4 ms·

I'm single and don't have kids and it still doesn't apply. I have to commute, shower, cook, buy groceries, clean etc. I'm all about self improvement, side-proj

I'm single and don't have kids and it still doesn't apply. I have to commute, shower, cook, buy groceries, clean etc. I'm all about self improvement, side-projects, etc, but his numbers start with the bullshit assumption that someone who spends 8 hours at work is instantly free as soon as the clock strikes 5.

taude 8y ago
You could interpret that, though, to mean building the lifestyle so that either your commute is easier, a job that you can control the hours better, or simpler living. For example, if you're riding commuter rail to work, that could potentially free up some time to maybe plan things, etc... I'm pretty sure there's plenty of jobs/careers that this type of thinking wouldn't work at, but to counter that, there's also plenty more where it would.
- taude 8y ago
  But I agree with the sentiment. Maybe more like four hours/day, assuming you've simplified the rest of your life.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
madamelic 8y ago
> his numbers Her. Not just men are becoming makers. :)
- jen729w 8y ago
  WTF is this downvoted for? Right up top of the article it explicitly calls out that the author is a woman, yet someone here can’t even be arsed to get it right? Then the person who calls it out is downvoted?! Shame, HN.
  - stephsmithio 8y ago
    Thank you.
nck4222 8y ago
>start with the bullshit assumption that someone who spends 8 hours at work is instantly free as soon as the clock strikes 5 This is one of the things I noticed as well. About a year ago I started commuting via commuter rail (Boston), and my side project productivity sky rocketed. I'm guaranteed a seat, and room to put my laptop on my lap for two 1 hour intervals, 5 days a week. This is an option not many people have, especially in the US. Previously I've commuted by driving (obviously can't get much coding done then), and subway (too crowded to pull out a laptop). By the time I got home, I'd have already worked at least 8 hours, and spent 2 miserable hours commuting. I was tired, hungry, and hadn't gotten any side project work done. Now at least I can get 2 good hours in every day, and that productivity momentum sometimes will carry in to the evening now as well, since I'm already in the thick-of-it when I get home. But even if it doesn't I'm working 10 hours/week on something I enjoy, and can easily see steady progress in it. It doesn't even matter how much time I'm able to make for myself when at home now.
- deathanatos 8y ago
  > About a year ago I started commuting via commuter rail (Boston), and my side project productivity sky rocketed. > > I'm guaranteed a seat, and room to put my laptop on my lap for two 1 hour intervals, 5 days a week. > This is an option not many people have, especially in the US. Yeah. Those of in the Bay Area are stuck with CalTrain. You're not guaranteed a train (passengers are regularly "bumped", or denied boarding and told to wait for the next train, particularly bikers), let alone a seat; the trains are just incredibly oversubscribed / underprovisioned. Also, IIRC, doesn't the MBTA commuter rail also offer free WiFi? CalTrain does not, and cell reception along the CalTrain corridor is flaky at best and outright terrible in some spots (San Antonio — Palo Alto…) (The T, and the commuter rail, are compartively well run, IMO, and one of, if not the best, public transit systems in the nation.) Does MA have anything close to CA's legal requirements that employers don't own employee's work when done on their own time with their own equipment?[1] (I.e., does your employer require you to sell your soul to them?) [1]: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=2870 https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySectio...
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
wglb 8y ago
You might consider this: https://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/03/20/running-a-software-business-on-5-hours-a-week/ https://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/03/20/running-a-software-busi...
movedx 8y ago
> I'm single and don't have kids and it still doesn't apply. I have to commute, shower, cook, buy groceries, clean etc. Not once were you told during the article that all eight hours have to be dedicated to working, i.e. wake and grab your laptop and start hacking. Obviously the author is more intelligent than that and understands people need to poo, get ill, or sometimes want to hit the cinema. That's made clear in the article also. I think your conclusion misses the point that you're meant to take that eight hours and use what you can of it to focus on goals. That's why Steph points out that just one hour of work towards a goal over 365 days has a compounding, exponential result. It's also not a solution for everyone. Take it or leave it.

taude 8y ago

You could interpret that, though, to mean building the lifestyle so that either your commute is easier, a job that you can control the hours better, or simpler living. For example, if you're riding commuter rail to work, that could potentially free up some time to maybe plan things, etc... I'm pretty sure there's plenty of jobs/careers that this type of thinking wouldn't work at, but to counter that, there's also plenty more where it would.

taude 8y ago
But I agree with the sentiment. Maybe more like four hours/day, assuming you've simplified the rest of your life.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

madamelic 8y ago

> his numbers Her. Not just men are becoming makers. :)

jen729w 8y ago
WTF is this downvoted for? Right up top of the article it explicitly calls out that the author is a woman, yet someone here can’t even be arsed to get it right? Then the person who calls it out is downvoted?! Shame, HN.
- stephsmithio 8y ago
  Thank you.

nck4222 8y ago

>start with the bullshit assumption that someone who spends 8 hours at work is instantly free as soon as the clock strikes 5 This is one of the things I noticed as well. About a year ago I started commuting via commuter rail (Boston), and my side project productivity sky rocketed. I'm guaranteed a seat, and room to put my laptop on my lap for two 1 hour intervals, 5 days a week. This is an option not many people have, especially in the US. Previously I've commuted by driving (obviously can't get much coding done then), and subway (too crowded to pull out a laptop). By the time I got home, I'd have already worked at least 8 hours, and spent 2 miserable hours commuting. I was tired, hungry, and hadn't gotten any side project work done. Now at least I can get 2 good hours in every day, and that productivity momentum sometimes will carry in to the evening now as well, since I'm already in the thick-of-it when I get home. But even if it doesn't I'm working 10 hours/week on something I enjoy, and can easily see steady progress in it. It doesn't even matter how much time I'm able to make for myself when at home now.

deathanatos 8y ago
> About a year ago I started commuting via commuter rail (Boston), and my side project productivity sky rocketed. > > I'm guaranteed a seat, and room to put my laptop on my lap for two 1 hour intervals, 5 days a week. > This is an option not many people have, especially in the US. Yeah. Those of in the Bay Area are stuck with CalTrain. You're not guaranteed a train (passengers are regularly "bumped", or denied boarding and told to wait for the next train, particularly bikers), let alone a seat; the trains are just incredibly oversubscribed / underprovisioned. Also, IIRC, doesn't the MBTA commuter rail also offer free WiFi? CalTrain does not, and cell reception along the CalTrain corridor is flaky at best and outright terrible in some spots (San Antonio — Palo Alto…) (The T, and the commuter rail, are compartively well run, IMO, and one of, if not the best, public transit systems in the nation.) Does MA have anything close to CA's legal requirements that employers don't own employee's work when done on their own time with their own equipment?[1] (I.e., does your employer require you to sell your soul to them?) [1]: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=2870 https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySectio...
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

wglb 8y ago

You might consider this: https://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/03/20/running-a-software-business-on-5-hours-a-week/ https://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/03/20/running-a-software-busi...

movedx 8y ago

> I'm single and don't have kids and it still doesn't apply. I have to commute, shower, cook, buy groceries, clean etc. Not once were you told during the article that all eight hours have to be dedicated to working, i.e. wake and grab your laptop and start hacking. Obviously the author is more intelligent than that and understands people need to poo, get ill, or sometimes want to hit the cinema. That's made clear in the article also. I think your conclusion misses the point that you're meant to take that eight hours and use what you can of it to focus on goals. That's why Steph points out that just one hour of work towards a goal over 365 days has a compounding, exponential result. It's also not a solution for everyone. Take it or leave it.