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Ask HN: How are you holding up?

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Re: Ask HN: How are you holding up?

#241

Post by SamWhited »

I'm definitely not doing well, but I suppose it could be worse. Between the pandemic and the company I liked working for selling half the staff to another company that I don't like working for (at the worst possible time to find a new job), it's been a tough few months. My performance is down the tube, which probably would have resulted in the new company firing me ages ago except that I'm one of the only people left who knows the product (everyone else quit when they cut our pay by 20% even though they don't seem to have been affected by the pandemic and are just using it as an excuse to reduce expenses).

I've been trying to stay sane by working in my garden, cooking more elaborate meals than I normally do, biking to the farmers market instead of driving to the grocery store (more expensive, but it makes for a pleasant day out whereas the grocery store is just a chore), and playing soccer on the weekends with my COVID bubble.

Re: Ask HN: How are you holding up?

#242

Post by hn_throwaway_99 »

raihansaputra wrote: post #177
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I rely entirely on external structure and physical separation of spaces to keep myself sane. I think this will resonate with a significant subset of the HN crowd. I really thrive on externally-enforced structure (didn't take long to discover I made a terrible entrepreneur, but found a good niche as a startup employee). I've set my life up around having different events and places I need to be: classes at my gym, to…

> I really thrive on externally-enforced structure (didn't take long to discover I made a terrible entrepreneur, but found a good niche as a startup employee). How did you find that out? Really interested whether I fall in the same group. I feel like I agree with you; I haven't been exercising as much because I can't go to a studio/gym to exercise, and the deterioration of both physical health and mental well-being i…

When I tried my go at doing my own startup with a colleague, I found it incredibly stressful. But a lot of that stress was due to me finding it difficult to prioritize the right things to do, difficulty motivating myself to do the parts I didn't enjoy, and just overall procrastination.

To be honest, I know everyone wants to have a "growth mindset", i.e. the belief that if you're not good at something that you can diligently "face your fears" and overcome it, but at least for me I've come to the conclusion that I'm just constitutionally not cut out to be an entrepreneur. I don't know if it's my genes or my early upbringing or what, but I've tried all the motivation/self-direction/anti-procrastination tricks in the book, and it just doesn't work for me. There was definitely a sense of loss when I came to that conclusion, but I've found that I'm able to thrive when I have an environment with more structure.

Re: Ask HN: How are you holding up?

#243

Post by blueterminal »

axegon_ wrote: post #15

Contrary to what I imagined, better than ever. Work: Incredibly smooth, even if I'm confined to a 13 inch laptop as opposed to 2x 26 inch screens (OK, I occasionally hook up my TV for extra help). Peace, quiet, fully able to focus on my tasks. Physical health: Several years ago I decided to dedicate a portion of my spare time to sports and I got into my best shape ever by end of last year(body fat ~10%, down from 20+…

> Peace, quiet, fully able to focus on my tasks.

I am back at the office and damn I miss the quiet so much. It is so loud and distracting at the open office. This is the reason I truly want to work remotely. I honestly can do my work 2-3 times faster, and of better quality.

Re: Ask HN: How are you holding up?

#244

Post by mathattack »

screye wrote: post #16

Really badly, but could be worse. I am entirely sure that I have moderate-serious depression since the lock down started. I rely entirely on external structure and physical separation of spaces to keep myself sane. So WFH has been disastrous for me. I have been eating worse, not working out, stopped pursuing hobbies/side projects and have been incredibly unproductive at work. Thankfully, a year of good results prior…

Hang in there. Forgive yourself for challenges coping. It’s hitting all of us.

Re: Ask HN: How are you holding up?

#245

Post by bargl »

bredren wrote: post #67
iMark wrote: post #22

Years ago, I visited the zoo in Central Park in NYC and watched a polar bear, as it swam around and around in a pool. It swam in a triangle, touching the three same points on the wall of the enclosure as it made each circuit. Last month I walked around Greenwich Park in London 125 times, each time following exactly the same route. I thought about that polar bear a lot as I walked.

Not to take too dark a turn here, but human zoos were not uncommon at the turn of the century. The Bronx Zoo had people, in cages, on display in 1906. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_zoo

Our dark history gives me hope. I don't mean to say I enjoy seeing darkness in our history. Instead I see it as a clear point on a compass pointing away from where I want society to head. Even if I don't agree with how everyone else wants to tack forward as long as we're heading West, I don't care if it's NW or SW.

Re: Ask HN: How are you holding up?

#246

Post by chooseaname »

I'm doing well, thanks for asking. I have been full-time WFH for over half a decade so I had plenty of time to accommodate. My SO was forced to return to work recently, however, so I worry about that. And I think people have just given up on social distancing/facial coverings if grocery shopping is any indication. I also worry just how political people have made wearing facial coverings. I think it sets a precedent that we just don't have to listen to what science is telling us.

Re: Ask HN: How are you holding up?

#247

Post by cyberdrunk »

ck425 wrote: post #93
TheMerovingian wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anecdotally, cutting my coffee intake to near-zero levels has allowed my anxiety to simmer down. Perhaps this may help in your situation.

Out of curiosity did you switch to decaf or just no coffee at all? I could never tell if it was coffee specifically or just caffeine in general which heightened my anxiety.

I switched to decaf, and I have much less anxiety, but also much less energy... It's definitely the caffeine.

Re: Ask HN: How are you holding up?

#248

Post by Consultant32452 »

dgllghr wrote: post #217
screye wrote: post #16

Really badly, but could be worse. I am entirely sure that I have moderate-serious depression since the lock down started. I rely entirely on external structure and physical separation of spaces to keep myself sane. So WFH has been disastrous for me. I have been eating worse, not working out, stopped pursuing hobbies/side projects and have been incredibly unproductive at work. Thankfully, a year of good results prior…

I identify with a lot of what you say. As someone who is (as you say) "pro-equality-altruistic" but not "anti-tribal-free-speech-absolutist", one thing I want to say is that I don't hate you. I don't even dislike you. I feel like the media and social media are making it feel like we all hate each other for tiny differences in our worldviews. I've come to believe that those spaces are dominated by the most entrenched,…

Anger gives us a spike of dopamine. The people involved in this industry are selling you that dopamine hit. They aren't required to believe anything they say. A large percentage of the people in media were educated at the finest universities on the planet. I think it's silly to believe they're so foolish they can't see that what they are spewing right now is exactly counter to what they were spewing 5 seconds ago.

Re: Ask HN: How are you holding up?

#249

Post by austincheney »

Ok. I was in forced quarantine for two weeks starting at the beginning of May at Fort Hood. I spent that two weeks with some wonderful people from an Alabama transportation unit. Then I was isolated for a month awaiting a flight to Kuwait.

I got here, to Kuwait, last week and was forced into quarantine again because some people on the flight had not gone through quarantine yet. It’s been a little lonely. After four or five days I was able to get a hold of an electric socket adapter so that I can recharge my phone and laptop. Life was a little rough without electricity for my personal devices while locked into this quarantine camp. In this forced quarantine area we cannot access any form of shopping and I really need some laundry detergent. This morning a cute little mouse tickled my foot and that spooked me a bit. After about 2 to 3 days here we started getting some cooked meals. I have gained a new appreciation for MREs.

Since I have separated from my corporate job and family I have gotten a lot of programming complete on a personal project. This morning I completed a major milestone on secure software routing for this decentralized file transfer project that executes with a fast GUI in the browser.

Re: Ask HN: How are you holding up?

#250

Post by mech422 »

tmaly wrote: post #216
mech422 wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually feel a lil guilty about how well things are going for me. Its not really been any change for me, same schedule - same job. I think the key is as you said, mostly avoiding the news. Every day or two, I skim over the headlines on CNN but mostly I avoid it. I do check the stock market in the mornings - I swear the DJIA is just a yo-yo. But it's just out of curiosity as I still have 15+ years before I can reti…

I have found that avoiding news all together has definitely had a positive impact on my days. This includes social media.

HN is about the extent of my social media... I always found the signal-to-noise ratio of facebook, twitter, etc. to be too low to make them worthwhile.

On the other hand, I can spend hours sucked into random tech books, blogs, etc. So I guess time wise it balances out.

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