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I'm in my late forties and have been a professional developer for 25+ years. I agree with what you said in your comment, but this stood out: "You might be dead

I'm in my late forties and have been a professional developer for 25+ years. I agree with what you said in your comment, but this stood out: "You might be dead tomorrow; you might as well enjoy today." This is not a bad way to live, but as I get older I am increasingly aware that there will be a day when I'm dead tomorrow. And for that reason I'm increasingly less interested in spending time in the state where "time shifts, and before I know it hours have passed." Instead I want to fill those hours with real-time concious, experienced enjoyment. Because I can't live them again. Being in the zone and cranking out great code still feels good, but only at the time. Which I guess makes me conflicted or something. Thank you for making me think about this.

matwood 11y ago
I'm only in my late 30s, but have also been thinking a lot about this. I see older people and wonder what they are thinking. Are they happy with the choices they made, the memories they have? What will I think when I'm 50, 60, 70? Then I remember how lucky I am. I started with next to nothing, worked through college, and now basically get paid to play with computers all day (something I would have done for free anyways). I get to travel and have other amazing experiences. Biggie said it best, "when I was dead broke man, I couldn't picture this". One of the reasons I think programmers always end up in this existential plight is that we are successful enough to have time to think about it. When I was young and worried about eating or having enough money to put gas in the car so I could get to work or school (or even having a car) I never thought about these things.
- listingboat 11y ago
  Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
donatj 11y ago
I'm about to turn 30 in just over a month. I got my first programming job at 20 and am seriously wondering where my twenties went? Honestly it terrifies me how quickly they went. All of my twenties went about as fast as tenth grade. I blame the time shift of programming. I hear about all the adventures my wife had before we met and just think "well I was busy programming". Since getting married in September I have spent much less of my home time programming. I've gone from initially resentful to grateful more recently. Time seems to have slowed.
- euphemize 11y ago
  Great realization. I'm in a similar boat. On the upside, 30 is still quite young, there's lots of time to do other stuff and slow things down ever more.
  - hinkley 11y ago
    The grandparents were telling us the 40's are your best years. You have the money to do things and your body still cooperates most of the time.
- tsmarsh 11y ago
  I can't say I had exactly the same experience. My 20s seemed to drag, my 30s? My 30s are flying by. Between moving continents, establishing myself in a new market, getting married, buy a house, having kids. I feel like I've blinked and I'm in my mid 30s. The days are long the years are short.
- tsmarsh 11y ago
  I can't say I had exactly the same experience. My 20s seemed to drag, my 30s? My 30s are flying by. Between moving continents, establishing myself in a new market, getting married, buy a house, having kids. I feel like I've blinked and I'm in my mid 30s. The days are long the years are short.
drumdance 11y ago
I'm about the same age as you. The passage of time is shockingly fast unless I do things to slow it down. I remember moments from my college days that I can pinpoint to the year they happened. That thing that happened sophomore year? I know it happened sophomore year because I did it with my roommate at the time. But nowadays I'll watch a movie on Netflix thinking it came out just in the past year or two, only to discover it came out in, say, 2007 or worse 1997. A close friend of mine's daughter just turned 16. I remember her birth like it was yesterday. But the intervening years... not so much. I think having kids, which I have not done, might slow time down a bit. Travel helps too.
- mschaef 11y ago
  > I think having kids, which I have not done, might slow time down a bit. Speaking from firsthand experience, it seems to do just the opposite.
  - bigtunacan 11y ago
    As a father of 3 I agree. Children in my experience just makes you more aware of how quickly time is passing. My oldest is now in junior high, but it seems like just yesterday she was a baby.
- powvans 11y ago
  > I think having kids, which I have not done, might slow time down a bit. It's a paradox best expressed by the old adage: the days are long, but the years are short.
  - feiss 11y ago
    I agree with that. My days are dense, long, tiring and slow, but I can't believe a full year has passed already. Before having my daughter, days were fast, weeks were faster, and years slipped through my fingers. Time goes faster when you daily routine is always more less the same, and that is more difficult with a child.
- aws_ls 11y ago
rogeroga 11y ago
QUESTION for people like you: +20 YEARS OF PROGRAMMING EXPERIENCE that like to be in the zone, cranking code and building, releasing stuff to the world and then enjoy the impact of that when people use it. Have you noticed that now more than never before there is plethora of amazing libraries, frameworks, language, tools, platforms, clouds, etc. that are easily available to use and if you like to build stuff WHY NOT CREATE YOUR OWN THING and come up with your own ideas and build them instead of continuing working for one company probably using the same software stack? Why limit yourself? have you entertained a regret like this? I ask this, because I'm in the same boat as you and this is my small regret though I'm working on the side, slowly, to build my own thing in the free time that family and my day job allows it. Cheers!
MarkMc 11y ago
Thanks for brining this up. 'Flow' seems such a great state when I am in it, but I sometimes wonder if I'm missing out by not trying to create memorable experiences instead...

matwood 11y ago

I'm only in my late 30s, but have also been thinking a lot about this. I see older people and wonder what they are thinking. Are they happy with the choices they made, the memories they have? What will I think when I'm 50, 60, 70? Then I remember how lucky I am. I started with next to nothing, worked through college, and now basically get paid to play with computers all day (something I would have done for free anyways). I get to travel and have other amazing experiences. Biggie said it best, "when I was dead broke man, I couldn't picture this". One of the reasons I think programmers always end up in this existential plight is that we are successful enough to have time to think about it. When I was young and worried about eating or having enough money to put gas in the car so I could get to work or school (or even having a car) I never thought about these things.

listingboat 11y ago
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

donatj 11y ago

I'm about to turn 30 in just over a month. I got my first programming job at 20 and am seriously wondering where my twenties went? Honestly it terrifies me how quickly they went. All of my twenties went about as fast as tenth grade. I blame the time shift of programming. I hear about all the adventures my wife had before we met and just think "well I was busy programming". Since getting married in September I have spent much less of my home time programming. I've gone from initially resentful to grateful more recently. Time seems to have slowed.

euphemize 11y ago
Great realization. I'm in a similar boat. On the upside, 30 is still quite young, there's lots of time to do other stuff and slow things down ever more.
- hinkley 11y ago
  The grandparents were telling us the 40's are your best years. You have the money to do things and your body still cooperates most of the time.
tsmarsh 11y ago
I can't say I had exactly the same experience. My 20s seemed to drag, my 30s? My 30s are flying by. Between moving continents, establishing myself in a new market, getting married, buy a house, having kids. I feel like I've blinked and I'm in my mid 30s. The days are long the years are short.
tsmarsh 11y ago
I can't say I had exactly the same experience. My 20s seemed to drag, my 30s? My 30s are flying by. Between moving continents, establishing myself in a new market, getting married, buy a house, having kids. I feel like I've blinked and I'm in my mid 30s. The days are long the years are short.

drumdance 11y ago

I'm about the same age as you. The passage of time is shockingly fast unless I do things to slow it down. I remember moments from my college days that I can pinpoint to the year they happened. That thing that happened sophomore year? I know it happened sophomore year because I did it with my roommate at the time. But nowadays I'll watch a movie on Netflix thinking it came out just in the past year or two, only to discover it came out in, say, 2007 or worse 1997. A close friend of mine's daughter just turned 16. I remember her birth like it was yesterday. But the intervening years... not so much. I think having kids, which I have not done, might slow time down a bit. Travel helps too.

mschaef 11y ago
> I think having kids, which I have not done, might slow time down a bit. Speaking from firsthand experience, it seems to do just the opposite.
- bigtunacan 11y ago
  As a father of 3 I agree. Children in my experience just makes you more aware of how quickly time is passing. My oldest is now in junior high, but it seems like just yesterday she was a baby.
powvans 11y ago
> I think having kids, which I have not done, might slow time down a bit. It's a paradox best expressed by the old adage: the days are long, but the years are short.
- feiss 11y ago
  I agree with that. My days are dense, long, tiring and slow, but I can't believe a full year has passed already. Before having my daughter, days were fast, weeks were faster, and years slipped through my fingers. Time goes faster when you daily routine is always more less the same, and that is more difficult with a child.
aws_ls 11y ago

rogeroga 11y ago

QUESTION for people like you: +20 YEARS OF PROGRAMMING EXPERIENCE that like to be in the zone, cranking code and building, releasing stuff to the world and then enjoy the impact of that when people use it. Have you noticed that now more than never before there is plethora of amazing libraries, frameworks, language, tools, platforms, clouds, etc. that are easily available to use and if you like to build stuff WHY NOT CREATE YOUR OWN THING and come up with your own ideas and build them instead of continuing working for one company probably using the same software stack? Why limit yourself? have you entertained a regret like this? I ask this, because I'm in the same boat as you and this is my small regret though I'm working on the side, slowly, to build my own thing in the free time that family and my day job allows it. Cheers!

MarkMc 11y ago

Thanks for brining this up. 'Flow' seems such a great state when I am in it, but I sometimes wonder if I'm missing out by not trying to create memorable experiences instead...