6 ms·

Some of the points in this article I disagree with but others I like. Compared to my past self I am "super productive". I have a full-time career, a single pare

by MRD85 8y ago

Some of the points in this article I disagree with but others I like. Compared to my past self I am "super productive". I have a full-time career, a single parent to two young kids (approx 70% of the time I'm not at work I'm parenting) and I study nearly full time (3 units per semester) with a perfect GPA. I somehow still have time for "wasting", like commenting on online discussion boards, going on dates, etc. * Keeping lists: This one is huge. I have lists all the time which track what I need to have completed and when. I have watch lists for tasks like "get birthday present for this kids party", etc. I have a job list at work. Procrastination: I use this all the time. It's currently 7:23pm here, I'm wasting time now and I have been since 6pm but my deadline is I wake at 4am tomorrow to work. Food: This article touches on food but I feel it's really important. I eat low carb because I find carbs make me far more tired. I also avoid large meals because they make me tired. Something that isn't touched on in the article: Find ways to save yourself time. I get angry when I see an office worker earning 6 figures typing one finger looking at the keys. Touch typing doesn't take long to learn but it saves so much time and effort. Everyone has little quirks that take time/effort to fix but pay off in a big way once fixed. Do it, it's worth it.

BeetleB 8y ago
>I get angry when I see an office worker earning 6 figures typing one finger looking at the keys. Touch typing doesn't take long to learn but it saves so much time and effort. I think this is mostly an illusion, unless your job is writing. For stuff like SW, typing is usually not the limiting factor. Thinking is. For management, typing a lot usually equates to a large bureaucracy (and lots and lots of pointless emails). Me? I can type without looking at the keyboard. One of the stars in my team cannot. Flip the principle over: How many people have suddenly become more productive and "moved up" because they learned to type faster?
- MRD85 8y ago
  I am in a large bureaucracy and the person I'm thinking of probably types 5-8 WPM in a job that involves a lot of typing and gets paid over $120k.
number6 8y ago
This sounds unreal: Job + parenting + study? How are you doing this? This can't just come from keeping lists and or touch typing?! Can you give me some background on what you are doing?
- all2 8y ago
  Consider: - 8 hours of work (a generous estimate). - 4 to 6 hours of parenting (between children's wake time in the morning and the evening). - Commute time? Is she driving? Public transit? Other? We'll neglect this. - 3 hours on study (an hour per day per semester hour). With a two hour commute, that's a 19 hour day. Without, 17 hours. That leaves no room for other daily necessities, though those could be built into the 4 to 6 hours of parenting time? I don't know. Alls I have to parent is a dog, and she's pretty low maintenance. Now, suppose she front-loads her decision making onto those lists a la the Getting Things Done method. Then, she doesn't have to put much thought in to what next for this or that thing?. She can just look at her list for whatever thing, see what's next, and do it. [edit] I think what she claims she is doing is possible, I just don't "have what it takes". I'm not even sure "what it takes". [/edit] Personally, I struggle with focus, energy, and decision making. I've tried lists, and other things. Sometimes I think it is a discipline issue, other times I think its diet, lack of exercise, or maybe even my semi-regular sleep schedule. I'm not really sure, and I'm too tired to figure it out. I see or hear of other people who perform at this "three full time commitments" thing and I wonder at what I'm doing with my life that leaves me so far behind.
  - sigi45 8y ago
    There is still a weekend with two full days.
    - asark 8y ago
      Parenting time tends to take over most of the hours that would have been work-time, on weekends. At least until your kids are old enough that they don't want anything to do with you anymore (or so I hear). With kids it's usually possible to do something either productive or fun alongside the whole kid-taking-care-of thing. It's just very hard to do anything you like that is productive or fun. You gotta roll with the punches. Typically things that require few unpredictable interruptions and that can't be done with your kid(s) (which varies greatly with their age) are out of the question unless they're in bed or someone else is watching them. Or you turn on Babysitter Television, of course.
fluffycat 8y ago
You get angry when you see someone does not touch type? This sounds petty and weird.
- jumbopapa 8y ago
  I don't think they actually get "angry", but rather pretty annoyed. I do the same thing. If someone asks me for help or something and I see them "hunting and pecking", then I get slightly annoyed that this person hasn't spent a couple hours learning how to properly type. It would save them so much time! I just want everyone to be more productive and something like typing is a pretty easy place to gain productivity.
  - shrimp_emoji 8y ago
    I fall back on touch typing when I want to keep typos at a minimum, but it's so much slower for me than "hunting and pecking" (even though I don't look at the keyboard when doing it, so it's hardly "hunting"). But that speed increase comes at the cost of accuracy. If I could get speed parity with touch typing, it'd be amazing. I've spent days trying to learn. I don't know if I'll get there. Please forgive me, senpai. :C
- muzani 8y ago
  I do get angry too, in a sense that this person has not spent any time optimizing when it's their full time job. How can a person who cannot optimize basic things for themselves be expected to lead a group? It smells a lot like either corruption or incompetence.
  - wqdqdwqdq 8y ago
    At this point, I hope you'd owe up to taking the burden proof that a person who cannot optimize basic things for themselves cannot be expected to lead a group
karmakaze 8y ago
Which points do you most disagree with and what's your alternative?
- MRD85 8y ago
  Not keeping a schedule, i.e. ""I'm not keeping a schedule for 2007, so I can't commit to that, but give me a call on Tuesday at 2:45 and if I'm available, I'll meet with you."". I don't know too many people who would be happy about being told you value their time so much. I keep a tight schedule and I plan around it instead. I also don't feel the need for an index card each night. I already have my lists of jobs that I need to get done and some of those jobs are due tomorrow.
tosh 8y ago
ymmv but often typing isn’t the bottleneck, thinking is (typing faster != more nor better output)
- lordfoom 8y ago
  But not having to think about typing reduces your cognitive load. Touch typing as a coder isn't about speed, it's about freeing your mind from having to think about your fingers.
  - onemoresoop 8y ago
    Touch typing is somewhat overrated. I never learn to touch type and never had any regret over it, don't get me wrong, I do t peck for keys either but the speed of properly touch typing is no need for me, I'm not a professional typist. I on the other hand am great at remembering shortcuts and I think that's way more important to my work than touch typing, I feel that using the mouse to open a menu and click debug as a complete waste of resources and mental focus.
  - kmarc 8y ago
    TBH for me touch typing wasn't as big of help as learning vim inside out. And I see the same clumsy slowness when others touch type in front of me
- kstrauser 8y ago
  While I totally agree with that, there are times when typing is my bottleneck. It's often the case that once I've figured out what I want to say, the next challenge is converting it into text. During that phase, I want to be able to quickly convert thought to words on a screen without any barriers.

by MRD85 8y ago

BeetleB 8y ago

>I get angry when I see an office worker earning 6 figures typing one finger looking at the keys. Touch typing doesn't take long to learn but it saves so much time and effort. I think this is mostly an illusion, unless your job is writing. For stuff like SW, typing is usually not the limiting factor. Thinking is. For management, typing a lot usually equates to a large bureaucracy (and lots and lots of pointless emails). Me? I can type without looking at the keyboard. One of the stars in my team cannot. Flip the principle over: How many people have suddenly become more productive and "moved up" because they learned to type faster?

MRD85 8y ago
I am in a large bureaucracy and the person I'm thinking of probably types 5-8 WPM in a job that involves a lot of typing and gets paid over $120k.

number6 8y ago

This sounds unreal: Job + parenting + study? How are you doing this? This can't just come from keeping lists and or touch typing?! Can you give me some background on what you are doing?

all2 8y ago
Consider: - 8 hours of work (a generous estimate). - 4 to 6 hours of parenting (between children's wake time in the morning and the evening). - Commute time? Is she driving? Public transit? Other? We'll neglect this. - 3 hours on study (an hour per day per semester hour). With a two hour commute, that's a 19 hour day. Without, 17 hours. That leaves no room for other daily necessities, though those could be built into the 4 to 6 hours of parenting time? I don't know. Alls I have to parent is a dog, and she's pretty low maintenance. Now, suppose she front-loads her decision making onto those lists a la the Getting Things Done method. Then, she doesn't have to put much thought in to what next for this or that thing?. She can just look at her list for whatever thing, see what's next, and do it. [edit] I think what she claims she is doing is possible, I just don't "have what it takes". I'm not even sure "what it takes". [/edit] Personally, I struggle with focus, energy, and decision making. I've tried lists, and other things. Sometimes I think it is a discipline issue, other times I think its diet, lack of exercise, or maybe even my semi-regular sleep schedule. I'm not really sure, and I'm too tired to figure it out. I see or hear of other people who perform at this "three full time commitments" thing and I wonder at what I'm doing with my life that leaves me so far behind.
- sigi45 8y ago
  There is still a weekend with two full days.
  - asark 8y ago
    Parenting time tends to take over most of the hours that would have been work-time, on weekends. At least until your kids are old enough that they don't want anything to do with you anymore (or so I hear). With kids it's usually possible to do something either productive or fun alongside the whole kid-taking-care-of thing. It's just very hard to do anything you like that is productive or fun. You gotta roll with the punches. Typically things that require few unpredictable interruptions and that can't be done with your kid(s) (which varies greatly with their age) are out of the question unless they're in bed or someone else is watching them. Or you turn on Babysitter Television, of course.

fluffycat 8y ago

You get angry when you see someone does not touch type? This sounds petty and weird.

jumbopapa 8y ago
I don't think they actually get "angry", but rather pretty annoyed. I do the same thing. If someone asks me for help or something and I see them "hunting and pecking", then I get slightly annoyed that this person hasn't spent a couple hours learning how to properly type. It would save them so much time! I just want everyone to be more productive and something like typing is a pretty easy place to gain productivity.
- shrimp_emoji 8y ago
  I fall back on touch typing when I want to keep typos at a minimum, but it's so much slower for me than "hunting and pecking" (even though I don't look at the keyboard when doing it, so it's hardly "hunting"). But that speed increase comes at the cost of accuracy. If I could get speed parity with touch typing, it'd be amazing. I've spent days trying to learn. I don't know if I'll get there. Please forgive me, senpai. :C
muzani 8y ago
I do get angry too, in a sense that this person has not spent any time optimizing when it's their full time job. How can a person who cannot optimize basic things for themselves be expected to lead a group? It smells a lot like either corruption or incompetence.
- wqdqdwqdq 8y ago
  At this point, I hope you'd owe up to taking the burden proof that a person who cannot optimize basic things for themselves cannot be expected to lead a group

karmakaze 8y ago

Which points do you most disagree with and what's your alternative?

MRD85 8y ago
Not keeping a schedule, i.e. ""I'm not keeping a schedule for 2007, so I can't commit to that, but give me a call on Tuesday at 2:45 and if I'm available, I'll meet with you."". I don't know too many people who would be happy about being told you value their time so much. I keep a tight schedule and I plan around it instead. I also don't feel the need for an index card each night. I already have my lists of jobs that I need to get done and some of those jobs are due tomorrow.

tosh 8y ago

ymmv but often typing isn’t the bottleneck, thinking is (typing faster != more nor better output)

lordfoom 8y ago
But not having to think about typing reduces your cognitive load. Touch typing as a coder isn't about speed, it's about freeing your mind from having to think about your fingers.
- onemoresoop 8y ago
  Touch typing is somewhat overrated. I never learn to touch type and never had any regret over it, don't get me wrong, I do t peck for keys either but the speed of properly touch typing is no need for me, I'm not a professional typist. I on the other hand am great at remembering shortcuts and I think that's way more important to my work than touch typing, I feel that using the mouse to open a menu and click debug as a complete waste of resources and mental focus.
- kmarc 8y ago
  TBH for me touch typing wasn't as big of help as learning vim inside out. And I see the same clumsy slowness when others touch type in front of me
kstrauser 8y ago
While I totally agree with that, there are times when typing is my bottleneck. It's often the case that once I've figured out what I want to say, the next challenge is converting it into text. During that phase, I want to be able to quickly convert thought to words on a screen without any barriers.