5 ms·

I found that (for me !) it was less useful to invest in learning to do new things, as opposed to investing in being more efficient and / or having my work time

by nolok 6y ago

I found that (for me !) it was less useful to invest in learning to do new things, as opposed to investing in being more efficient and / or having my work time more pleasant. Make your work feel like pleasure and there is no limit to what you can achieve. So maybe don't only think "what can I be better at ?" but also "how can my life be better while I work ?". Software: A proper training session with a high level debugger for a language I wasn't used to, debuggers often have esoteric interface and "hidden" features, but learning to use them comfortably will make your life so much easier and pleasant. Buying a license for a good IDE (in my case, intellij). I use vs code 70% of my time but when I need to work on more complex pieces of code or debugging it just change your life. Hardware: Buying a proper "high quality" laptop, notably the screen (real matte screen because screw glares, and 2k/3k/4k resolution because you look at text all day so crystal clear font rendering matters a lot). A great chair with proper support because my back hurting at the end of every day is not ok. A switchable sitting / standing desk ( https://www.autonomous.ai/product/standing-desk https://www.autonomous.ai/product/standing-desk ). Quality noise cancelling headphones (Bose QC 35).

SuoDuanDao 6y ago
This reminds me of a study I heard about some time back, comparing the highest performers in various trades to the average. Apparently one major predictor is that outlier performers spend more, even as a percentage of income, on their tools.
- WanderPanda 6y ago
  But don’t let this be an excuse to fall for the toolbox fallacy!
  - anonymouse008 6y ago
    Try soldering without flux and tell me tools don't matter ;/
  - orzig 6y ago
    I assume you mean "a poor craftsman blames his tools". Is there actually any evidence that over-focusing on tools is a common problem? I understand it could be, and we've all probably wasted an hour here and there, but I don't fear drowning in a glass of water just because I've swallowed wrong a few times
    - SuoDuanDao 6y ago
      I was curious enough to look it up, apparently it's the fallacy of "I can't properly start until I have <tool X>". In that sense I think it's not at all a problem among professionals, but perhaps an easy stumbling block that discourages a lot of amateurs (the study I heard about was actual trades, where going from amateur to professional is less of a hurdle than among creative pursuits). I might say, "A journeyman makes his tools do the job, a master invests in his tools".
sgt 6y ago
Unless you buy a cheap brand I don't think the matte / glossy holds up anymore. A good quality screen can have a degree of gloss and still offer superior quality to matte. Crystal clear rendering of fonts is a given. Having said the above, I think there's actually very little competition out there that beats MacBook Pro's etc.
- nolok 6y ago
  It doesn't hold true for me personnally. I have a true matte screen laptop, and its color absolutely suck (they look like a t-shirt that went in the washing machine way too many times), but it has absolutely no glaring whatsoever and it feels a lot more comfortable. Same way e-ink is much much more pleasant to read a book in the sun than even the most expansive amoled screen.
- IggleSniggle 6y ago
  I have a MBP, and often end up working in the dark or turning my screen brightness way up just to fight the glare. That said, the only thing matte gives you is diffusion of light, and often at the cost of actually being brighter (but again, more diffuse) than the glossy. Personally, I still prefer matte.
  - sgt 6y ago
    Is it possibly very bright where you sit? Blinds may make your life a lot more pleasant.
mwww2 6y ago
Nice! I was looking for an advice like that one. I am working on a Notebook where the screen is too bright and it's really uncomfortable to work sometimes.
marinhero 6y ago
+1 on the IDE front. I used to do everything on vim and will always find silly errors that an IDE would have found immediately. I switched to rubymine and not only me but everyone on my team appreciates it!
- jtms 6y ago
  I am glad switching to an IDE worked for you, but for me a well extended and configured Vim setup is the best IDE on earth. Anything an IDE can do, Vim can typically do as well given the right plugin.
  - nolok 6y ago
    The general point was not "use this", but "make sure you check all sides of the dice to find which one is actually the best suited for you".
orzig 6y ago
I'd be thrilled to spend $1,000 on any of these if I knew for sure they'd work, but the Expected Value of a tool (or any other investment) falls very fast when I consider how little hard evidence I have to go on /for my particular context/. For books, the dollar cost is so low that I can buy it, invest 15 minutes in evaluating it, and not feel bad walking away. At least 25% of books are worth the time and cost, which is plenty.
- nolok 6y ago
  I absolutely understand, which is also why I waited way too long to buy them. Which one do you doubt and what are your questions ? I would be happy to provide more about my experience so you can decide if it matches your need.
  - orzig 6y ago
    Thanks a million! IDE: How do you estimate which one is going to be best /after/ you invest in the training? I have been really trying to get better at emacs, for example, but it still feels clunky a lot of the time so I only use it for org-mode. I also switched to VS Code and honestly don't see what the hype is about - but does that mean I just need more training? From who? ("If brute force isn't working, use more of it!") Hardware: I bought a gamer laptop (for use with Ubuntu) recently because it had a GPU, but was shocked to discover that I never got used to the keyboard. Again, I thought that I would get better, but it really hasn't. Fortunately, my Kenesis keyboard /was/ something with a continuously rising learning curve (I'm not hopeless, contra the evidence above!) But now I'm doing a lot of work in Looker which tries to do extraordinary things in the browser, but brings my machine to a crawl. My Mac-using coworker says it's less of an issue for him, but I can't quite bear to drop $2k just for that one application. That said, the value-of-my-time-over-1y calculation suggests I should. But does "good computer" just mean a Mac? Monitor: What would be a good monitor buying guide? I'm happy with mine now but don't know what any of the specs mean for the future Chair: This is like the definition of "YMMV" but how would you go about evaluating chairs, esp in the covid era? Standing desk: I've been procrastinating on this one because while I understand how to measure things, I foresee myself visiting a half dozen diffent sites with different ways of representing the size/specs of their desks and getting pretty overwhelmed. And that would be the hardest thing to return. Quality noise cancelling headphones: OK I guess I have no excuse here. Thanks again, you've already forced me to think through several mental blocks and realize they are real but entirely surmountable. Any answers (from anyone) to the questions above would also be appreciated!
shireboy 6y ago
All good points, but chiming in that I'm actually going the opposite direction on VSCode. I've used VS Professional for 70% of my dev up until recently, but more and more and finding I can do the same things "lighter" with VSCode+appropriate extensions.
- nolok 6y ago
  Agreed and when I open intellij, it's clear mentally that I'm "working", while ss code makes me mentally feel like "I'm just doing a quick edit", even after 5 hours of coding. It's juste the perfect amount of lightweight but with just all the features I need to be productive. But at the end of the day there are always those 10+ people projects, or hard debugging case, where a heavy computing-intensive IDE figguring stuff out for you is worth every cent. Anyway my general point is make sure your tool suits you, if you spend more than 5 minutes fighting against it every day it doesn't, you either need training on it or to change it.
gorjusborg 6y ago
Your list is on point. I'll admit that I haven't any experience with other brands, but the Bose QC35 IIs changed my work life (especially when I as working in the office). I really should upgrade my chair and desk.
- rdtwo 6y ago
  Love the headphones but the ear pads wear out every 3-6 months
atlgator 6y ago
I love my Bose QC 35! The problem lately is I can't find any current music that is appealing to me. Alas, I must be getting old.
- bingerman 6y ago
  What do you mean by current music? I have absolutely no idea what kind of garbage is pushed on teenagers these days but a lot of new music is produced.
- sorum 6y ago
  Anything after '73 is highly suspicious to me
stjohnswarts 6y ago
I think standing desks are a waste of money. setting a timer to get up and stretch your legs every half an hour to hour is the best thing you do. I completely agree on buying a great chair though.
SomaticPirate 6y ago
My anecdote for a good IDE license. The JetBrains Go IDE Goland was well prepared for the ~Go 1.13 switch to using Go modules. Everyone on our team that was using VS Code lost a day of work retooling their env. A few of of them converted even.

by nolok 6y ago

SuoDuanDao 6y ago

This reminds me of a study I heard about some time back, comparing the highest performers in various trades to the average. Apparently one major predictor is that outlier performers spend more, even as a percentage of income, on their tools.

WanderPanda 6y ago
But don’t let this be an excuse to fall for the toolbox fallacy!
- anonymouse008 6y ago
  Try soldering without flux and tell me tools don't matter ;/
- orzig 6y ago
  I assume you mean "a poor craftsman blames his tools". Is there actually any evidence that over-focusing on tools is a common problem? I understand it could be, and we've all probably wasted an hour here and there, but I don't fear drowning in a glass of water just because I've swallowed wrong a few times
  - SuoDuanDao 6y ago
    I was curious enough to look it up, apparently it's the fallacy of "I can't properly start until I have <tool X>". In that sense I think it's not at all a problem among professionals, but perhaps an easy stumbling block that discourages a lot of amateurs (the study I heard about was actual trades, where going from amateur to professional is less of a hurdle than among creative pursuits). I might say, "A journeyman makes his tools do the job, a master invests in his tools".

sgt 6y ago

Unless you buy a cheap brand I don't think the matte / glossy holds up anymore. A good quality screen can have a degree of gloss and still offer superior quality to matte. Crystal clear rendering of fonts is a given. Having said the above, I think there's actually very little competition out there that beats MacBook Pro's etc.

nolok 6y ago
It doesn't hold true for me personnally. I have a true matte screen laptop, and its color absolutely suck (they look like a t-shirt that went in the washing machine way too many times), but it has absolutely no glaring whatsoever and it feels a lot more comfortable. Same way e-ink is much much more pleasant to read a book in the sun than even the most expansive amoled screen.
IggleSniggle 6y ago
I have a MBP, and often end up working in the dark or turning my screen brightness way up just to fight the glare. That said, the only thing matte gives you is diffusion of light, and often at the cost of actually being brighter (but again, more diffuse) than the glossy. Personally, I still prefer matte.
- sgt 6y ago
  Is it possibly very bright where you sit? Blinds may make your life a lot more pleasant.

mwww2 6y ago

Nice! I was looking for an advice like that one. I am working on a Notebook where the screen is too bright and it's really uncomfortable to work sometimes.

marinhero 6y ago

+1 on the IDE front. I used to do everything on vim and will always find silly errors that an IDE would have found immediately. I switched to rubymine and not only me but everyone on my team appreciates it!

jtms 6y ago
I am glad switching to an IDE worked for you, but for me a well extended and configured Vim setup is the best IDE on earth. Anything an IDE can do, Vim can typically do as well given the right plugin.
- nolok 6y ago
  The general point was not "use this", but "make sure you check all sides of the dice to find which one is actually the best suited for you".

orzig 6y ago

I'd be thrilled to spend $1,000 on any of these if I knew for sure they'd work, but the Expected Value of a tool (or any other investment) falls very fast when I consider how little hard evidence I have to go on /for my particular context/. For books, the dollar cost is so low that I can buy it, invest 15 minutes in evaluating it, and not feel bad walking away. At least 25% of books are worth the time and cost, which is plenty.

nolok 6y ago
I absolutely understand, which is also why I waited way too long to buy them. Which one do you doubt and what are your questions ? I would be happy to provide more about my experience so you can decide if it matches your need.
- orzig 6y ago
  Thanks a million! IDE: How do you estimate which one is going to be best /after/ you invest in the training? I have been really trying to get better at emacs, for example, but it still feels clunky a lot of the time so I only use it for org-mode. I also switched to VS Code and honestly don't see what the hype is about - but does that mean I just need more training? From who? ("If brute force isn't working, use more of it!") Hardware: I bought a gamer laptop (for use with Ubuntu) recently because it had a GPU, but was shocked to discover that I never got used to the keyboard. Again, I thought that I would get better, but it really hasn't. Fortunately, my Kenesis keyboard /was/ something with a continuously rising learning curve (I'm not hopeless, contra the evidence above!) But now I'm doing a lot of work in Looker which tries to do extraordinary things in the browser, but brings my machine to a crawl. My Mac-using coworker says it's less of an issue for him, but I can't quite bear to drop $2k just for that one application. That said, the value-of-my-time-over-1y calculation suggests I should. But does "good computer" just mean a Mac? Monitor: What would be a good monitor buying guide? I'm happy with mine now but don't know what any of the specs mean for the future Chair: This is like the definition of "YMMV" but how would you go about evaluating chairs, esp in the covid era? Standing desk: I've been procrastinating on this one because while I understand how to measure things, I foresee myself visiting a half dozen diffent sites with different ways of representing the size/specs of their desks and getting pretty overwhelmed. And that would be the hardest thing to return. Quality noise cancelling headphones: OK I guess I have no excuse here. Thanks again, you've already forced me to think through several mental blocks and realize they are real but entirely surmountable. Any answers (from anyone) to the questions above would also be appreciated!

shireboy 6y ago

All good points, but chiming in that I'm actually going the opposite direction on VSCode. I've used VS Professional for 70% of my dev up until recently, but more and more and finding I can do the same things "lighter" with VSCode+appropriate extensions.

nolok 6y ago
Agreed and when I open intellij, it's clear mentally that I'm "working", while ss code makes me mentally feel like "I'm just doing a quick edit", even after 5 hours of coding. It's juste the perfect amount of lightweight but with just all the features I need to be productive. But at the end of the day there are always those 10+ people projects, or hard debugging case, where a heavy computing-intensive IDE figguring stuff out for you is worth every cent. Anyway my general point is make sure your tool suits you, if you spend more than 5 minutes fighting against it every day it doesn't, you either need training on it or to change it.

gorjusborg 6y ago

Your list is on point. I'll admit that I haven't any experience with other brands, but the Bose QC35 IIs changed my work life (especially when I as working in the office). I really should upgrade my chair and desk.

rdtwo 6y ago
Love the headphones but the ear pads wear out every 3-6 months

atlgator 6y ago

I love my Bose QC 35! The problem lately is I can't find any current music that is appealing to me. Alas, I must be getting old.

bingerman 6y ago
What do you mean by current music? I have absolutely no idea what kind of garbage is pushed on teenagers these days but a lot of new music is produced.
sorum 6y ago
Anything after '73 is highly suspicious to me

stjohnswarts 6y ago

I think standing desks are a waste of money. setting a timer to get up and stretch your legs every half an hour to hour is the best thing you do. I completely agree on buying a great chair though.

SomaticPirate 6y ago

My anecdote for a good IDE license. The JetBrains Go IDE Goland was well prepared for the ~Go 1.13 switch to using Go modules. Everyone on our team that was using VS Code lost a day of work retooling their env. A few of of them converted even.