4 ms·

One thing that I always think is undervalued is how variable a single persons output is. A bad day, illness, life changes, etc all dramatically impact a person

One thing that I always think is undervalued is how variable a single persons output is. A bad day, illness, life changes, etc all dramatically impact a person’s efficiency. Treating even the same persons output as abstract is fraught with issues. One month a rockstar the next a schlub.

foxfluff 5y ago
Motivation is a big one for me. Some tasks (or projects) just don't motivate me at all, and they turn into a dreadful slog. Others are captivating and I have a hard time logging out at the end of the day. I think there's easily a more than 10x difference in my own performance between those. Could be closer to 100x.
mrandish 5y ago
Some of the most capable people I've ever worked with have been "bursty" in that they would go through intense periods of high value output and then need to almost go dormant for a while to reset. As long as the "high value" phase was uniquely and significantly valuable it wasn't a problem so long as management understood and planned their assignments appropriately.
- BatteryMountain 5y ago
  I'm like this. Not just in a commercial context, but also at home with pet projects. I go through phases of being extremely creative with things I come up with, for about 2 or 3 days, then I go back to normal for about 30 to 60 days before I get to that state again. Luckily I've been able to notice this behavioural quirk so I try to code/write as much as possible down to use as building block to use on my "boring" days, but sometimes it feels like I cannot remember doing it or it was a different person doing it, kinda baffling to be honest. During the bursty periods, it affects both my creativity and the amount of work I output. I haven't found a way to trigger/force myself into this state yet. I've tried different sleeping patterns, food, sex, drugs & caffeine, different kinds of music etc, to no effect. Music has come the closest to getting me to that feeling/state. Anyone else have more things to try?
  - BatteryMountain 5y ago
    I have to note that I've been diagnosed with Adult ADHD earlier this by a psychiatrist. No bipolar, depression, anxiety behaviours present.
    - MaxDPS 5y ago
      I was just about to say that sounds very adhd like (I’m diagnosed as well). Have you tried adhd medication? Not sure if that was inferred by your comment on drugs.
      - BatteryMountain 5y ago
        Yeah. Concerta messed me up so badly for about a week, then I stopped taking it. I want to try Vivance but it is not available in my country.
- tux3 5y ago
  Not to lean too much into my armchair, but the phenomenon you describe sounds like some mild form of bipolar. Periods of very high output, and then periods of slump. Not much of a long term stable in-between. I wouldn't be surprised if that's very effective for the right kind of project.
  - rramadass 5y ago
    >some mild form of bipolar Please no; we don't have to stigmatize normal waxing and waning of mental/physical energy. There are a lot of "normal" factors involved in any Individual's productivity and pathology should be consulted only as the last resort.
    - hallway_monitor 5y ago
      Thank you. Everyone has up days and down days. Some of them can even be kind of extreme like not wanting to get out of bed. Variation is normal, we are not robots.
  - kayodelycaon 5y ago
    I am bipolar and this is completely wrong. People have variable output. Motivation comes and goes. Live circumstances change. People burn out. These are not bipolar. The name "bipolar" is very misleading. One book I've read has called with multipolar disorder, which is far more accurate. There isn't just mania or depression. There is a whole world of possible dysfunctions that come with it: Anxiety, ADHD, insomnia, psychosis, and the list continues. There can be different moods, stages, and flavors of mania and depression in one person! On top of this, these symptoms need to be severe enough to impair normal daily function to be diagnosed.
- mbot5324 5y ago
  I'd like to think I'm capable, but whatever I am, it's certainly bursty with periods of dormancy. To the other comment, it's probably on the bipoloar spectrum. Some of it is self-inflicted. Most of it isn't. Before covid, I'd had 2 managers who knew something of what I was dealing with and gave me the space to deal with it and encouragement that my work was good enough often enough not to worry. With some 5+ other managers, I believe I successfully masked it and that it would have threatened my job had I failed. In the remote world, it takes almost no work at all to manage around my work schedule. I don't even feel like I'm masking anything, just living. Weirdest part is I've now fallen into a far more social role. Who would have thought remote work had such hidden benefits? /...almost everyone
  - rStar 5y ago
    congratulations on finding a comfortable way to work that works for you, allows you to be productive, as well as more socially fulfilled. as someone currently attempting to find a nice niche for myself as well, much respect.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
rramadass 5y ago
This right here is what everybody needs to factor into their planning. For some reason management doesn't seem to understand this. IMO this is one of the main reasons for failure. As an example; i was once complimented (backhanded?) as "you are brilliant but moody" :-) It really made me realize the variation in my productivity which others had picked up on. Another example; in one project there was a real smart and knowledgeable programmer who had taken up a lot on his own shoulders. I was skeptical on whether he would be able to deliver on it and had tried to raise it diplomatically with management. Of course they didn't understand the human ramifications; result? A week before the deliverable, the guy cracked under the pressure and did not show up to work for the next two weeks. IMO, Management was squarely to blame for this since they did not understand the psyche of the people involved.
ptmcc 5y ago
Completely agree, and reminds me of how much I hate the common Agile terminology of "sprints". Sprints are an extraordinary effort and are by definition not sustainable. If you run a sprint, you have to recover for at least as long before returning to baseline. I know it's just a word and doesn't literally mean to sprint, but I feel like it still subtly infects how development is viewed and approached. Even replacing it with something like "iterations" still implies that every 2-3 week period is cookie-cutter and predictable.
- underdeserver 5y ago
  "Who can run at the top of their ability? Right. A short distance runner. You can’t run far at that speed. We programmers have figured out how to fix that, though. We just fire the start pistol every hundred yards and call it a new sprint!" Rich Hickey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxdOUGdseq4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxdOUGdseq4

foxfluff 5y ago

Motivation is a big one for me. Some tasks (or projects) just don't motivate me at all, and they turn into a dreadful slog. Others are captivating and I have a hard time logging out at the end of the day. I think there's easily a more than 10x difference in my own performance between those. Could be closer to 100x.

mrandish 5y ago

Some of the most capable people I've ever worked with have been "bursty" in that they would go through intense periods of high value output and then need to almost go dormant for a while to reset. As long as the "high value" phase was uniquely and significantly valuable it wasn't a problem so long as management understood and planned their assignments appropriately.

BatteryMountain 5y ago
I'm like this. Not just in a commercial context, but also at home with pet projects. I go through phases of being extremely creative with things I come up with, for about 2 or 3 days, then I go back to normal for about 30 to 60 days before I get to that state again. Luckily I've been able to notice this behavioural quirk so I try to code/write as much as possible down to use as building block to use on my "boring" days, but sometimes it feels like I cannot remember doing it or it was a different person doing it, kinda baffling to be honest. During the bursty periods, it affects both my creativity and the amount of work I output. I haven't found a way to trigger/force myself into this state yet. I've tried different sleeping patterns, food, sex, drugs & caffeine, different kinds of music etc, to no effect. Music has come the closest to getting me to that feeling/state. Anyone else have more things to try?
- BatteryMountain 5y ago
  I have to note that I've been diagnosed with Adult ADHD earlier this by a psychiatrist. No bipolar, depression, anxiety behaviours present.
  - MaxDPS 5y ago
    I was just about to say that sounds very adhd like (I’m diagnosed as well). Have you tried adhd medication? Not sure if that was inferred by your comment on drugs.
    - BatteryMountain 5y ago
      Yeah. Concerta messed me up so badly for about a week, then I stopped taking it. I want to try Vivance but it is not available in my country.
tux3 5y ago
Not to lean too much into my armchair, but the phenomenon you describe sounds like some mild form of bipolar. Periods of very high output, and then periods of slump. Not much of a long term stable in-between. I wouldn't be surprised if that's very effective for the right kind of project.
- rramadass 5y ago
  >some mild form of bipolar Please no; we don't have to stigmatize normal waxing and waning of mental/physical energy. There are a lot of "normal" factors involved in any Individual's productivity and pathology should be consulted only as the last resort.
  - hallway_monitor 5y ago
    Thank you. Everyone has up days and down days. Some of them can even be kind of extreme like not wanting to get out of bed. Variation is normal, we are not robots.
- kayodelycaon 5y ago
  I am bipolar and this is completely wrong. People have variable output. Motivation comes and goes. Live circumstances change. People burn out. These are not bipolar. The name "bipolar" is very misleading. One book I've read has called with multipolar disorder, which is far more accurate. There isn't just mania or depression. There is a whole world of possible dysfunctions that come with it: Anxiety, ADHD, insomnia, psychosis, and the list continues. There can be different moods, stages, and flavors of mania and depression in one person! On top of this, these symptoms need to be severe enough to impair normal daily function to be diagnosed.
mbot5324 5y ago
I'd like to think I'm capable, but whatever I am, it's certainly bursty with periods of dormancy. To the other comment, it's probably on the bipoloar spectrum. Some of it is self-inflicted. Most of it isn't. Before covid, I'd had 2 managers who knew something of what I was dealing with and gave me the space to deal with it and encouragement that my work was good enough often enough not to worry. With some 5+ other managers, I believe I successfully masked it and that it would have threatened my job had I failed. In the remote world, it takes almost no work at all to manage around my work schedule. I don't even feel like I'm masking anything, just living. Weirdest part is I've now fallen into a far more social role. Who would have thought remote work had such hidden benefits? /...almost everyone
- rStar 5y ago
  congratulations on finding a comfortable way to work that works for you, allows you to be productive, as well as more socially fulfilled. as someone currently attempting to find a nice niche for myself as well, much respect.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

rramadass 5y ago

This right here is what everybody needs to factor into their planning. For some reason management doesn't seem to understand this. IMO this is one of the main reasons for failure. As an example; i was once complimented (backhanded?) as "you are brilliant but moody" :-) It really made me realize the variation in my productivity which others had picked up on. Another example; in one project there was a real smart and knowledgeable programmer who had taken up a lot on his own shoulders. I was skeptical on whether he would be able to deliver on it and had tried to raise it diplomatically with management. Of course they didn't understand the human ramifications; result? A week before the deliverable, the guy cracked under the pressure and did not show up to work for the next two weeks. IMO, Management was squarely to blame for this since they did not understand the psyche of the people involved.

ptmcc 5y ago

Completely agree, and reminds me of how much I hate the common Agile terminology of "sprints". Sprints are an extraordinary effort and are by definition not sustainable. If you run a sprint, you have to recover for at least as long before returning to baseline. I know it's just a word and doesn't literally mean to sprint, but I feel like it still subtly infects how development is viewed and approached. Even replacing it with something like "iterations" still implies that every 2-3 week period is cookie-cutter and predictable.

underdeserver 5y ago
"Who can run at the top of their ability? Right. A short distance runner. You can’t run far at that speed. We programmers have figured out how to fix that, though. We just fire the start pistol every hundred yards and call it a new sprint!" Rich Hickey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxdOUGdseq4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxdOUGdseq4