How to Do Great Work • Hacker News Board

Re: How to Do Great Work

#321

Post by v64 » Sun, Jul 02, 2023, 3:15 AM UTC

cdelsolar wrote: post #313

v64 wrote: post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

@cdelsolar, definitely consider Patreon. I mentioned in this comment [1] recently about how so many coders are doing exactly what you wanna be doing, working on awesome projects full time, funded by people who want to see you succeed and to get the opportunity to get a behind the scenes glimpse of how you work, get updates about new things you're working on before anyone else, and getting access to beta testing and n…

We have a Patreon for Woogles, we make on the order of $100 a month from it. Mostly to keep our servers running along with other random donations. Not sure if we need to do more “fundraising”.

That's legit and a sign that you're on the right track. I was an early user of lichess when it was getting started and they were always a better experience than either chess.com or internet chess club, it was just a matter of convincing the best players to play there. Hope things grow and I'll do my best to convince my friends who play to give the site a shot :)

Re: How to Do Great Work

#322

Post by nip » Sun, Jul 02, 2023, 3:20 AM UTC

edandersen wrote: post #314

thimkerbell wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, he addresses that. Get a day job. Then do your project on nights and weekends, or else manage your manager into making it part of your job.

The problem with moonlighting a meaningful side project is that any marketing you do will alert HR to the fact you are moonlighting (HR in large corps pay to have employees' social media scanned). In most cases you'll either be told to stop or in the worst case your employer will claim they own it.

PG did not use the term moonlighting for the fact that you don’t have to.

That is unless you agreed to a contract that forbids from holding multiple jobs.

40h/week paying the bills leaves plenty of free time to do something on the side when you don’t have kids / a family to take care of

Re: How to Do Great Work

#323

Post by drivebyhooting » Sun, Jul 02, 2023, 3:21 AM UTC

thimkerbell wrote: post #300

neilv wrote: post #296

> There are a lot of forces that will lead you astray when you're trying to figure out what to work on. Pretentiousness, fashion, fear, money, politics, other people's wishes, eminent frauds. But if you stick to what you find genuinely interesting, you'll be proof against all of them. If you're interested, you're not astray. Money is an insurmountable objective barrier for most people, and seems it's just slipped int…

No, he addresses that. Get a day job. Then do your project on nights and weekends, or else manage your manager into making it part of your job.

No family or other responsibilities. Also say goodbye to your health. Not widely applicable advice.

Re: How to Do Great Work

#324

Post by thimkerbell » Sun, Jul 02, 2023, 3:23 AM UTC

thimkerbell wrote: post #301

What question do you have about this essay? (It would be interesting to know, without reading every comment, what questions people have about it.)

Empirically, does bicycling work for coming up with ideas too? (as walking and running do)

Re: How to Do Great Work

#325

Post by tlb » Sun, Jul 02, 2023, 3:24 AM UTC

edandersen wrote: post #314

thimkerbell wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, he addresses that. Get a day job. Then do your project on nights and weekends, or else manage your manager into making it part of your job.

The problem with moonlighting a meaningful side project is that any marketing you do will alert HR to the fact you are moonlighting (HR in large corps pay to have employees' social media scanned). In most cases you'll either be told to stop or in the worst case your employer will claim they own it.

This isn't the norm in Silicon Valley. Most companies will agree to exceptions to their Assignment of Inventions agreement if you ask, as long as it's not directly competitive.

Re: How to Do Great Work

#326

Post by thimkerbell » Sun, Jul 02, 2023, 3:29 AM UTC

thimkerbell wrote: post #301

What question do you have about this essay? (It would be interesting to know, without reading every comment, what questions people have about it.)

What are the characteristics of an institution whose people do great work? Would it be fair to compare Bell Labs to Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study?

Re: How to Do Great Work

#327

Post by thimkerbell » Sun, Jul 02, 2023, 3:36 AM UTC

thimkerbell wrote: post #301

What question do you have about this essay? (It would be interesting to know, without reading every comment, what questions people have about it.)

How would you go about designing a high school or undergraduate course in coming up with the questions, ideally including doing work that raises them? What&where are some courses that do this?

Re: How to Do Great Work

#328

Post by movedx » Sun, Jul 02, 2023, 3:43 AM UTC

sheepscreek wrote: post #318

movedx wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been studying a lot of Buddhism as of late. One thing it has taught me in the Middle Way. In short, it means do nothing in excess, which includes doing nothing at all. This balanced view leads to me to believe you, Paul, and "hustle culture" that's all over YouTube are both right and wrong. I've come to live by a simple system... Try to do fulfilling work that's meaningful to future generations, whilst also putt…

Reading this, I had an epiphany just now. What you’ve shared is essentially Dharma. Or giving back from a sense of duty, or as a matter of principle. Interestingly, Karma preaches: if you give to those in need, you will receive in return when you’re in need. Although the motivations are different in both teachings (Buddhism vs. Hinduism, with carrot vs. stick if you will), they have the same effect - to reach an equi…

That's right. For me, it's essentially living a Bodhisattva life.

Re: How to Do Great Work

#329

Post by codazoda » Sun, Jul 02, 2023, 3:53 AM UTC

I like the article and I believe much of it, but I’ve been chasing personal passions for more than 25 years and I haven’t had a side project I’d call successful, at least not in a financial sense. So, there’s something else to that part. I suspect it’s at least a bit of luck. I continue to try to find a function that will work for me.

Re: How to Do Great Work

#330

Post by sillysaurusx » Sun, Jul 02, 2023, 4:06 AM UTC

nip wrote: post #322

edandersen wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with moonlighting a meaningful side project is that any marketing you do will alert HR to the fact you are moonlighting (HR in large corps pay to have employees' social media scanned). In most cases you'll either be told to stop or in the worst case your employer will claim they own it.

PG did not use the term moonlighting for the fact that you don’t have to. That is unless you agreed to a contract that forbids from holding multiple jobs. 40h/week paying the bills leaves plenty of free time to do something on the side when you don’t have kids / a family to take care of

> 40h/week paying the bills leaves plenty of free time to do something on the side when you don’t have kids / a family to take care of

Show of hands: How many others feel this way?

Personally, I can barely muster the energy to do much hacking after a normal job. The only way I've found to do work I've been known for is by blowing off my other responsibilities (sometimes to the annoyance of various people).