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Build a Focus System for Better Work/Life Balance as a Web Developer

raddevon.com

31–40 of 68 posts

Re: Build a Focus System for Better Work/Life Balance as a Web Developer

#31
Isn’t the word “Web” in the title completely unnecessary? I couldn’t see anything in the article that was specific for web development compared to any other kind of software developer!

Or is “web developer” used almost as a synonym for “software developer” now, as a way of disambiguating from e.g. a “brand developer” or “property developer”?

Re: Build a Focus System for Better Work/Life Balance as a Web Developer

#32
post #12

I feel like while all of these productivity "hacks" and systems (like Pomodoro) may have some merit, they're completely unnecessary. It's really not too hard to: * Work. * If you lose focus, be mindful of the fact that your attention is wandering, and focus on your work again. This part takes some discipline. Discipline takes time to develop. Be patient. * If you feel that you cannot focus on your work, get up and wa…

I've tried so many hacks, checklists, apps, Pomodoro, web video tutorials and TED talks on productivity, and I couldn't get up to speed with the rest of my senior team. I asked my wife what she does, and she said something very along the lines of what you said. I gave it a shot, and I ended up being the top performer that quarter (and hopefully the ones to come).

Now when someone asks about procrastination I give it to them straight. You're at work to work. Small breaks / breathers will come naturally. Get it finished and mess around on your own time or when you're done with your tasks. You'll only be benefiting yourself and be at the top of your team in no time.

Re: Build a Focus System for Better Work/Life Balance as a Web Developer

#33
post #12

I feel like while all of these productivity "hacks" and systems (like Pomodoro) may have some merit, they're completely unnecessary. It's really not too hard to: * Work. * If you lose focus, be mindful of the fact that your attention is wandering, and focus on your work again. This part takes some discipline. Discipline takes time to develop. Be patient. * If you feel that you cannot focus on your work, get up and wa…

I agree. It's curious that so many people believe they find it difficult to concentrate. Clearly, those beliefs can't possibly be accurate, as your story demonstrates. The solution is obviously to just try harder.

Re: Build a Focus System for Better Work/Life Balance as a Web Developer

#34
post #12

I feel like while all of these productivity "hacks" and systems (like Pomodoro) may have some merit, they're completely unnecessary. It's really not too hard to: * Work. * If you lose focus, be mindful of the fact that your attention is wandering, and focus on your work again. This part takes some discipline. Discipline takes time to develop. Be patient. * If you feel that you cannot focus on your work, get up and wa…

It reminds me of how last year (and still ongoing) we saw heaps of meditation apps. It just seemed completely counter intuitive to me (as a Zen practitioner) to introduce something needlessly complicated on probably the simplest (not the easiest) thing you can do in your life. There is a significant amount of learning involved in focus and meditation, by and large the people reading and buying these want a short cut…

I began appreciating boredom for its on sake after reading this article https://hbr.org/2010/06/why-i-returned-my-ipad years ago and since then I consciously avoid trying to be "productive" during commute, queues etc. Quoting from article: "Being bored is a precious thing, a state of mind we should pursue. Once boredom sets in, our minds begin to wander, looking for something exciting, something interesting to land on. And that’s where creativity arises".

Re: Build a Focus System for Better Work/Life Balance as a Web Developer

#35

Isn’t the word “Web” in the title completely unnecessary? I couldn’t see anything in the article that was specific for web development compared to any other kind of software developer! Or is “web developer” used almost as a synonym for “software developer” now, as a way of disambiguating from e.g. a “brand developer” or “property developer”?

Ya I was super confused by that too. Scrolled up and down to see if I missed web specific suggestions.

Re: Build a Focus System for Better Work/Life Balance as a Web Developer

#36
post #12

I feel like while all of these productivity "hacks" and systems (like Pomodoro) may have some merit, they're completely unnecessary. It's really not too hard to: * Work. * If you lose focus, be mindful of the fact that your attention is wandering, and focus on your work again. This part takes some discipline. Discipline takes time to develop. Be patient. * If you feel that you cannot focus on your work, get up and wa…

I tried pomodoro for the focus effect, but I keep using it for a different reason. To avoid the "just one more tweak" trap I sometimes fall into. When the timer is up I decide whether the task is done or not. The latter means I commit another complete block to it, otherwise I move on to the next one. This also works great for non tech things like making music. But don't know if this is "officially" part of the methodology

Distraction wise I have eliminated anything long before that. No notifications except the 3 I actually have to react to immediately, phone in "do not disturb" mode and co-workers learnt that it can take several hours for me to respond to slack messages (but once I do, they get a quality response).

Re: Build a Focus System for Better Work/Life Balance as a Web Developer

#37
post #12

I feel like while all of these productivity "hacks" and systems (like Pomodoro) may have some merit, they're completely unnecessary. It's really not too hard to: * Work. * If you lose focus, be mindful of the fact that your attention is wandering, and focus on your work again. This part takes some discipline. Discipline takes time to develop. Be patient. * If you feel that you cannot focus on your work, get up and wa…

To add to this, the best way I found to improve work life balance is when I arrive at work, I’d set the countdown timer on my phone to 8 hours and 30 minutes (to account for lunch) and when it starts beeping, I get up and leave. In the middle of something? Doesn’t matter. Leave it as is and go home. In my case productivity only improved, probably because I slept better and rested more.

Re: Build a Focus System for Better Work/Life Balance as a Web Developer

#38
post #18
post #16

I'm curious how work and breaks are set up in other countries. In Sweden we have a long tradition of 2 hour work, short coffee break, 2 hour work. Lunchbreak 30-60 minutes, repeat. The long break has to be latest after five hours and is not counted towards working time. You are allowed to leave the workplace. The shorter breaks is included in your work time but has no forced length other than it has to be adapted to…

> Taking a coffee break is almost mandatory, even the boss will look funny at you if you skip it. This is where you talk about the day, plans ahead and other things connected to work or life in general. While of course drinking that all important coffee which is also almost mandatory. In my experience Americans took this concept and turned it into the brutally utilitarian daily standup. Chop chop no chitchat get to w…

I'm in Melbourne, Australia where we pride ourselves on the ridiculous number of coffee shops on every block. So I know what you mean.

American coffee from their TV shows has always looked revolting to me... black, stagnating in a pot all day, with cold, unsteamed milk poured in at the last second, or some powdered artificial whitener.

I wish I didn't get a terrible, irritable downer later in the day from caffeine. The boost of happiness it provided every morning made it so much easier to get thru the day (Still slugging thru IT support while I try to find time to get a coding portfolio going. I sometimes find a few hours a week!). That feeling of being lifted, up, everything becoming easier and more exciting and less stressful... One large coffee was a good hour of euphoria, and something to look forward to - 'In an hour I get my coffee!'. If it was a weekend sometimes I would code like a madman.

Unfortunately, the lunatic huddled on the floor I become at 6pm wasn't worth it. It fries my brain worse than any other drug - and a drug it is. It's really quite ridiculous to me that one drug is so acceptable while all others are considered the worst thing you could possibly do.

Re: Build a Focus System for Better Work/Life Balance as a Web Developer

#39
post #12

I feel like while all of these productivity "hacks" and systems (like Pomodoro) may have some merit, they're completely unnecessary. It's really not too hard to: * Work. * If you lose focus, be mindful of the fact that your attention is wandering, and focus on your work again. This part takes some discipline. Discipline takes time to develop. Be patient. * If you feel that you cannot focus on your work, get up and wa…

I think that part of the problem for me was that most jobs took something that could be an art and a craft (computer programming and system-building) and turned it into a grueling, feature-deadline driven assembly line for uninspiring, unpolished, and unremarkable products.

This was a complete productivity killer for me. For a long time, I blamed myself. I tried different techniques, motivations, even prescribed substances. Eventually, I realized that the problem was with what I was doing with my time.

Now that I am programming for myself, I have all the motivation that I need. I am not beholden to deadlines or commitments, I am free to Do It Right, refactor as I see fit, and finish whatever I'm working on with the level of Quality that I am happy with.

I get more done in a two-hour session than I used to in a day and sometimes a week.

Re: Build a Focus System for Better Work/Life Balance as a Web Developer

#40
I could never be productive in software using the Pomodoro technique. In order to make progress on most of the things I work on, I need 3-4 hour windows of uninterrupted focus where I don't get out of my seat. If I was interrupting myself every x minutes, I wouldn't get anything done.
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