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Fuck being productive

dostoynikov.bearblog.dev

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Re: Fuck being productive

#91

Post by chronofar »

commandlinefan wrote: post #46

If that's your thing, I'm totally cool with it - if you need to watch TV or play video games to decompress, that's fine. I personally get really anxious when I'm "wasting" time and would rather learn something (math, computers, music, something) or do something (housework, yardwork, something) with my "spare" time and I can't help but notice that me not spending time doing what other people consider "leisure" activit…

> I personally get really anxious when I'm "wasting" time

One could argue that this is the problem. Not that you spend your time doing activities others wouldn't consider leisurely, but that you feel compelled to because otherwise you become "really anxious." Some anxiety can be a propulsion, but too much can be a pathology. I'm certainly not fit to evaluate your own, but by your own words I'd suggest it's possibly worth further reflection.

Check out Four Thousand Weeks for some recent musings on why that anxiety may be best ignored rather than heeded: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54785515-four-thousand-w...

Re: Fuck being productive

#92

Post by shrimp_emoji »

pelagicAustral wrote: post #49

I'm incredibly lucky in that I live 5 minutes away from the office. I work 7.5 hours a day, Monday to Friday. Every day I got a ton of time to dedicate to things I like... and yet, many times I feel drained from crunching code every day... It's been like 8 months since I worked on a personal project... lately all I do is play Breath of the Wild... But I feel pretty good about it, I think I relate to this fuck-being-p…

If you don't already, try working out 30 mins a day!

Re: Fuck being productive

#93

Post by geodel »

UncleOxidant wrote: post #58
zikduruqe wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The only reason I go to work is for money. Don't forget healthcare being tied directly to being employed. If it was not for that, people could purse their passions versus what they have to do just because.

I tend to agree, but then I wonder if people in places like Canada (which has universal healthcare) tend to pursue their passions more than those of us in the US?

Could be. Though I see lot of Canadians coming in US for employment or even just for weekly shopping in border states. Seems nothing like quality groceries, winter clothing and Gas etc on Canada side.

Re: Fuck being productive

#94

Post by [deleted] »

sBqQu3U0wH wrote: post #15

Honestly, I do feel somewhat similar. I work a normal 8-hour day and I am not obsessed with productivity nor I am some kind of anti-work activist, but it just feels like such a waste of time. The only reason I go to work is for money. I don't care about the products we build for someone else (why should I?), nor the technologies used (each of which brings its own challenges and frustrations). If I didn't need to go t…

[deleted]

Re: Fuck being productive

#95

Post by tiedieconderoga »

sesteel wrote: post #45
scaramanga wrote: post #4

Dude, you are absolutely not being productive in the 12 hours of indentured servitude. You need to find a new job. The people at your current job aren't your friends. They've let you arrange to give away a full 50% your life (most of what's left must be occupied by sleep, pissing, shitting, eating, and paying bills). Not a single person in your life has said anything or tried to get you out of the office earlier? You…

This deserves to be upvoted more. Trading your life for financial gain has diminishing returns. You'd think everybody's goal would to be free of servitude.

The problem is that you need a lot of money to be free of servitude.

Re: Fuck being productive

#96

Post by cmilton »

We all need a reason to be productive. We have placed these jobs above our own well being. That doesn't sound very healthy at all. I would suggest finding something you are passionate about. It may take a while.

Re: Fuck being productive

#97

Post by sBqQu3U0wH »

kortilla wrote: post #60
sBqQu3U0wH wrote: post #15

Honestly, I do feel somewhat similar. I work a normal 8-hour day and I am not obsessed with productivity nor I am some kind of anti-work activist, but it just feels like such a waste of time. The only reason I go to work is for money. I don't care about the products we build for someone else (why should I?), nor the technologies used (each of which brings its own challenges and frustrations). If I didn't need to go t…

> I don't care about the products we build for someone else (why should I?) This mindset is how you kneecap your career. You’ve pigeonholed yourself into the foot soldier category when it becomes immediately obvious to managers that you aren’t thinking about what’s actually good for the company. You may already know this, but it needs to be explicitly called out that taking that approach to your business relationship…

Well, this is more what I feel internally about working in general than about a particular company. This is not something that spills out into the work environment. I perform tasks to the best of my ability and just "put on a face" that is expected of me. Company is satisfied about my performance during evaluations.

Re: Fuck being productive

#98

Post by mrguyorama »

myth_drannon wrote: post #29
sharemywin wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

or you waited until you were 40 to have kids.

Robert De Niro just had his 7th and he is 79. So not everything is lost if you didn't have a chance in you 40's...

Ah yes we are all as wealthy and have the same resources as a famous hollywood actor.

The physical act of creating a child is so easy many people do it by accident. Raising a child is an enormous task.

Re: Fuck being productive

#99

Post by fwip »

badpun wrote: post #61
xenocratus wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't care about the products we build for someone else (why should I?) I mean, this obviously depends on the kind of product - is it some biotech to make someone's life better, or is it a gambling website tuned to suck the most out of whales? As engineers we're much better placed than most people to do something meaningful with our work, and sticking with a job where you don't see that value is a pity. But if yo…

> As you say, there's little choice in whether you have to do it (unless you win the lottery or something) With some frugality and smart money management, you can retire in 5-10 years if you're on a dev salary.

Depends on where you are and where you work. FAANG devs in a big city, sure, but not a dev working on payroll software in Podunkus, Idaho.

Re: Fuck being productive

#100

Post by shrimp_emoji »

commandlinefan wrote: post #46

If that's your thing, I'm totally cool with it - if you need to watch TV or play video games to decompress, that's fine. I personally get really anxious when I'm "wasting" time and would rather learn something (math, computers, music, something) or do something (housework, yardwork, something) with my "spare" time and I can't help but notice that me not spending time doing what other people consider "leisure" activit…

This might be decoupled from productivity anxiety, but my theory is that there are different types of "fun".

There's the "simple carbohydrate" fun of, say, an action game, which is immediate, easy, but low-nutrition and, enjoyed overlong, makes me feel empty inside.

Then there's the "complex carbohydrate" fun of learning something new or working on a project, which is more fulfilling and interesting but also work -- mentally taxing -- and, enjoyed overlong, burns me out.

My brain seems to demand a balanced diet of both.

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