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The fact that you're posting some giant message about how much you work means it's unlikely you are truly working as many hours as you think. Use a tomato time

The fact that you're posting some giant message about how much you work means it's unlikely you are truly working as many hours as you think. Use a tomato timer and hit the "Start" button every time you're truly doing work and "Stop" button when you're not. Bathroom breaks, employee chats, heating up lunches, break walks, posting on HN, etc... All that shit doesn't count. Get back to us with the #s after you've done a sustained run for a month.

TameAntelope 5y ago
I completed 32 pomodoros last week, which is above my average of ~25 for the past year and change, and a lot of my job isn't focused work, and none of that pomodoro time included any of the project management, meetings, or conversations I had with the team to figure out what we're up to, what the problems are, and what we're doing next. But that's not the point. The point is the 9-5ers have held the higher moral ground for years now, and I'm tired of having to apologize or justify my preference for longer work hours because it makes them feel bad. There's nothing wrong with what their work/life balance is, but there's also nothing wrong with what my work/life balance is. Honestly it's not that bad if you work weekends. You still have plenty of time to do other things, you just can't get as into your hobbies as you might like. I had to quit my WoW raiding team to devote more time to this job, for example. I don't think anyone would argue my decision there was a huge loss, and honestly the ~15 hours a week I was dedicating to WoW is much better spent on work and work related things. I'm definitely procrastinating right now by typing all this out, so this time doesn't "count", but it's usually during my 5 min breaks between 25 min sessions, so I don't consider it lost time.
- laserlight 5y ago
  Is 32 pomodoros equal to 32*25 = 800 minutes (13h 20m)?
  - tonyedgecombe 5y ago
    Something doesn't add up with their comments does it.
  - TameAntelope 5y ago
    A pomodoro is four 25 minute sessions with a 5 minute break between each session. One "pomodoro" takes 2 hours to complete.
    - laserlight 5y ago
      That makes 32x25x4 = 3200 minutes (53h 20m), which is a significant amount of time for focused work.
      - TameAntelope 5y ago
        You're telling me! On top of that I was doing the various agile meetings too, it was a lot. Normally I do 3-5 pomodoros a day; one early in the morning, one to three during the day, then one late at night after the wife has gone to bed. I don't really take days off, so that ends up working out to a pretty decent clip, all things considered.
        laserlight 5y ago
        That's an incredible pace, especially not taking any days off. When I do so, I lose my sense of time. I feel like, I've been working forever. I have to switch to a different task for at least a day to recover. Do you have to maintain a certain sleep schedule or do you happen to naturally find it easy to work at this pace? How could I train myself to work as intensely?
        TameAntelope 5y ago
        Last week was rough, but generally it's not bad to do 3 pomodoros every day and usually I'm rolling during the day so it's fine to slip in the 4th. Same with the evenings, and then I'll get 5 in which is a very productive day. Normally it doesn't really require any less sleep or even that much less time spent doing other things, I think the trick is working every day.
    - MockObject 5y ago
      "Using this method, you break your workday into 25-minute chunks separated by five-minute breaks. These intervals are referred to as pomodoros. After about four pomodoros, you take a longer break of about 15 to 20 minutes." https://www.themuse.com/advice/take-it-from-someone-who-hates-productivity-hacksthe-pomodoro-technique-actually-works#:~:text=Using%20this%20method%2C%20you%20break,instills%20a%20sense%20of%20urgency https://www.themuse.com/advice/take-it-from-someone-who-hate....
- consp 5y ago
  > The point is the 9-5ers have held the higher moral ground for years This has nothing to do with moral high ground. People get mentally or physically exhausted after a normal day of work. You are the exception apperantly. Since I cannot find what you actually do I'm going to count it as a very easy job with no mental of physical exercise required.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

TameAntelope 5y ago

I completed 32 pomodoros last week, which is above my average of ~25 for the past year and change, and a lot of my job isn't focused work, and none of that pomodoro time included any of the project management, meetings, or conversations I had with the team to figure out what we're up to, what the problems are, and what we're doing next. But that's not the point. The point is the 9-5ers have held the higher moral ground for years now, and I'm tired of having to apologize or justify my preference for longer work hours because it makes them feel bad. There's nothing wrong with what their work/life balance is, but there's also nothing wrong with what my work/life balance is. Honestly it's not that bad if you work weekends. You still have plenty of time to do other things, you just can't get as into your hobbies as you might like. I had to quit my WoW raiding team to devote more time to this job, for example. I don't think anyone would argue my decision there was a huge loss, and honestly the ~15 hours a week I was dedicating to WoW is much better spent on work and work related things. I'm definitely procrastinating right now by typing all this out, so this time doesn't "count", but it's usually during my 5 min breaks between 25 min sessions, so I don't consider it lost time.

laserlight 5y ago
Is 32 pomodoros equal to 32*25 = 800 minutes (13h 20m)?
- tonyedgecombe 5y ago
  Something doesn't add up with their comments does it.
- TameAntelope 5y ago
  A pomodoro is four 25 minute sessions with a 5 minute break between each session. One "pomodoro" takes 2 hours to complete.
  - laserlight 5y ago
    That makes 32x25x4 = 3200 minutes (53h 20m), which is a significant amount of time for focused work.
    - TameAntelope 5y ago
      You're telling me! On top of that I was doing the various agile meetings too, it was a lot. Normally I do 3-5 pomodoros a day; one early in the morning, one to three during the day, then one late at night after the wife has gone to bed. I don't really take days off, so that ends up working out to a pretty decent clip, all things considered.
      - laserlight 5y ago
        That's an incredible pace, especially not taking any days off. When I do so, I lose my sense of time. I feel like, I've been working forever. I have to switch to a different task for at least a day to recover. Do you have to maintain a certain sleep schedule or do you happen to naturally find it easy to work at this pace? How could I train myself to work as intensely?
        TameAntelope 5y ago
        Last week was rough, but generally it's not bad to do 3 pomodoros every day and usually I'm rolling during the day so it's fine to slip in the 4th. Same with the evenings, and then I'll get 5 in which is a very productive day. Normally it doesn't really require any less sleep or even that much less time spent doing other things, I think the trick is working every day.
  - MockObject 5y ago
    "Using this method, you break your workday into 25-minute chunks separated by five-minute breaks. These intervals are referred to as pomodoros. After about four pomodoros, you take a longer break of about 15 to 20 minutes." https://www.themuse.com/advice/take-it-from-someone-who-hates-productivity-hacksthe-pomodoro-technique-actually-works#:~:text=Using%20this%20method%2C%20you%20break,instills%20a%20sense%20of%20urgency https://www.themuse.com/advice/take-it-from-someone-who-hate....
consp 5y ago
> The point is the 9-5ers have held the higher moral ground for years This has nothing to do with moral high ground. People get mentally or physically exhausted after a normal day of work. You are the exception apperantly. Since I cannot find what you actually do I'm going to count it as a very easy job with no mental of physical exercise required.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]