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I don't want to work very hard

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: I don't want to work very hard

#101

Post by time_management »

If you're down to 2-6 hours of actual work, you've got plenty of time to put into a startup.

The last 50 years are some of the best in history and the good times will likely keep rolling, so why waste them? Any if they're going to stop, why waste them?

I agree with you. 75 percent of the "work" that is done could be lost with almost no cost to society. It makes sense for the dedicated people to work 50+ hours per week, but it's an absolute waste that the average person has to put in so much time on his job.

The traditional office model is utterly obsolete and, although it's taking a while, people are finally getting it, though the process has been slow.

I just want to make a bankroll and get out. I'm not sure why I'm posting, except that hanging out here and reading about startups has made me think it's possible to break my frustrating cycle of work, and I'm curious to hear what folks think.

You're probably not unambitious, work-averse, or lazy. Very few people truly are; laziness is a byproduct of bad work situations. What you're describing sounds like a bad case of burnout. Luckily, it's almost always temporary, so long as you are able to learn from what your experience is telling you.

Although it's risky to have a gap on your resume, you might want to figure out how to get your savings up to 2 years' living expenses and "mini-retire". I left a super-stressful hedge fund job due to health problems in April. I honestly had no desire to work ever again, didn't do any side projects, read a lot, studied Buddhism and meditated, and spent a lot of time in the park. About 3 months later, I was itching to get back in the career game (but in a much better job, and my track record of quits, fires, and fails had given me a strong sense of what to seek and what to avoid) and learn new things.

Re: I don't want to work very hard

#102

Post by GrandMasterBirt »

odimrof wrote: post #94
ilamont wrote: post #19

Several quotes came to mind when reading this: "If you win the rat race, you're still a rat." - Anna Quindlen, Harvard Commencement speech "No man on his deathbed ever said, 'I wish I had spent more time at the office.'" - The late Massachusetts Senator Paul Tsongas, speaking at another Harvard Commencement There's another quote that also springs to mind, but I can't remember who said it. It is "time is the ultimate…

> "No man on his deathbed ever said, 'I wish I had spent more time at the office.'" - The late Massachusetts Senator Paul Tsongas, speaking at another Harvard Commencement No, but I bet a lot of men have said, at least to themselves if not out loud, "I wish I'd had sex with a lot more gorgeous women." cf. Little Miss Sunshine. Spending more time at the office is a fairly reliable way of upping your odds when you're n…

Also if you have really hot co-workers spending time in the office is always a plus! I have no problem looking for a different job in exchange for a hot piece of ass if company policy gets in the way. (alright now I offended someone)... The trouble is getting the hot married ones, this takes skill and dedication (and a complete lack of caring for your current job).

Re: I don't want to work very hard

#103

Post by webwright »

ggrot wrote: post #98
webwright wrote: post #67

"I think I've found a niche with a need, and if I can put enough in my pocket that I can buy insured and very low-risk securities to quietly live off a trickle of interest." Markets are pretty efficient. It's pretty unlikely that you've found a niche where you can make a good living without any work. If you do, it won't be long before someone who wants to work hard comes around and blows your business out of the wate…

Job markets are not as efficient as real markets where you buy and sell things because jobs are not liquid. If I find a job paying $50/hour and someone else is working doing the same job earning $30/hour, I can't exactly make any profit arbitraging the market to efficiency. For a pretty small investment in time and money, most grocery store cashiers could learn to become plumbers. Plumbing routinely pays 4x a grocery…

Yaw, I was responding to his idea of a niche startup-- not getting a job. Certainly there are plenty of ways to get a job and save money.

Re: I don't want to work very hard

#104

Post by Spyckie »

flaneur wrote: post #28
transburgh wrote: post #22

more work for me ;)

Why would you want it? Can't you be happy without it?

mmm... This reminds me of the J/P split in MBTI. Its not exclusive, but Js tend to like work and Ps tend to like play.

Read up about it if you're curious: http://www.geocities.com/lifexplore/mbintro.htm

Re: I don't want to work very hard

#105

Post by etal »

peregrine wrote: post #73

I agree and disagree. People here will crucify you for what your saying but it sounds like your exactly like me. I'm not even out of school yet and I've been working part time developer during the year and full time during summer/breaks(pay the bills). Anyways I'm already starting to feel bored and distracted. May I suggest going to school? Getting a phd and then become a professor and sit around most days grading pa…

Being a professor before tenure does involve a fair amount of work. Lecturing, less so, and just being an indefinitely ABD grad student is actually fairly sustainable.

Heavy administrative overhead affects people differently, though.

Re: I don't want to work very hard

#106

Post by illumen »

jreese wrote: post #92
illumen wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Instead I decided to work on weapons that can kill LOTS of people... fuck those guys who didn't get me in school." -- Bert.

The fact that his work was applied to the creation of nuclear weapons was one of Eintstein's great regrets in life. The fact that those weapons were used on cities full of civilians was his greatest.

Albert signed a letter urging for the creation of an atomic bomb.

If you think someone that intelligent could not have realized that an atomic bomb would be used to actually kill people -- then you are sorely mistaken.

Re: I don't want to work very hard

#107

Post by JabavuAdams »

Chocobean wrote: post #66
flaneur wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Walking (hence the username), reading, languages (human or code), hacking roguelikes and muds, knitting. Doesn't sound like much when I just list them, but I can happily spend a roughly infinite amount of time on them.

hacking roguelikes and muds eh? Have you ever tried DwarfFortress? Toady does it "full time" surviving on donations.

Oh no. Now he'll never work again...

Re: I don't want to work very hard

#108

Post by kingnothing »

ggrot wrote: post #98
webwright wrote: post #67

"I think I've found a niche with a need, and if I can put enough in my pocket that I can buy insured and very low-risk securities to quietly live off a trickle of interest." Markets are pretty efficient. It's pretty unlikely that you've found a niche where you can make a good living without any work. If you do, it won't be long before someone who wants to work hard comes around and blows your business out of the wate…

Job markets are not as efficient as real markets where you buy and sell things because jobs are not liquid. If I find a job paying $50/hour and someone else is working doing the same job earning $30/hour, I can't exactly make any profit arbitraging the market to efficiency. For a pretty small investment in time and money, most grocery store cashiers could learn to become plumbers. Plumbing routinely pays 4x a grocery…

Why can't you arbitrage people? That's effectively what consulting firms do.

Re: I don't want to work very hard

#109

Post by prospero »

illumen wrote: post #106
jreese wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fact that his work was applied to the creation of nuclear weapons was one of Eintstein's great regrets in life. The fact that those weapons were used on cities full of civilians was his greatest.

Albert signed a letter urging for the creation of an atomic bomb. If you think someone that intelligent could not have realized that an atomic bomb would be used to actually kill people -- then you are sorely mistaken.

I think the idea of a German atomic bomb was an even greater concern for Einstein, and for others.

The years leading up to WWII were very, very complicated. It's unrealistic to claim that your hindsight (or anyone's) is 20/20 with respect to what should have been done.

Re: I don't want to work very hard

#110

Post by mickt »

ghshephard wrote: post #83
bufferout wrote: post #33

Look, I appreciate your candor and all but I can't help but think if I was your coworker then I'd be pissed at having to carry your sorry arse. Shit or get off the pot.

Difficult to tell. Our most highly respected individual contributor in our department comes in at 11:00, leaves at 5:00, and basically works on whatever catches his fancy whenever he pleases (Which, thankfully, usually results in a reduction in labor for our and other departments each time he releases some new code/product) When particular tasks are placed on his plate - he is so overwhelmingly competent, that he sim…

A laudable goal, but if you managed that do you really think your senior management (or at least the mgt in most companies) would agree? They'd think they're not getting value for money if your only "working" 2 hours a day.
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