4 ms·
> That's why programmers work 70 hour weeks Huh? I've worked my share of 70-hour weeks, but none of them have been as a developer. In my experience productivi
by LyndsySimon 10y ago
> That's why programmers work 70 hour weeks
Huh?
I've worked my share of 70-hour weeks, but none of them have been as a developer. In my experience productivity tends to go negative after a certain point.
- logfromblammo 10y agoI can do something mindlessly repetitive for 12 hours in a row with no problem, but if I need to apply judgment, expertise, or rational thought, I usually can go no more than 5 or 6 hours before my brain needs a rest. The focus starts to flag after 4, and the rate of decline increases after that. I assume by default that anyone programming for 70 hours a week is producing good code for 25 hours of it, marginal code for 20, bad code for 15, and godawful WTF garbage for 10. If the schedule is to work from 7 AM to noon, lunch for an hour, nap for an hour, and work from 2 PM to 7 PM, for each of the 7 days per week, that might actually get 50 hours of good code and 20 of decent code... until that person burns out hard after three months. 70 hour work weeks for knowledge workers is a very obvious sign of dangerously incompetent management. The only conceivable reason for it is to institute it as a temporary measure to meet a deadline when someone is actually going to die if you miss it. And then, you have to throttle the hours way back afterward to prevent resentment and burnout.
- AnimalMuppet 10y agoOne of the rules of extreme programming is "never work overtime longer than one week in a row". Mental fatigue is a real thing; if you try to program while you have it, you'd be better off taking a nap.