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Fuck being productive

dostoynikov.bearblog.dev

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Re: Fuck being productive

#251

Post by MuffinFlavored »

sBqQu3U0wH wrote: post #15

Honestly, I do feel somewhat similar. I work a normal 8-hour day and I am not obsessed with productivity nor I am some kind of anti-work activist, but it just feels like such a waste of time. The only reason I go to work is for money. I don't care about the products we build for someone else (why should I?), nor the technologies used (each of which brings its own challenges and frustrations). If I didn't need to go t…

> I work a normal 8-hour day

I'm "around on Teams/Slack" for ~7 hours a day but I 100% have not worked 8 hours a day in years. Am I the only one? Am I the minority? Am I the majority?

If I go to 60 minutes of meetings a day, it's a lot.

If I write 80 lines of code, it's a lot.

If I research 1-2 production issues, it's a lot.

If I write 20 Teams messages/3 e-mails, it's a lot.

Re: Fuck being productive

#252

Post by lisasays »

MuffinFlavored wrote: post #251
sBqQu3U0wH wrote: post #15

Honestly, I do feel somewhat similar. I work a normal 8-hour day and I am not obsessed with productivity nor I am some kind of anti-work activist, but it just feels like such a waste of time. The only reason I go to work is for money. I don't care about the products we build for someone else (why should I?), nor the technologies used (each of which brings its own challenges and frustrations). If I didn't need to go t…

> I work a normal 8-hour day I'm "around on Teams/Slack" for ~7 hours a day but I 100% have not worked 8 hours a day in years. Am I the only one? Am I the minority? Am I the majority? If I go to 60 minutes of meetings a day, it's a lot. If I write 80 lines of code, it's a lot. If I research 1-2 production issues, it's a lot. If I write 20 Teams messages/3 e-mails, it's a lot.

This is quite normal in fact. However all the other stuff certainly counts as "work" also. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Re: Fuck being productive

#253

Post by musicale »

asdff wrote: post #228
danny_taco wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The main reason we all work for someone else is for money but there is something to be said about the things we build at work and not caring about them. This is something that took me a long time to realize but you need to stop thinking about software as a field and start thinking of it as a skill set. From there figure out what interests you. Wildlife, economics, vehicles, etc. or whatever, and then use your skill s…

That's all fine and dandy, but more often than not you get into the field and you discover your whole interest that got you into the field isn't really how the field works in practice. There's an old saying about not making a job out of something you love, because having to do it for money versus out of your own interest will make you grow to hate it before long.

> There's an old saying about not making a job out of something you love, because having to do it for money versus out of your own interest will make you grow to hate it before long

I hadn't heard the saying you describe literally, though I've heard many variants of "find your passion" such as "find a job you enjoy doing and you will never have to work a day in your life." (Attributed to Mark Twain, Confucius, and others though the true origin seems to be obscure.) Which makes little sense to me since being paid to do something tends to destroy intrinsic motivation.

Perhaps there's a crystallized version of your saying such as "the fastest way to turn your passion into drudgery is to get paid for it."

Fortunately my passions are things I'm unlikely to get paid for - watching netflix, eating snacks, etc..

Re: Fuck being productive

#254

Post by musicale »

sBqQu3U0wH wrote: post #15

Honestly, I do feel somewhat similar. I work a normal 8-hour day and I am not obsessed with productivity nor I am some kind of anti-work activist, but it just feels like such a waste of time. The only reason I go to work is for money. I don't care about the products we build for someone else (why should I?), nor the technologies used (each of which brings its own challenges and frustrations). If I didn't need to go t…

People really need time to recharge - especially after mental work.

Re: Fuck being productive

#255

Post by musicale »

JohnMakin wrote: post #68
sBqQu3U0wH wrote: post #15

Honestly, I do feel somewhat similar. I work a normal 8-hour day and I am not obsessed with productivity nor I am some kind of anti-work activist, but it just feels like such a waste of time. The only reason I go to work is for money. I don't care about the products we build for someone else (why should I?), nor the technologies used (each of which brings its own challenges and frustrations). If I didn't need to go t…

I have been in places where I not only didn't give a shit about the product, but it was against what I believed ethically or morally. In those cases I managed to find pride in my own small piece of it and ignored the bigger picture. I'm lucky to work in a place now where I really believe in and use the product, and the same kind of soul-suckiness you're describing is far more tolerable. Making money for someone else…

> Making money for someone else is inherently soul-sucking though, at the end of the day

The emergent nature of corporations is to slowly consume employees' lives and throw away the burnt-out husks once they no longer bring value to executives and shareholders.

Re: Fuck being productive

#256

Post by [deleted] »

908B64B197 wrote: post #250
curmudgeon22 wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Immigration is actually an interesting one. There is a large amount of immigration for sure, but my understanding is that our economy will be in huge trouble without it. We don't have sufficient birth rates to maintain things and so both economic productivity but also the tax base will be significantly harmed without this immigration. That's not to disagree with your comment, the large amounts of immigration do cause…

> We don't have sufficient birth rates to maintain things and so both economic productivity but also the tax base will be significantly harmed without this immigration. With family reunification, it's not uncommon to see aging parents and relatives be sponsored. They add very little to the tax base but are a huge burden long term.

[deleted]

Re: Fuck being productive

#257

Post by kamaal »

danny_taco wrote: post #79
sBqQu3U0wH wrote: post #15

Honestly, I do feel somewhat similar. I work a normal 8-hour day and I am not obsessed with productivity nor I am some kind of anti-work activist, but it just feels like such a waste of time. The only reason I go to work is for money. I don't care about the products we build for someone else (why should I?), nor the technologies used (each of which brings its own challenges and frustrations). If I didn't need to go t…

The main reason we all work for someone else is for money but there is something to be said about the things we build at work and not caring about them. This is something that took me a long time to realize but you need to stop thinking about software as a field and start thinking of it as a skill set. From there figure out what interests you. Wildlife, economics, vehicles, etc. or whatever, and then use your skill s…

>>From there figure out what interests you. Wildlife, economics, vehicles, etc. or whatever, and then use your skill set to work on what field of your choosing.

Nonsense. The lack of passion arises from resentment and by being treated unfairly. While things like communism where everyone is treated equally is demoralising to the key contributors, extreme inequality in compensation is equally demoralising. You need some middle ground.

Without stake(financially), no one is going to spend their whole lives to make other people rich. It doesn't even make logical sense if you think about it carefully.

Re: Fuck being productive

#258

Post by curmudgeon22 »

908B64B197 wrote: post #250
curmudgeon22 wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Immigration is actually an interesting one. There is a large amount of immigration for sure, but my understanding is that our economy will be in huge trouble without it. We don't have sufficient birth rates to maintain things and so both economic productivity but also the tax base will be significantly harmed without this immigration. That's not to disagree with your comment, the large amounts of immigration do cause…

> We don't have sufficient birth rates to maintain things and so both economic productivity but also the tax base will be significantly harmed without this immigration. With family reunification, it's not uncommon to see aging parents and relatives be sponsored. They add very little to the tax base but are a huge burden long term.

Fair point. I have no data, but assume that's a minority of immigrants.

Also, there are some requirements to support those family members:

"You will also sign a Sponsorship Agreement, obligating you to financially support your sponsored relatives if they cant provide for their own needs. The new permanent resident will not qualify for government assistance, even after the sponsored person becomes a permanent resident, separates from you, or leaves the country."

"To sponsor a parent or grandparent, you must obligate yourself for 20 years of financial support."

https://greenlightcanada.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-sponso...

Re: Fuck being productive

#260

Post by LoudFrog »

I worked on a hay farm for several years before going back to school and majoring in psychology and then abandoning that and becoming a software engineer. Never found my passion. I don't give it a shit about any of the work I do. But anything is better than working on a hay farm.
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