How I regained concentration and focus • Hacker News Board

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#71

Post by giantg2 » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 3:08 PM UTC

BLKNSLVR wrote: post #51

giantg2 wrote: post #9

My distraction is from all the family stuff I have to deal with. My lack of concentration is because I lack motivation - I don't see any reason to try hard at work since it's all politics and BS.

Hi friend! My family stuff is what keeps me going though. My work is a basket case at the moment, 12-month contract ends in 4 weeks, and it's almost a full time job applying for jobs. I've had three managers in my not-quite 12 months, none that I've worked with very closely, one that thinks I'm no good because I unwittingly stepped on the toes of a couple of institutionalized colleagues by "doing my job", who complai…

Sounds all too familiar.

I had 7 or 8 managers over the past 2.5 years. I picked up and completed several extra stories over the previous couple sprints only to recieve negative feedback that it wasn't what they wanted me to work on, even though I asked them if there was anything specific they wanted me to do next and had recieved no response. Oh, and my company will not allow managers to give employees recommendations/references at all.

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#72

Post by bumby » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 3:08 PM UTC

brokenkebab2 wrote: post #63

bumby wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I think it's healthy to not tie your identity and well-being to your job, I think it might be a bad habit to view everything through the lens of a financial transaction. We've all probably worked with people who will only lift a finger if it benefits them. Create an organization of people with this mindset and much of the necessary but un-glorious work never gets done. I suppose you could say people can play th…

I don't think it's fair: it's absolutely possible to be motivated by the recognized fact that you provide for your family, and still have healthy friendly relations with colleagues, and be interested in a long-term success of your employer. It's also absolutely possible to create an ugly monster of organization while cheering up your team with whatever we-change-the-world mission.

I agree with you that it's possible. It's just been my experience that the people who take that mindset tend to slack off once they realize they can get the same paycheck to provide for their family while also doing less work. If your internal utility function is to maximize money and minimize effort, that's going to occur more often than not. To buffer that, management needs to hold them accountable, but that's easier said than done, especially in large organizations.

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#73

Post by Kye » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 3:11 PM UTC

kzrdude wrote: post #36

I don't think there is a silver bullet or a tick box solution. You have to want to stop. Change your behaviour.

[deleted]

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#74

Post by giantg2 » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 3:11 PM UTC

frostwarrior wrote: post #55

giantg2 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't have the skills to switch to a different company, tech jobs are limited in my area, I don't perform well remotely, and my wife won't consider relocating. My current shitty job is the best job I can get.

> I don't have the skills to switch to a different company Go and learn. Skills are not set in stone. > I don't perform well remotely, and my wife won't consider relocating I understand that. I don't know you, but maybe a nicer setup with more (not too direct) sunlight can make it better?

"Go and learn. Skills are not set in stone."

Sure, but learning takes time, which I have little of. It's also much easier for some than others (getting significantly more difficult as I age).

The main remote issue is that my wife interrupts me to do stuff or answer questions throughout the day. I also feel I'm slower to learn remotely. I think that if I'm an expert in the tech already, then remote could work.

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#75

Post by giantg2 » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 3:13 PM UTC

bumby wrote: post #50

giantg2 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't have the skills to switch to a different company, tech jobs are limited in my area, I don't perform well remotely, and my wife won't consider relocating. My current shitty job is the best job I can get.

It's okay to say tech jobs aren't the right fit as well.

They might not be. I'm hesitant to admit that because 1) They used to be and I was a high performer at a mediocre non-tech company 2) There's nothing else I can do to earn enough to support my family.

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#76

Post by giantg2 » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 3:15 PM UTC

frostwarrior wrote: post #52

giantg2 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What money? There's no way to get a raise at my company without a promotion and they won't promote me. I have no motivation to work hard if it won't be rewarded. I do the minimum to get paid my shitty salary.

If your current job can't motivate you, work on a side project or look for another job. And don't be the weakest link in the (faulty) chain. It's leaves a better impression by notifying external inefficiency and quitting because lack of change, rather than being fired because your motivation and productiveness withered in silence.

Yeah, I have side projects. They aren't anything that I could make money on though. If I had a better option I would leave.

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#77

Post by nequo » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 3:18 PM UTC

bananabiscuit wrote: post #34

mprime1 wrote: post #25

If you’re looking for a ‘lean’ source of news (just the facts, no commentary) try Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Current_events (RSS feed available)

Unfortunately, it is a mistake to think that just because you are only presented with high quality facts (statements that are very likely to be true), that you are getting an objective view of the story. You would be surprised how unrepresentative a story can be made purely through omission or selective emphasis, and Wikipedia is very guilty especially of the latter. The talk pages are usually very revealing of what…

This is very true about agenda setting.

What is great about Wikipedia's "Current events" portal is that you don't have to sift through tweets that are selected by the news feed algorithm to make you angry, or a stream of op-eds that are selected by an editor to do the same, in order to get to the facts. Much healthier psychologically while still staying reasonably informed.

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#78

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 3:19 PM UTC

synergy20 wrote: post #65

Block websites will help definitely. another "threat" is when you have a few kids, your daily life is cut into pieces with random and sometimes strong background noises 24x7x365, not much you can do there. personally, that impacts my focus the most and there is no cure, and it usually lasts for about 20 years when kids are finally into colleges. obviously there are many good stuff out of raising kids, and I enjoyed i…

[deleted]

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#79

Post by stephendause » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 3:20 PM UTC

mprime1 wrote: post #25

If you’re looking for a ‘lean’ source of news (just the facts, no commentary) try Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Current_events (RSS feed available)

I would recommend people use sites like allsides.com or ground.news to read from a wide variety of sources across the political spectrum. Any one site (even one edited by a variety of people) will have its own set of biases, so I find it best to visit Web sites that contain links to coverage of the same event from a few different sources with different biases.

Re: How I regained concentration and focus

#80

Post by giantg2 » Mon, Aug 01, 2022, 3:21 PM UTC

bumby wrote: post #48

tenebrisalietum wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Work for money.

While I think it's healthy to not tie your identity and well-being to your job, I think it might be a bad habit to view everything through the lens of a financial transaction. We've all probably worked with people who will only lift a finger if it benefits them. Create an organization of people with this mindset and much of the necessary but un-glorious work never gets done. I suppose you could say people can play th…

"Create an organization of people with this mindset and much of the necessary but un-glorious work never gets done."

I've done a lot of the work that nobody else wants to do. It wasn't any harder than the work others do. So it's not like I want to be rewarded more than them, but just not penalized for it. People who joined the company around the same time as me are managers and leads. I'm a midlevel. I've even filled the role of a lead for a year, but politics made it so my manager couldn't give me a high rating. After 10 years you'd think I'd at least be a senior and have a salary of $100k. I don't think I'm asking for the world here, and certainly many of the other 10 year employees are farther along because they're better than me.