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Don't End the Week with Nothing (2014)

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Re: Don't End the Week with Nothing (2014)

#171

Post by vbtemp »

I mean, what the hell is with all this 60-90 hours per week stuff going on? Am I an incredibly defective human being or something - I cannot even fathom working anything even CLOSE to that (in software/tech, maybe if you're in med school or work an an ER I can see it). There is no way in hell I could ever even be close to productive for that period of time for more than, say, one week a year or something (and even then I'd need weeks to recover). I'd guess I'd ask everyone, "Really?". When you work those kind of hours, are you _actually_ doing value-adding or value-optimizing things, or just engaging in work theater?

I've found the most incredible thing is just to say "no" to things. Not doing things has this fantastic side effect of not causing more work. When you don't do more things, you don't cause more problems, which doesn't need more work, which doesn't need more staff, which doesn't require more money, which gives you less stress, and gives you happier staff, happier customers, and a happier self.

I wonder if I've totally lost my marbles if this kind of thing only makes sense to myself...

Re: Don't End the Week with Nothing (2014)

#173

Post by HeyLaughingBoy »

beforeolives wrote: post #72

I was hoping that we were moving in the opposite direction where people aren't expected to show off side projects, ship something every week or work for a famous company in order to be successful. If this article is good advice, that makes me a bit sad about the state and direction of the industry.

It's very good advice, but you should understand that not all good advice applies to everyone or in every situation.

Re: Don't End the Week with Nothing (2014)

#174

Post by [deleted] »

vbtemp wrote: post #171

I mean, what the hell is with all this 60-90 hours per week stuff going on? Am I an incredibly defective human being or something - I cannot even fathom working anything even CLOSE to that (in software/tech, maybe if you're in med school or work an an ER I can see it). There is no way in hell I could ever even be close to productive for that period of time for more than, say, one week a year or something (and even th…

[deleted]

Re: Don't End the Week with Nothing (2014)

#175

Post by mjrbrennan »

vbtemp wrote: post #171

I mean, what the hell is with all this 60-90 hours per week stuff going on? Am I an incredibly defective human being or something - I cannot even fathom working anything even CLOSE to that (in software/tech, maybe if you're in med school or work an an ER I can see it). There is no way in hell I could ever even be close to productive for that period of time for more than, say, one week a year or something (and even th…

> just engaging in work theater

I do not have firsthand experience at this, but from my understanding being a salaryman in Japan means staying in the office until the boss leaves. It does not matter if you are producing value or not in that time, it is more about appearance and company loyalty.

I agree with you 100%...I think the most I've ever worked in a week was probably in the 50-60 hour range and that was one of the worst experiences of my life. I cannot fathom doing 90 hours for SEVERAL YEARS without wanting to drive into oncoming traffic.

Re: Don't End the Week with Nothing (2014)

#176

Post by finnh »

cactus2093 wrote: post #163
alisonkisk wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All those lifestyle side projects are why he's an ebg manager at Stripe now.

Idk, it seems like all the blogging about those projects and the building of that into a tech influencer persona are why he’s a manager at stripe. And that’s, by definition, not something everyone can do. And it’s certainly not the most direct or easiest way to get into that job.

Exactly. "Tech influencer" worked for patio11 much more than "creator of Bingo Card Creator"

Re: Don't End the Week with Nothing (2014)

#177

Post by corytheboyd »

simias wrote: post #162
AlexC04 wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry you're getting downvoted on this post. I found your data point useful. Even though I disagree that there are enough podcasts serving the senior developer / corporate programmer niche, being made aware of the existence of "podcast exhaustion" is valuable, and the discussion convinced me that a transcription service is worth it. I'd hate for negative attention to result in a chilling effect on your decision to vo…

I didn't downvote but I think "please don't do X" is really a poor way to frame this opinion. I also don't care much for podcasts and prefer a textual format, but if you think you'd prefer making it a podcast then just make it and theshrike79 and I will find other content to consume. Or maybe it'll be so good and interesting that we'll just listen to it anyway! Deciding to start on such a project is really cool IMO,…

I agree with this 100%, and just want the parent commenter to see that at least one other person cares enough to say so to offset the toxic dismissal.

It’s easy to shit on work, but hard to create it. You created something, that’s awesome and I wish you luck! Don’t try to make all the naysayers happy, especially in this community, or you’ll go insane lol.

Re: Don't End the Week with Nothing (2014)

#178

Post by robryan »

mjrbrennan wrote: post #175
vbtemp wrote: post #171

I mean, what the hell is with all this 60-90 hours per week stuff going on? Am I an incredibly defective human being or something - I cannot even fathom working anything even CLOSE to that (in software/tech, maybe if you're in med school or work an an ER I can see it). There is no way in hell I could ever even be close to productive for that period of time for more than, say, one week a year or something (and even th…

> just engaging in work theater I do not have firsthand experience at this, but from my understanding being a salaryman in Japan means staying in the office until the boss leaves. It does not matter if you are producing value or not in that time, it is more about appearance and company loyalty. I agree with you 100%...I think the most I've ever worked in a week was probably in the 50-60 hour range and that was one of…

I would think if some of these companies really had cracked some kind of method to double the productive output of their employees that they would have a massive advantange on their competition and grow to be some of the biggest companies in the world.

The other aspect is that the lower the value of an employees time the more the business will be happy to have them undertake repetative tasks as the cost of them doing it is lower than the cost of the work to automate.

Re: Don't End the Week with Nothing (2014)

#179

Post by zuhayeer »

"Write about those lessons as you learn them. If at all possible, publish what you write. Even if it is published to an audience of no one, you will be able to point people back to it later."

I think everyone unemployed or employed should be building side projects and just putting things out there. Companies are slowly embracing it too, I've been surprised how lax companies are in making exceptions for IP clauses. Almost as if its in fear of the employee leaving otherwise.

Also tucked in here, a great negotiation tip: "That way, if they say 'No side projects', you'll say 'OK, in lieu of the side projects, I'll need more money.'"

Re: Don't End the Week with Nothing (2014)

#180

Post by kjjjjjjjjjjjjjj »

piokoch wrote: post #60

"Don't try to make a career out of optimizing the SQL queries to display a preference page on a line of business app at a company that no one has ever heard of. That is not the straightforward path to having other people learn you are capable of doing meaningful work." This is so sad. Optimizing that SQL might require being really clever and can bring enormous value for the company that maybe nobody heard about but m…

If you do unsexy work you will get paid unsexy money. If you have a passion for something thats great but if you want to earn a lot of money you will need to play the game.
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