It’s time to embrace slow productivity (2022)

Post by datavirtue » Tue, May 23, 2023, 1:08 PM UTC

datavirtue wrote: post #144

Chris_Newton wrote: post #46

I like the saying “slow is smooth and smooth is fast” as applied to software development. For all the talk of Agile processes and breaking creative work down into bite-sized chunks and prioritising collaboration and team productivity over individual contributions, ultimately our work is about thinking and fundamentally it requires that each individual doing the work understands what needs to be done. Not investing en…

The typical waterfall assumptions are very overblown. We are doing ourselves a great disservice by throwing it away. Hardly anyone developing today has ever used waterfall much less agile. The waterfall:bad, agile:good trope is really tiring. Like listening to a teenager that knows jack shit explain how the world works.

Down voted by know-it-alls trapped in an agile doctrine.

Post by Taywee » Tue, May 23, 2023, 5:46 PM UTC

petsfed wrote: post #13

Taywee wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many people I've met really could use more fulfilling hobbies.

How many of those people feel like they have time to pursue more fulfilling activities? Speaking only for myself, my more fulfilling hobbies feel like a zero-sum proposition when I factor in taking care of myself, my kids, my home, etc. What little leisure time activies I pursue are almost all pursued between the hours of 9 and 11pm, because that's the time I have . I think the OP is right in a lot of ways, that work…

I understand that. I am in a very similar position. I make time for my hobbies and it is often very difficult, especially as an active parent who makes a strong effort to be present regularly in my kids' lives. Sometimes, I don't get any time into my hobby projects for over a week at a time. Sometimes I get time in and it's unsatisfying because they're creative and intellectual hobbies and I'm already mentally drained, so I can't even appreciate them fully.

I wasn't making a judgment (though I wasn't explicitly not making one either), just saying that many people could use them. Hobbies are good identities, and many people feel a need to define themselves but struggle to do so.

That said, I do know people who complain about having very little time, but I know they spend 4 or 5 hours every day on television, video games, and social media. They don't own a home, they don't have kids, they get on the TV as soon as they get off their 40-hour-a-week job, and complain about how they can't afford the time to have hobbies. Excuses exist on a spectrum of reasonableness, and some excuses are more understandable than others.

The majority of people I know who really want to have fulfilling hobbies do have fulfilling hobbies. Many of them work long hours, also have kids, have to take care of their home, and the like. They'll still scrounge together a few hours a week to paint some Warhammer figurines and decompress.

Most people would also benefit from occasional therapy or a personal accountant. It's not accessible for everybody, but the fact remains.

Re: It’s time to embrace slow productivity (2022)

Re: It’s time to embrace slow productivity (2022)