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I don't think I agree with the "Stop Snacking" advice. We all go through times where we need a boost to our sense of accomplishment, it can put the wind in our

I don't think I agree with the "Stop Snacking" advice. We all go through times where we need a boost to our sense of accomplishment, it can put the wind in our sails to address bigger problems. Sometimes snarfing up a bunch of snack tasks can make all the difference in the world. Yes, you shouldn't solely be a snacker, probably, but I think it's counterproductive to think of engineers as highly autonomous, robotic units that can view each task selection in total isolation. Previous, unrelated tasks can influence your ability to complete your current task. The weight of future tasks can pull you down.

apetresc 6y ago
I think the author specifically addresses your point: > It’s ok to spend some of your time on snacks to keep yourself motivated between bigger accomplishments, but you have to keep yourself honest about how much time you’re spending on high-impact work versus low-impact work. In senior roles, you’re more likely to self-determine your work and if you’re not deliberately tracking your work, it’s easy to catch yourself doing little to no high-impact work.
- hedberg10 6y ago
  Does anybody else think work in bigger companies is just snacking and only snacking? With the faint hope that all 20.000 employees' snacking somehow is more then the sum of all parts and assembles to a high impact 10 story Powerranger/Gundam? People sit on their niche, defend it to the death and let it take up all their time. That's how it was in every big organisation I've seen. Understandably so, people didn't want to be seen as lazy or expendable, they wanted to defend their self-worth. That's how you get to Parkinson's law and the cult of busyness (and stress, lots of stress, even though there was no reason for it, it's just work, maybe explaining the increase in depression/burnout).
jimbob45 6y ago
I save my snackers for the end of the day when my brain is shot during time that wouldn’t be useful for my bigger tasks. I see the author’s point though and broadly agree.
MrPowers 6y ago
This section presupposes that you inevitably run out of tasks that are high-impact and easy, which hasn't been what I've observed. There are tons of little code functions that can be tested, released via open source / internal libraries and add lots of value. I'm constantly creating new open source projects with little functions that get lots of adoption. Just added some code to validate a SQLite schema in a Pythonic manner for example. Nothing groudbreaking, but makes it easier for the folks that need to do this in the future. The Unix-philosophy is writing programs that do one thing well. Lots of little functions can be combined to build something great. Lots of "snacks" can be used to make a feast!

apetresc 6y ago

I think the author specifically addresses your point: > It’s ok to spend some of your time on snacks to keep yourself motivated between bigger accomplishments, but you have to keep yourself honest about how much time you’re spending on high-impact work versus low-impact work. In senior roles, you’re more likely to self-determine your work and if you’re not deliberately tracking your work, it’s easy to catch yourself doing little to no high-impact work.

hedberg10 6y ago
Does anybody else think work in bigger companies is just snacking and only snacking? With the faint hope that all 20.000 employees' snacking somehow is more then the sum of all parts and assembles to a high impact 10 story Powerranger/Gundam? People sit on their niche, defend it to the death and let it take up all their time. That's how it was in every big organisation I've seen. Understandably so, people didn't want to be seen as lazy or expendable, they wanted to defend their self-worth. That's how you get to Parkinson's law and the cult of busyness (and stress, lots of stress, even though there was no reason for it, it's just work, maybe explaining the increase in depression/burnout).

jimbob45 6y ago

I save my snackers for the end of the day when my brain is shot during time that wouldn’t be useful for my bigger tasks. I see the author’s point though and broadly agree.

MrPowers 6y ago

This section presupposes that you inevitably run out of tasks that are high-impact and easy, which hasn't been what I've observed. There are tons of little code functions that can be tested, released via open source / internal libraries and add lots of value. I'm constantly creating new open source projects with little functions that get lots of adoption. Just added some code to validate a SQLite schema in a Pythonic manner for example. Nothing groudbreaking, but makes it easier for the folks that need to do this in the future. The Unix-philosophy is writing programs that do one thing well. Lots of little functions can be combined to build something great. Lots of "snacks" can be used to make a feast!