Developer work should almost exclusively be measured on "did you get that thing done we needed done on time?", with the limit that you shouldn't be required to

Developer work should almost exclusively be measured on "did you get that thing done we needed done on time?", with the limit that you shouldn't be required to work extra hours to make that happen (with rare exceptions). I've had weeks where I do nothing, and then have two hours of real insight and solve a problem my team has had stuck in the backlog on for month/years in an afternoon. I've had mornings where I browse HN, then take a shower, and suddenly realize the solution to a problem that ultimately brings my employer potentially millions in revenue. At the same time, I can't perform these quick moments of brilliance for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. I've also had weeks were I put in long days quickly building a prototype needed to test out a new product idea, it's hard work but the results impress important clients and help everyone look good. But I can't keep up weeks like that for long without burnout. The most import things: - are you getting the things done you and your team agree are important, on time - when you're involved with other people, where do the find you on the "oh god no" -- "oh thank god!" scale If your team is on track solving the problems that need to be solved, and whenever someone pings you with a question or in need of help they leave feeling like you saved them a ton of time, it doesn't really matter if you work 5 minutes a day. The inverse is also true. If people find that adding you to a project is a time suck, and things never seem to work right, it doesn't matter if you are putting in 70 hour work weeks.