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Digital consumption keeps me from getting better at my job

sibervepunk.com

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Re: Digital consumption keeps me from getting better at my job

#81

Post by treyfitty »

> After knowing myself as someone who has always been good with words for years, seeing that I can’t choose the right word when speaking, or that I can’t convey the message or information I want to give more clearly and simply when writing, naturally bothers me

Wow. I’ve been dealing with this for a while and it never occurred to me that it may be correlated (or caused by) by my incessant hunt for information and media at all times. I’ve always thought that if I wasn’t learning, and staying up to date on the latest frameworks, I’m not growing.

I had a profound connection with this article, so much so that I’m willing to say it’s the most important information I’ve consumed in the last 5 years… but herein lies the conundrum… now I feel FOMO creeping in, perpetuating this incessant need to find others like it… sigh

Re: Digital consumption keeps me from getting better at my job

#82

Post by skydhash »

TheRealQueequeg wrote: post #79
skydhash wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reflection is key. Books consumption (mostly digital) for me is always done in three phases. The first is just reading, no note, with only slight highlighting. Then after reflecting (or trying to explain) the ideas, I go back and try to do a summary. The third part is connecting those ideas to others from different books, or using them practically. Consumption without reflection or doing is mostly entertainment, like…

>Consumption without reflection or doing is mostly entertainment, like you would do with a novel or a movie. Maybe you do do this and were making a sweeping claim-understandble. But if not, try inspecting the themes and topics brought up by the novels you read and movies you watch? Almost all media has something of value to dissect and discuss if you are willing to do so. Your last sentence reminds me of when I shat…

Key word is "without". I'm an avid fiction reader myself from "The Malazan Book of the Fallen" to wuxia novels. Most times, I'm only engaging with the plot with no further reflection on meaning. But sometimes, I find myself doing some "what if" or going back on some ideas and interactions in the books. But that is not my default reading mode for novels. It is for non-fiction and technical books.

Re: Digital consumption keeps me from getting better at my job

#83

Post by neogodless »

carlosjobim wrote: post #66
kevinsync wrote: post #27

>> Since graduating from undergraduate studies (which marks exactly one year as I write this post) Author sounds young .. yes, absolutely try to consume less and create more, it's way more life-affirming than the opposite configuration, but: Getting better at your job, like everything else in life, is just a function of time. Show up, and then show up consistently. Put in the time. Be patient. Lead with an open mind…

Your advice should only be practiced for about a year or at most two at the start of entering the work force in order to learn the basic attitudes. After that, the only way to advance is by switching jobs all the time. Unless you want to get bigger and better jobs, but lower and lower wage.

As someone who has some exactly that... I disagree. Several previous coworkers advanced and were promoted within and are now VPs.

Definitely varies depending on the size and structure and culture of an organization.

Re: Digital consumption keeps me from getting better at my job

#84

Post by creer »

kevinsync wrote: post #27

>> Since graduating from undergraduate studies (which marks exactly one year as I write this post) Author sounds young .. yes, absolutely try to consume less and create more, it's way more life-affirming than the opposite configuration, but: Getting better at your job, like everything else in life, is just a function of time. Show up, and then show up consistently. Put in the time. Be patient. Lead with an open mind…

I'd add "learning deliberately" in the category of "necessary". It's not a matter of hacking, secrets or shortcuts but of ramping up faster than by merely passively doing. If a new situation or tool "shows up", think for yourself first, then actually look up a more solid answer. If you are going to use a tool more than 3 times, actually learn to use it. For everyone's favorite example, if you are thrown some Perl, learn enough perl that you won't be the person whining about line noise. Not "everything" about perl, just enough for the task at hand (then more for the next one). In all these cases, (1) it's really not much to learn each time, (2) it will speed you up for the rest of your career.

This does not mean "working on a book for 6 months, doing its projects". You don't need to put in that much time to progress. And when working on a book, skim. Don't spend 6 months on that book. Learning on the job, right in front of your project, can be plenty. If you want to do stuff "on idle time", doing exploratory search engine searches can be a pretty good use of time.

I'd also add mentors. It's work to cultivate a relationship with a mentor. But there is so much that they know and see, that you can't see yet. It would be a shame to ignore that option.

Re: Digital consumption keeps me from getting better at my job

#86

Post by purple-leafy »

Hey I read your article.

Have you ever considered:

1) Ditching social media (everything - Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn - everything. I don't mean delete the app. I mean delete all your accounts, and all the apps. No going back.)

2) Ditching your smart phone (Buy a brick phone)

I'm completely serious. I'm currently living this way, the phone was a recent addition in the last month. But social media, has been for years. I don't watch TV segments either (news etc).

I spend almost no time on my phone now. I spend my time building things, coding things, learning things (University courses/papers). I'm planning on kicking things up a notch next year.

The horizon for my learning in 2025 is:

- Game programming in TypeScript/C#/.NET/Unity

- Modding existing games (C/C++/C#)

- Low-level Graphics programming in C/C++

- Embedded programming in C

- Small amount of electronics

- Small amount of Assembly

- Diving into Backend Programming and Testing (.NET)

- Fleshing out my browser extension (React/TypeScript)

- Gaming (Fallout 4, Stardew Valley, Minecraft)

- Picking up University Papers (Probably Computer Science, Electronics, Machine Learning)

You should email me if you have any questions @

If not, consider trialling, I mean REALLY trying the no social media and dumb phone thing.

Re: Digital consumption keeps me from getting better at my job

#87

Post by purple-leafy »

malux85 wrote: post #3

Then stop consuming! A champion has discipline. A champion athlete doesnt grow morbidly obese off pizza and then complains it’s the pizzas fault - stop, or drastically reduce, eating. “It’s not easy”, of course it isn’t, all greatness requires sacrifice, are you going to go to the gym (learn new programming skill) or sit there eating donuts?

Who said anything about being a champion? Why should this be the goal? Other than the media you've consumed has told you that "you must be a cHAmPiOn in LiFe" to be important.

Fuck that, everything in moderation. I love donuts, being fit and shying away from donuts was a miserable experience. So what, I might die earlier having eaten that donut? Worth it.

Everything in moderation. Good and bad.

At the end of the day, none of this matters. Wy put arbitrary constraints on your short life of pleasure.

Re: Digital consumption keeps me from getting better at my job

#88

Post by Aeolun »

fellowniusmonk wrote: post #42
kevinsync wrote: post #27

>> Since graduating from undergraduate studies (which marks exactly one year as I write this post) Author sounds young .. yes, absolutely try to consume less and create more, it's way more life-affirming than the opposite configuration, but: Getting better at your job, like everything else in life, is just a function of time. Show up, and then show up consistently. Put in the time. Be patient. Lead with an open mind…

Totally agree with everything you've said, brain train for the actual job by doing the actual job and immersing in it as thoroughly and consistently as you can, do things others find boring or difficult. In case the author IS young, I would also add this: Stay away from startups with capricious, absentee or already wealthy founders, find the most productive, stable environment you can. If you work in an environment w…

> Stay away from startups with capricious, absentee or already wealthy founders, find the most productive, stable environment you can.

I don’t think this is necessarily true. The job I learned most was one where I was the only tech person working on a product that had a more or less absent founder. I had to teach myself of course, but if you are self motivated you can learn a lot there.

Just don’t expect to get rewarded for it. See it as being paid in knowledge instead of money.

Re: Digital consumption keeps me from getting better at my job

#89

Post by portaouflop »

Aurornis wrote: post #54
fellowniusmonk wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Totally agree with everything you've said, brain train for the actual job by doing the actual job and immersing in it as thoroughly and consistently as you can, do things others find boring or difficult. In case the author IS young, I would also add this: Stay away from startups with capricious, absentee or already wealthy founders, find the most productive, stable environment you can. If you work in an environment w…

> If you work in an environment where personal production and job security are orthogonal you might find yourself getting rug pulled where effort/contribution are fully decoupled from reward. This is a great point. When you find yourself in a workplace where job security is based more on vibes than production it creates a false sense of security. You think your personal productivity doesn't matter and that you can vi…

I’d rather take vibes based than some artificial productivity measure. “Far from perfect” is laughable- they aren’t even close to measure anything that is rooted in reality.

I would argue that all productivity metrics are even more vibes based than just going after vibes.

Re: Digital consumption keeps me from getting better at my job

#90

Post by tosmatos »

purple-leafy wrote: post #86

Hey I read your article. Have you ever considered: 1) Ditching social media (everything - Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn - everything. I don't mean delete the app. I mean delete all your accounts, and all the apps. No going back.) 2) Ditching your smart phone (Buy a brick phone) I'm completely serious. I'm currently living this way, the phone was a recent addition in the last month. But social media, has been for year…

I think that is the way. I also ditched social media, used a brick phone for a while but went back to a smart phone for gps. Don't use it for social media though, since I have none.

Although, how do you feel about using your computer to "waste" time? Like spending too much time reading random things you find on the internet, for example.

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