4 ms·

You're Never Given Time to Build, You Have to Take It

24 points by messel 16y ago

GFischer 16y ago
I also have a day job (like many aspiring startup founders here I guess), so I expected to find some insight here :) (some way to cheat some sleep patterns, cramming code in some way or whatever). So, in your case, you only do some coding on your day off and Saturday-Sunday afternoons/nights? Guess I'll be on the same boat. The post then wanders into digressions on Focus, self improvement and other observations that read very disconnected to me, and took away from the main point of the post (they may be valuable, but I'll have to process and digest them myself, as they aren't explained much, just thrown together). I don't want to sound harsh, just some constructive criticism which I hope better blog writers than myself can expand (or refute :) ).
- umjames 16y ago
  Yeah, the title makes you think the article is going to be about ways to work on your projects while keeping your day job. I was looking for things like maximizing efficiency while coding on nights and weekends, or lunch, or downtime, or something.
  - messel 16y ago
    That's funny I was hoping by posting the article here I could get better tips from HN members about how to more efficiently cram in hacking time into my schedule. I'll certainly continue posting along this topic line as I uncover more tips that work for me. I need to monitor hard metrics for application development (commits) while trying out different time saver tricks.
- messel 16y ago
  Appreciate the criticism. Understanding expectations is part of becoming a stronger writer. I post daily to polish/practice, but I can see now how I jumped from time saving tips to focus in the same piece without a fluid connector. Thanks.
eitally 16y ago
I'd like to have the context of the "walk 2.5-3hrs" part of the schedule. While admirable, that's awfully extreme!
- messel 16y ago
  You got it: http://www.victusspiritus.com/2009/03/05/the-walker/ http://www.victusspiritus.com/2009/03/05/the-walker/ Now my schedule is 7 days a week ~10 miles a day. I find it cathartic and calming. Helps my state of mind stay clear most of the day.
jchonphoenix 16y ago
Try going to a University like MIT or CMU. Then you literally can't "take" time. 12-6am you say? Its already taken by your classes, homeworks, and projects...
- messel 16y ago
  I've been out of school for a while (msee 97). Back when I was going it was pretty smooth sailing (state school). Now it's harder than creating a startup? No wonder Mark Zuckerburg opted for the easy out. Maybe even Bill Gates too. I kid I kid!
  - jchonphoenix 16y ago
    For some schools it may be on par with creating a startup. Of course, these schools are likely the ones famous for taking up all your time. I'm referencing the famously time consuming universities like Caltech, Carnegie Mellon, and MIT. And even within these schools it depends on your major. Harvard, I have no personal knowledge of. However, from what I've heard its not that time consuming and has a high level of grade inflation... Take that with a grain of salt though.

24 points by messel 16y ago

I also have a day job (like many aspiring startup founders here I guess), so I expected to find some insight here :) (some way to cheat some sleep patterns, cramming code in some way or whatever). So, in your case, you only do some coding on your day off and Saturday-Sunday afternoons/nights? Guess I'll be on the same boat. The post then wanders into digressions on Focus, self improvement and other observations that read very disconnected to me, and took away from the main point of the post (they may be valuable, but I'll have to process and digest them myself, as they aren't explained much, just thrown together). I don't want to sound harsh, just some constructive criticism which I hope better blog writers than myself can expand (or refute :) ).

umjames 16y ago
Yeah, the title makes you think the article is going to be about ways to work on your projects while keeping your day job. I was looking for things like maximizing efficiency while coding on nights and weekends, or lunch, or downtime, or something.
- messel 16y ago
  That's funny I was hoping by posting the article here I could get better tips from HN members about how to more efficiently cram in hacking time into my schedule. I'll certainly continue posting along this topic line as I uncover more tips that work for me. I need to monitor hard metrics for application development (commits) while trying out different time saver tricks.
messel 16y ago
Appreciate the criticism. Understanding expectations is part of becoming a stronger writer. I post daily to polish/practice, but I can see now how I jumped from time saving tips to focus in the same piece without a fluid connector. Thanks.

eitally 16y ago

I'd like to have the context of the "walk 2.5-3hrs" part of the schedule. While admirable, that's awfully extreme!

messel 16y ago
You got it: http://www.victusspiritus.com/2009/03/05/the-walker/ http://www.victusspiritus.com/2009/03/05/the-walker/ Now my schedule is 7 days a week ~10 miles a day. I find it cathartic and calming. Helps my state of mind stay clear most of the day.

jchonphoenix 16y ago

Try going to a University like MIT or CMU. Then you literally can't "take" time. 12-6am you say? Its already taken by your classes, homeworks, and projects...

messel 16y ago
I've been out of school for a while (msee 97). Back when I was going it was pretty smooth sailing (state school). Now it's harder than creating a startup? No wonder Mark Zuckerburg opted for the easy out. Maybe even Bill Gates too. I kid I kid!
- jchonphoenix 16y ago
  For some schools it may be on par with creating a startup. Of course, these schools are likely the ones famous for taking up all your time. I'm referencing the famously time consuming universities like Caltech, Carnegie Mellon, and MIT. And even within these schools it depends on your major. Harvard, I have no personal knowledge of. However, from what I've heard its not that time consuming and has a high level of grade inflation... Take that with a grain of salt though.