71–80 of 84 posts
I start a stopwatch when I sit down with the clear intention in my head to get some focused work done (writing, coding) and I pause my stopwatch as soon as I lose focus or take a break.
I have been shocked by how little proper focus time I get on a daily basis.
I highly recommend RescueTime, which tracks exactly this - it looks at what software you are interacting with/what websites you are on, and reports many hours a week you were on your computer and how much of that was productive. For example, last week I was on my computer 30 hours (I had a lot of meetings) and I was productive 75% of that time, which averages to 4.5 hours of productive computer time per workday. It's…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Something like this happens to me too. I have a week where I get massive work done, then 2-4 come, where I can't get up to do anything at all.
"Anyway, not trying to armchair psych" But I will. If "can't get up to do anything at all" includes loss of appetite, inability to find enjoyment in things you usually enjoy, excessive sleep, and generally depressed mood, I'd suggest you ask your doctor about possible a possible bi-polar II diagnosis. Especially if the "productive" week also coincides with significant challenges to your ability to socialize. (I am no…
Now I get 3-4h work done 4-5 days a week.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I just find these kinds of statements to be more self-justification than anything else. "No one should ever work more than 40 hours a week!" "Productivity beyond 4 hours a day is impossible!" Why must I shackle myself to these seemingly arbitrary limitations that other people have? If I'm having fun coding something for 8-10 hours a day, 5 days a week, and I feel I can sustain this output, why do I have to limit myse…
As someone who's been there done that: throttling yourself a little bit is a lot more productive in the long-term. I used to work to the point of exhaustion. Now I work to a clock I've come up with empirically. This means that instead of having bursts of super productivity followed by weeks/months of tiredness or simple "Meh, that's not interesting" I can trod along, putting one foot in front of the next, with a cons…
The most time consuming and frustrating problems usually have some element of psychological aversion. Like involving a language, tool or subject matter that I either dislike or don't feel confident in solving. Break down the reasons for the aversion and jump right in!
Just last week I had an issue that I realized could be solved with some judicious GDB. I spent 3 hours just learning the tool, solved my problem and checked off a mental handicap.
Don't require "successful outcomes" all the time, slowly and methodically enjoy the journey and keep on eye on forward progress but don't demand it.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
As someone who's been there done that: throttling yourself a little bit is a lot more productive in the long-term. I used to work to the point of exhaustion. Now I work to a clock I've come up with empirically. This means that instead of having bursts of super productivity followed by weeks/months of tiredness or simple "Meh, that's not interesting" I can trod along, putting one foot in front of the next, with a cons…
I find the best way to accomplish this is a more scientific task breakdown. When a road block is encountered that would normally disrupt flow I stand back and analyze the subproblem with new desired outcomes. The most time consuming and frustrating problems usually have some element of psychological aversion. Like involving a language, tool or subject matter that I either dislike or don't feel confident in solving. B…
Which is exactly where most of these "I can code all day, I can code all day"[1] programmers fail. As soon as an obstacle comes, they crash and burn because they are too used to riding a wave of endorphins.
[1] reference to FPSDoug, in case anyone remembers him.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Do you think that's a sign of periodic depression? I've been going through a bit of a rough patch, and I was struck by how my mood could sap my motivation to the level where I felt like I couldn't bear to work. It was very revealing; I had often wondered how depression could actually prevent people from going to work, and now I feel like I've come to understand how much that state can interfere with the ability to fu…
I have similar work habit and, though I wouldn't say it was due to depression, I will become guilty and/or anxious when I'm in one of my low-productivity phases.
I mean, what is my potential, really? What is that word actually referring to? Is it a real feature of the world? Does it simply refer to whatever the outcome is of me trying as hard as possible to develop my capabilities in some domain? And if so, is that intrinsically good, or is it just instrumental to some other thing?
Of course, when we die there are no bonus points for how many code commits we made or projects we built or companies we started. So I wonder: should I feel guilty for doing nothing? If I was able to not feel guilty about doing nothing, would that be okay too?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I just find these kinds of statements to be more self-justification than anything else. "No one should ever work more than 40 hours a week!" "Productivity beyond 4 hours a day is impossible!" Why must I shackle myself to these seemingly arbitrary limitations that other people have? If I'm having fun coding something for 8-10 hours a day, 5 days a week, and I feel I can sustain this output, why do I have to limit myse…
If you're able to pull it off, good for you. Rest of us, as this and numerous other discussions here on HN show, find it hard. Its a pretty big deal. You don't really have to complain about it. You're probably the exception, not the rule. :) In fact, it would be more useful if you can tell us more about how you it. Is it just an innate ability you've got or something you learnt to do? Do you have any hacks/system lik…
The things that people say "don't work" or "can't be sustained" do work for me and can be sustained for me. To wit, things people say "do work" and "can be sustained" just don't work well for me.
For example, I'm able to jump back into "flow" quickly when someone knocks me out with a question or need, and I find it hard to put something down once I start working on it, until I've reached a satisfactory end point. I find taking intentional and small, frequent, breaks during the day is disruptive and hurts my productivity (though it's probably healthy for my back and eyes, I suppose).
It's just plain silly to walk around saying "40 hours" is the magic number, or "8 hours" is the maximum anyone can work productively. Averages may be around those values, but for individuals, any point along the line is possible.