Why is everyone so busy? (2014) • Hacker News Board

Re: Why is everyone so busy? (2014)

#91

Post by factsaresacred » Sat, Apr 07, 2018, 5:12 PM UTC

terrytrend wrote: post #68

factsaresacred wrote: post #20

I recommend people watch Japan A story of love and hate ( http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x56bwzc ) which, aside from being a great look at Japan, epitomizes the absurdity of exchanging our time for a salary that increasingly fails to cover the cost to live and leaves us without free time. 30,000 Japanese kill themselves each year due to work related stress. Great quote from the doc: Naoki:"You (the West) game me th…

On the money. Fuck the 9-5 corporate work life. I've been doing this everyday for 12 years..and I'm about to blow my brains out. I encourage everyone to find one thing they love and find a way to do it everyday for the rest of your life.

> and I'm about to blow my brains out.

Please don't.

A. You'll mess up that screen you're paid to stare into ;)

B. More seriously, if you ain't being facetious, switch jobs.

But to your point: work is a drag. I don't care how free the food is or how comfortable your ergonomic keyboard feels. Deep down there's something dissatisfying about most corporate life. But at the same time it's never been easier to (try!) start your own thing, as you suggest.

To anybody reading this, go for it. Before responsibility limits your risk-taking. And give it absolutely everything.

Re: Why is everyone so busy? (2014)

#92

Post by davidjnelson » Sat, Apr 07, 2018, 5:18 PM UTC

> Writing in the first century, Seneca was startled by how little people seemed to value their lives as they were living them—how busy, terribly busy, everyone seemed to be, mortal in their fears, immortal in their desires and wasteful of their time. He noticed how even wealthy people hustled their lives along, ruing their fortune, anticipating a time in the future when they would rest.

Living fully in this moment now feels way underrated.

Re: Why is everyone so busy? (2014)

#93

Post by gordon_freeman » Sat, Apr 07, 2018, 5:19 PM UTC

hliyan wrote: post #53

I'm of the opinion that the root of the problem is inflation (but I'm open to correction). My thinking is that we're constantly being pushed to work harder because no business today can reach a successful steady-state -- it must keep growing. The reason businesses must keep growing is that investors demand it. Investors demand it because they believe that wealth sitting around not making more wealth is a waste. Infla…

Okay so how about inflation coupled with basic human nature: 'greed'?

Re: Why is everyone so busy? (2014)

#94

Post by dang » Sat, Apr 07, 2018, 5:26 PM UTC

mrhappyunhappy wrote: post #34

KozmoNau7 wrote: post #26

This "must be busy" mindset and 50+ hour work weeks is so utterly alien and wrong to me, and I'm glad I feel this way. I would never let a job get in the way of family and social experiences, in the way of my life . Relaxation and leisure time is absolutely non-negotiable for me, I would never give up on a concert or culinary experience or anything else for something as mundane as work. I think this mindset has also…

Privelaged white older male identified. Not all of us find work mundane and not all of us can afford the luxury of leisure yet alone choice in friends. Congratulations and enjoying your laid back life!

Personal attacks aren't ok here. Whatever substantive point you want to make, I'm sure you can make it thoughtfully and without stooping to this if you want to.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: Why is everyone so busy? (2014)

#95

Post by wu-ikkyu » Sat, Apr 07, 2018, 5:26 PM UTC

psyc wrote: post #56

marak830 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am the same as you, alas I cannot afford not to work the hours I do (for which I have copped quite a bit of flack on HN about). I do wonder why people who can afford to spend time with their family and not work 60-70 hours per week, actually do. I can only imagine it would be that they really enjoy their work that much, or their in a culture such as here in Japan where you stay until the boss leaves - or else. (Not…

I'm terrified of letting people into my life, and the biggest reason is I'm afraid they'll cut into my work time. Now, sure, there's probably a bunch of Freudian damage that's gone into this. But however I got this way, I am this way, and I don't mind.

May I ask what you do for work? And how fulfilled you are by it?

Re: Why is everyone so busy? (2014)

#96

Post by davidjnelson » Sat, Apr 07, 2018, 5:27 PM UTC

phkahler wrote: post #59

marak830 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am the same as you, alas I cannot afford not to work the hours I do (for which I have copped quite a bit of flack on HN about). I do wonder why people who can afford to spend time with their family and not work 60-70 hours per week, actually do. I can only imagine it would be that they really enjoy their work that much, or their in a culture such as here in Japan where you stay until the boss leaves - or else. (Not…

>> I do wonder why people who can afford to spend time with their family and not work 60-70 hours per week, actually do. I've found that being unhappy at home can lead to working late (even subconsciously). The thing is, these things are often related in subtle ways. If I were to over-generalize I might say that having poor boundaries is part of why they stay late, and a part of the problems they are avoiding at home…

Boundaries are surprisingly powerful!

Re: Why is everyone so busy? (2014)

#97

Post by davidjnelson » Sat, Apr 07, 2018, 5:37 PM UTC

taneq wrote: post #17

Because we've been sold the idea that there is someplace else to be, and that we should work as hard as we can to get there.

> we’ve been sold

And believed the sales pitch, which was never true.

Re: Why is everyone so busy? (2014)

#98

Post by itakedrugs » Sat, Apr 07, 2018, 5:41 PM UTC

hliyan wrote: post #53

I'm of the opinion that the root of the problem is inflation (but I'm open to correction). My thinking is that we're constantly being pushed to work harder because no business today can reach a successful steady-state -- it must keep growing. The reason businesses must keep growing is that investors demand it. Investors demand it because they believe that wealth sitting around not making more wealth is a waste. Infla…

Innovations are probably the number one driver of the economy: https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/enterprisingstates/asset...

Re: Why is everyone so busy? (2014)

#99

Post by davidjnelson » Sat, Apr 07, 2018, 5:44 PM UTC

sp527 wrote: post #15

sixhobbits wrote: post #12

I found this article really interesting and extremely well written. The excerpt below is a literary masterpiece.(other comments complain about paywall but on mobile I got "3 articles free" message. Not sure if they're A/B testing or if they're giving me free stuff because I'm in South Africa and they assume that online payments are hard here) "Leisure time is now the stuff of myth. Some are cursed with too much. Othe…

Novel experiences slow down time while habitual behaviors speed it up. However, we are almost by definition creatures of habit. They're necessary in order to function efficiently. So you could argue there's a tension between living efficiently and living well. But most people never get far enough to worry about. Our world has been designed to lure people into poor behavioral loops like watching TV, browsing social me…

This is true, as Einstein’s quote describes in the article:

“An hour sitting with a pretty girl on a park bench passes like a minute, but a minute sitting on a hot stove seems like an hour.”

What a great goal. Structuring life as a series of awe inspiring experiences.

I’m not convinced it’s novelty that drives it as opposed to how much awe is inspired. For instance, sitting on the park bench with your gorgeous wife could be as mesmerizing the 100th time as it was the first time.

Edit: A more nuanced interpretation could be that if you’re fully in the moment, that 100th time is purely novel.

Re: Why is everyone so busy? (2014)

#100

Post by guntars » Sat, Apr 07, 2018, 5:45 PM UTC

SomewhatLikely wrote: post #52

As long as there are marginal gains to be made from working an extra hour I don't see this changing. Imagine if one country decided to change from a 40 hour work week to a 20 hour work week. If this decreases their GDP from producing less output, then they become economically weaker, their standard of living in terms of purchasing power is diminished, and the tax base is decreased. I think the biggest reason we don't…

It's just people being wired to compare their lives with other's. Humans evolved in small groups with hierarchies where your "rank" compared to others could mean the difference between life and death. Not so much these days, but the habit is still there.

Luckily, we also evolved big brains that let us override almost any instinct and with a bit of effort we can be perfectly happy with any slice of the pie.

P.S. I'm somebody that gave up a large fraction of my salary to be able to work part time and travel the country. It's been worth it so far.