Ugh. Agree with caveats: I’m often put in the position of being the “slow” guy because I have to fix all the stuff the “fast” guy did, but I have to do it while everything is up and running with paying users.
Speed matters: Why working quickly is more important than it seems (2015)
171–177 of 177 posts
Re: Speed matters: Why working quickly is more important than it seems (2015)
#172Earlier quoted context omitted.
I used to feel this way, a little bit. Then I had a family and was glad to have the financial security to provide for my family compared to so many others. So, consider your heirs, and work long enough to build a nest egg cushion the devote time to having a wonderful spouse, making babies and enjoying them.
Note this advice won't apply for people who aren't interested in starting families. Even for those in happy marriages, not everyone feels that biological itch to have kids. And not everyone even feels the itch to marry.
Same here. It's not a biological itch for me, it's a desire to leave/change something for this world. In my case, it's [adoption|stepkids|nieces|nephews].
Re: Speed matters: Why working quickly is more important than it seems (2015)
#173This is one of my favorite blog posts of all time. It's applicable not only to just work work but a lot of other things, if you can shorten the feedback loop, you get a much better chance to improve the end result. It affects _everything_ else too.
You make a good point. How do you compare your idea to the one that we need to take time to smell the rose? I think that idea suggests that we need to slow down and watch the world more closely. Just wanted to know what you think of that.
Re: Speed matters: Why working quickly is more important than it seems (2015)
#17440 year old here. Speed doesn't matter as much as WHAT you deliver. First of all, people do not know how much time something takes. And secondly, they will forget how much time it took, but not how well it was made. Responding fast to emails is just crazy. I lost count on how many urgent problems got resolved automatically. "Hey can you help me with this". 15 minutes later "Nevermind, found it". I'm in the "Slow is s…
This sounds like people who quote "slow in, fast out" in racing. Just like here it's not true. It's a "rule of thumb" for beginners. It has use in that context. The way to win a race is fast in, fast out, same with software. edit: I'm 42, if the matters.
The problem is momentum has two vectors, speed and direction.
Most problems in software engineering are caused by only optimizing for speed.
Re: Speed matters: Why working quickly is more important than it seems (2015)
#175When I do dev stuff with a slight sense of urgency, the probability of my mind wandering somewhere else goes down drastically. At this mode, my mind uses all available time slots to make the best of them. For example, by the time my program compiles, my brain visualizes possible breakage scenarios and possible solutions, in case the compilation fails. I could be on confirmation bias here, but this seems to be a neat…
I’m that ‘deadline bring me creative juice’ type of person. I’d say it kind of work to certain degree from my experience — good solution popup out of nowhere, maybe because like you said, I am very focused on that work alone, and nothing else.
It obviously doesn’t sustainable though, both your work and health. It get a job done, but I know that it lack finesse quality, also all that stress definitely shorten my lifespan.
Re: Speed matters: Why working quickly is more important than it seems (2015)
#176This is one of my favorite blog posts of all time. It's applicable not only to just work work but a lot of other things, if you can shorten the feedback loop, you get a much better chance to improve the end result. It affects _everything_ else too.
You make a good point. How do you compare your idea to the one that we need to take time to smell the rose? I think that idea suggests that we need to slow down and watch the world more closely. Just wanted to know what you think of that.
That's a great question! If I'm understanding it right, I think the two ideas can complement each other. For broader goals or when you're totally clear what you want to do and how you get there, it's fine to take time. Even then, you can use shorter feedback loops to make the process more efficient.
Say you want to become a better writer. That's a broad goal and there are several approaches you could take towards that goal. On one extreme, you could read a lot about writing, write little, try to perfect things, and get something out once or twice a month. On the other extreme, you may write every single day and get it out in front of some people, get consistent feedback, learn, and improve. Both of these approaches will take time… the second approach, with the shorter feedback loop, can probably get you there faster though.
Re: Speed matters: Why working quickly is more important than it seems (2015)
#177Earlier quoted context omitted.
You make a good point. How do you compare your idea to the one that we need to take time to smell the rose? I think that idea suggests that we need to slow down and watch the world more closely. Just wanted to know what you think of that.
That's a great question! If I'm understanding it right, I think the two ideas can complement each other. For broader goals or when you're totally clear what you want to do and how you get there, it's fine to take time. Even then, you can use shorter feedback loops to make the process more efficient. Say you want to become a better writer. That's a broad goal and there are several approaches you could take towards tha…
Thank you for your thoughtful answer.