I think the serenity prayer, sans unnecessary theological content, is relevant here. Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the ones I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. For a lot of software products, there is no winning in the long run. You've got good product-market fit and customer loyalty, but your code base is a huge mess and the hard technical problems are so…
Anxiety in product development
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Re: Anxiety in product development
#72I think the serenity prayer, sans unnecessary theological content, is relevant here. Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the ones I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. For a lot of software products, there is no winning in the long run. You've got good product-market fit and customer loyalty, but your code base is a huge mess and the hard technical problems are so…
A couple years ago, I faced a very tough time in my life. My business was collapsing, my family's finances were in jeopardy, and there was a serious health issue going on.
The emotional stress was incapacitating. I couldn't sleep, let alone focus enough to fix my problems. It was the downward spiral nightmare scenario.
If I didn't have dependents (wife + 3 kids), I might have withdrawn into depression. Instead I was forced to fix my emotional state...
I constructed a personal prayer...
I am the man in the dark room.
In here, I am my loves, my principles, and my ideas.
Who I am cannot be changed by circumstances outside this room,
My loves are my legs which carry me to life outside this room.
My principles are my shield from the burdens the world assaults me with.
My ideas are the sword with which I shape my life.
When I return to myself in this room, the world remains outside, and I evolve to be better prepared tomorrow.
I found that even just stopping to say "I am the man in the dark room" was often enough remind myself that I wasn't defined by my circumstances.To sleep, I found I could play the audio from old familiar TV shows to drown out the worries to fall (and stay) asleep - it was a surprising turn-around.
These two things changed my life. Hope this helps someone else.
Re: Anxiety in product development
#73The author's blog is incredibly good. I'm binging some articles right now :)
Thanks! If you have anything you particularly like or dislike please let me know. I'd really appreciate any feedback.
Re: Anxiety in product development
#74I've spent around 34 years writing code so far. My last project was an online order system for a lunch restaurant. To get an idea what kind of problems they're dealing with, I started by working two weeks in the restaurant. To my surprise I found that I actually enjoy delivering food more than writing code. As long as the customers get the food they ordered delivered in time, everyone is happy. And once I'm done, I'm…
Every new system an organization takes on requires maintenance, training, etc. This takes time from the coders and is frequently not taken into account.
Re: Anxiety in product development
#75I think the serenity prayer, sans unnecessary theological content, is relevant here. Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the ones I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. For a lot of software products, there is no winning in the long run. You've got good product-market fit and customer loyalty, but your code base is a huge mess and the hard technical problems are so…
Don’t be afraid of the theological content. It’s a good prayer. God believes in you even if you don’t believe in him.
Re: Anxiety in product development
#76I think the serenity prayer, sans unnecessary theological content, is relevant here. Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the ones I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. For a lot of software products, there is no winning in the long run. You've got good product-market fit and customer loyalty, but your code base is a huge mess and the hard technical problems are so…
I find that emotional compartmentalization is a critical skill. A couple years ago, I faced a very tough time in my life. My business was collapsing, my family's finances were in jeopardy, and there was a serious health issue going on. The emotional stress was incapacitating. I couldn't sleep, let alone focus enough to fix my problems. It was the downward spiral nightmare scenario. If I didn't have dependents (wife +…
Re: Anxiety in product development
#77> Awareness is the first step Literally. This is another reason why meditation is important. Anxiety is always accompanied by patterns of muscle tension. It can be relieved by mechanical relaxation of the tissues. Relaxation is achieved by awareness, which is fostered by meditation. A calm, clear mind flows from a calm and relaxed body. - - - - In my career I've observed that business is a kind of theater for people'…
Re: Anxiety in product development
#78I think the serenity prayer, sans unnecessary theological content, is relevant here. Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the ones I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. For a lot of software products, there is no winning in the long run. You've got good product-market fit and customer loyalty, but your code base is a huge mess and the hard technical problems are so…
If the theological content is unnecessary, then who are you expecting to grant you the things requested in the prayer?
1. There's Christian cultural context regarding the phrase "God grant..." that is necessary to understand the prayer
2. To wit, when Christians use this phrase, it is both an exhortation to self-reliance and an honest admission of personal flaws that may sabotage the pursuit of self-reliance.
3. There is of course also the implication that the Christian theological tradition is the best way to achieve self-reliance in spite of character flaws.
My glib aside was meant to assert that 2. is in fact mostly orthogonal to 3.
Re: Anxiety in product development
#79I've spent around 34 years writing code so far. My last project was an online order system for a lunch restaurant. To get an idea what kind of problems they're dealing with, I started by working two weeks in the restaurant. To my surprise I found that I actually enjoy delivering food more than writing code. As long as the customers get the food they ordered delivered in time, everyone is happy. And once I'm done, I'm…
I get this entirely. And for me, this is driven by broken feedback loops in software. Some years back, I started a company with an excellent product manager, one very focused on actual user impact. One of the first things we did is build a tiny, cheap usability lab; every Tuesday we'd have 4 users in to try things out. We rigged it so engineers could watch the sessions remotely, and for the sessions we didn't watch,…
This was freelancing though; I had full freedom to do things my way, which is how I ended up working for two weeks to learn about their problems.
And I still prefer delivering food to working on the software. Thankfully, they're super happy with it and there's not much left to do.
Re: Anxiety in product development
#80I've spent around 34 years writing code so far. My last project was an online order system for a lunch restaurant. To get an idea what kind of problems they're dealing with, I started by working two weeks in the restaurant. To my surprise I found that I actually enjoy delivering food more than writing code. As long as the customers get the food they ordered delivered in time, everyone is happy. And once I'm done, I'm…
tbh same. I'm great at what I do, but I still very much miss the restaurant environment / more directly helping people.