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Ask HN: Work-life balance?

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Re: Ask HN: Work-life balance?

#71

Post by luisehk »

Yeah, I've been in the hospital twice in the last 2 years thanks to the stress of running a company and obsessing about being productive. I've made lifestyle changes and they've not only made me more productive but also healthier physically and mentally.

Lifestyle changes:

  - Live near work to avoid traffic
  - Work around 35 hours a week
  - Don't take my work home
  - Don't even think about work on weekends
  - Do things that make me happy and unrelated to work
  - Don't stress about attending every tech meetup
  - Moderate alcohol consumption. Used to drink everyday
  - Exercise but don't obsess about it
  - Understand building a successful company takes years of work
  - Therapy. Don't need it as much anymore but I check-in on a monthly basis
  - Constantly remind myself that Health > Happiness > Work
Usual routine goes like this:

  - 6:00am: Wake up, make breakfast, shower, etc.
  - 7:20am: I'm at work at 7:30 am (10 mins commute)
  - 7:30am: Meditate 20 mins
  - 7:50am: Set objectives for the day
  - 8:00am: Get stuff done. (insert productivity tips here)
  - 3:30pm: Eat lunch
  - 4:00pm: Get home and relax
  - 4:30pm: 20 mins workout at home
  - 5:00pm: Spend time with my wife and disable phone notifications
  - 6:00pm: I may play the guitar, play videogames or watch some Netflix 
  - 8:00pm: Make dinner, probably some new recipe I found on the internet
  - 8:30pm: Watch some TV show or read a book, or just chill
  - 10:00pm: Get to bed
EDIT: formatting.

Re: Ask HN: Work-life balance?

#72

Post by Anurag8701 »

luisehk wrote: post #71

Yeah, I've been in the hospital twice in the last 2 years thanks to the stress of running a company and obsessing about being productive. I've made lifestyle changes and they've not only made me more productive but also healthier physically and mentally. Lifestyle changes: - Live near work to avoid traffic - Work around 35 hours a week - Don't take my work home - Don't even think about work on weekends - Do things th…

Thank you so much, this sounds like a great routine.

Re: Ask HN: Work-life balance?

#73

Post by Anurag8701 »

j45 wrote: post #44

Maybe you can share what you're looking to improve? Hard to answer with strategic answers, tactics are relative. Also, I don't know about work/life balance.. And just try to keep harmony. The future of work is changing in general, and tech is way out there. It's all about maintaining stamina. Dip too much and you aren't putting back more into the tank than you're taking out. The 8 hour a day model is largely outdated…

Thank you for the detailed answer. This is exactly what I was looking.

Re: Ask HN: Work-life balance?

#74

Post by pc86 »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #31
pc86 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a fine line of course. Just like you don't want to be the guy working 20+ hours of free labor every week, you also don't want to be the guy who is out the door at 5:00:01 every evening and not a second before or after. I think most people in most jobs will have something come up where they do a little extra, if only to help out a team member or something.

I am the guy out the door at 5 every day, not a second later. There are too many open positions to not do so. I don’t see it as a fine line, free labor is free labor whether it’s a minute or 20 hours. If I need to help a team member, I skip lunch to pitch in.

I don't think the number of open positions has anything to do with it. In fact, I'm much more likely to agree with you for low-paid position. Just about everyone here who isn't a student (and let's be honest, even some of the students) are extremely well compensated for important but relatively easy jobs. I don't mind 10 minutes here or 15 minutes there if it helps the team out (as opposed to the company).

I just think being unflinchingly rigid in either direction is the problem. If you expect people to work extra time on a regular basis, or consistently, that's bad. If someone asks you a question that will take 15 minutes to answer and you won't do it because it's 4:50 and not 4:45, that's just as bad.

Re: Ask HN: Work-life balance?

#75

Post by pc86 »

nkingsy wrote: post #43
pc86 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a fine line of course. Just like you don't want to be the guy working 20+ hours of free labor every week, you also don't want to be the guy who is out the door at 5:00:01 every evening and not a second before or after. I think most people in most jobs will have something come up where they do a little extra, if only to help out a team member or something.

It's a bank account. If I notice the company often needs bursts of work, I'll leave a little early every day so that I have reserve funds to pitch in extra time when needed. If I'm working 40 hour weeks already, there's nothing left in the account. When you're young and without responsibilities, there is no glaring cost to giving away free labor, but if I do so, it comes directly out of my time with my kids.

I just think it has to go both ways. I don't want my boss coming to me with a problem because I worked 7h 58m one day. On the flip side, I'm not going to send him a bill or count the minutes if I stay a few minutes late a different day.

I said it in another comment but it's being unflinchingly rigid that I think in a problem (in either direction).

Re: Ask HN: Work-life balance?

#76

Post by pc86 »

jammygit wrote: post #65
throwaway123x2 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What kills me at work is down time. Better to be on HN than just watching a half hour build ...

There is always so much to do, or to learn how to do, that I never really have downtime... except foosball

There's an important distinction between "taking a break" (e.g. playing foosball for a few minutes) and true downtime (I wouldn't be doing work right now even if I wanted to, because I don't have anything to do).

Re: Ask HN: Work-life balance?

#77

Post by rak00n »

thiago_fm wrote: post #23

30 days of vacation and I work only from 9 to 6, sometimes a little bit more, but not so much. Not really counted as overtime. Europe, ofc. I go to gym and try to enjoy the summer as much as I can. Productivity tips: organize your life and move to a decent country with a decent culture. American work culture is terrible, so is Asia. You can make 10 trillions of dollars, but there is no way you can buy the 30 seconds…

On the other hand software engineering job in US pays a lot so you can do a (relatively) quicker home run to financial independence if you don't fall into consumerism.

Re: Ask HN: Work-life balance?

#78

Post by jimmy1 »

AndrewKemendo wrote: post #60
jimmy1 wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So if your work did not pay you money for the exchange of your time, would you feel the same way?

I'm unclear about your question. I've structured my life such that the type of work I do serves my broader life goal. At the point in which that's not possible, then how I spend my time is out of my control and the question becomes moot because I'd effectively have no control over my life.

Sorry it wasn't clear -- Would you continue to show up to work/serving your broader life goal if your paycheck stopped coming?

Re: Ask HN: Work-life balance?

#80

Post by AndrewKemendo »

jimmy1 wrote: post #78
AndrewKemendo wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm unclear about your question. I've structured my life such that the type of work I do serves my broader life goal. At the point in which that's not possible, then how I spend my time is out of my control and the question becomes moot because I'd effectively have no control over my life.

Sorry it wasn't clear -- Would you continue to show up to work/serving your broader life goal if your paycheck stopped coming?

Yes. I've done that many times.
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