developing solutions for work do they not owe me money for the hours worked?

I don't think it's that at all. If you're salary the company quite literally owns you, every thought no matter how inconsequential, etc. I can see how that could be a problem for hourly. It's really about control. You give the appearance of work to appease the PHB who signs your paycheck. You know, after plenty of experience, the person who appears to be the hardest worker is often times the least likely to be put on…

PHB = Pointy Haired Boss, for anyone else not familiar with Dilbert.

Re: What “work” looks like

#26

Post by gjadi »

There is a good MOOC on coursera on the topic of learning and creative working: Learning How To Learn by Barbara Oakley (there is also a book).

She talks about focused and diffused mode of thinking. The main idea is that to create new neuron connections (memory or understanding) you've to work hard on a topic - the focused mode - and then take a break - the diffused mode.

By switching modes you help your brain. Of course, you can't just go do something else without working hard first ... :)

Re: What “work” looks like

#27

Post by CapsAdmin »

I kind of see collaboration as a way to ensure you don't go off on some idea that doesn't align with the rest of the team. In the blog post he mentions that he presents his idea with the team in step 4, isn't that when it becomes collaboration and his idea is potentially scaled back or enhanced?

I've seen brainstorming variants where the team thinks for themselves first in silence in the same room and then present their ideas in form of post-it notes. In the end though, people tend to select the safest ideas, but I feel it also depends on how many "radical thinkers" are really on the team.

Re: What “work” looks like

#28

Post by j-bos »

MaxikCZ wrote: post #18
nonrandomstring wrote: post #15

Boss: "Hicks, how come you're not working." Bill: "There's nothing to do." Boss: "Well, you pretend like you're working." Perhaps the biggest sink on the economy and environment is perfomative work that David Graeber calls "bullshit jobs". Commuting 100 miles to sit in an office to be seen to perform is tragic and borne of insecurity of both manager and worker colluding in a game. I think what constitutes work exists…

>Perhaps the biggest sink on the economy and environment is perfomative work that David Graeber calls "bullshit jobs". Commuting 100 miles to sit in an office to be seen to perform is tragic and borne of insecurity of both manager and worker colluding in a game. For years (5+), at my job there's often nothing to do, so after lunch I just go home, and declare 4 hours worked that day (8-12, instead of normal 8) at the…

How did you declare the hours? An email? "Unpaid time off" submission?

Re: What “work” looks like

#29

Post by mostertoaster »

I identify with what he is saying.

When I’m confident in myself I can do this and be effective. Go think about a problem not sitting at my desk.

When I’m not confident in myself, I act like an impostor and try to look like I’m doing work.

The hard part is remaining confident in myself, when myself has not always given me reason to be confident in it.

Re: What “work” looks like

#30

Post by mostertoaster »

Test0129 wrote: post #22
et1337 wrote: post #7

For the past 3 years I’ve worked in an almost 100% pair programming environment. It works wonders for a lot of problems, especially around “code ownership”. It’s much harder to get precious with your code, or point fingers at someone else’s code, when the responsibility for every line is shared by at least two people. But I found that the pressure of pairing shuts down a lot of thought. Long silences are forbidden in…

I'm shocked you made it 3 years. I did a stint trying to do what they call "mob programming" and felt borderline suicidal. I couldn't think because I was constantly vocalizing what I was doing. Nothing added up and every ticket felt like it was just a hodge-podge of different ideas with no real flow. Lord help you if someone wanted to disagree. Now you have to completely stop your worker thread and handle that. There…

This is a helpful reminder to me. Thanks.
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