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There's an old blog post that I really liked on John Carmack's work ethic http://bookofhook.blogspot.com/2013/03/smart-guy-productivity-pitfalls.html http://boo

by jatins 4y ago

There's an old blog post that I really liked on John Carmack's work ethic http://bookofhook.blogspot.com/2013/03/smart-guy-productivity-pitfalls.html http://bookofhook.blogspot.com/2013/03/smart-guy-productivit... from someone who worked with Carmack.

nmfisher 4y ago
That's a great post, thanks for digging it up. But now I feel bad that I slacked off for two minutes checking HN, then another four minutes reading the blog.
- punkspider 4y ago
  To me it was worth it. That was really a great post. It made some great points I'll actively try to remember. Especially: Accept that "the grind" is part of the job. A friend of mine's father has a great quote: "Son, i don't wake up every day and go to a place called fun. I wake up and go to a place called work" You can't get irate or frustrated that the bulk of the day is typing in boring code and dealing with bugs and other people.
  - matwood 4y ago
    The military talks about 'embracing the suck'. Some people like to trace this focus on work and the grind to the US's puritan roots. I think learning to be ok with the grind is one of the biggest life hacks a person can make. Whether it's eating healthy, exercise, or shipping your startups first product, there comes a point where it's grind - almost every single time. There is a danger of falling in love with the grind and losing sight of why. As long as a person keeps sight of a goal, grinding is skill to help get them there. Accepting the grind is a skill can be developed. Carmack talks about wrestling and then grappling which is an absolute grind. I developed the skill through sports and powerlifting, and now I also train Jiu-Jitsu. There's very little at work that moves my emotional needle anymore.
    - jasonladuke0311 4y ago
      > Carmack talks about wrestling and then grappling which is an absolute grind. I had no idea he was a wrestler. My oldest son and I train BJJ together and he finally got interested in high school wrestling after we did a standup seminar. I'm really happy as it tends to develop mental toughness better than any other sport.
      - matwood 4y ago
        That's great! There are some dads at my gym whose sons train, and watching them roll together is a treat. From a toughness angle you're spot on. I've never done anything harder than learn to relax and survive underneath someone bigger who is also attacking. You want to panic, which is the absolute worst thing to do.
  - euroderf 4y ago
    "If it was fun, they wouldn't pay you for it."
JonChesterfield 4y ago
That resonates. Smart kids can get a long way without working hard but eventually they meet someone who is smart and works hard anyway and that is not an even contest.
fmajid 4y ago
Productivity is tactical. “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.” (Peter Drucker)
personalidea 4y ago
It’s all fine and dandy until you have things to get done for kids and family. Dinner is a time sensitive topic. But I agree with the sentiment of creating urgency in sizable chunks. Good read, thanks.
- caeril 4y ago
  Carmack has kids, and still makes it work. A lot of excuse-making in these comments. Jonathan Blow has some good clips on this topic of "Work Life Balance": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alfCi8QoZQ8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alfCi8QoZQ8 There's nothing wrong with having higher priorities in your life than work, at all. But we need to be realistic about what those tradeoffs mean. We have limited hours, and the way we choose to allocate our time has consequences.
  - personalidea 4y ago
    Absolutely agree. Just watched the first five minutes of that clip you linked and I 100% agree. Jonathan is an inspiring person that had a huge impact on my personal trajectory. If you want to be a top notch programmer/artist/craftsman, you need to put in the hours. I had to come to terms with this when I realized that I was not going to be a famous musician, because I didn’t put in the hours. Now that I have kids, my priorities shifted and I want to put in the hours with my kids. Which means, I won’t put them into anything else. And I am mostly fine with that. If someone else chooses differently, that’s their choice to make. With the accompanying consequences. If you want to put in 60-80 hours a week into your work, that means that you won’t spend those 60-80 hours with your kids. You might end up in history books, but that might mean you didn’t celebrate your kids scoring their first goal along the way. Take your pick.

by jatins 4y ago

nmfisher 4y ago

That's a great post, thanks for digging it up. But now I feel bad that I slacked off for two minutes checking HN, then another four minutes reading the blog.

punkspider 4y ago
To me it was worth it. That was really a great post. It made some great points I'll actively try to remember. Especially: Accept that "the grind" is part of the job. A friend of mine's father has a great quote: "Son, i don't wake up every day and go to a place called fun. I wake up and go to a place called work" You can't get irate or frustrated that the bulk of the day is typing in boring code and dealing with bugs and other people.
- matwood 4y ago
  The military talks about 'embracing the suck'. Some people like to trace this focus on work and the grind to the US's puritan roots. I think learning to be ok with the grind is one of the biggest life hacks a person can make. Whether it's eating healthy, exercise, or shipping your startups first product, there comes a point where it's grind - almost every single time. There is a danger of falling in love with the grind and losing sight of why. As long as a person keeps sight of a goal, grinding is skill to help get them there. Accepting the grind is a skill can be developed. Carmack talks about wrestling and then grappling which is an absolute grind. I developed the skill through sports and powerlifting, and now I also train Jiu-Jitsu. There's very little at work that moves my emotional needle anymore.
  - jasonladuke0311 4y ago
    > Carmack talks about wrestling and then grappling which is an absolute grind. I had no idea he was a wrestler. My oldest son and I train BJJ together and he finally got interested in high school wrestling after we did a standup seminar. I'm really happy as it tends to develop mental toughness better than any other sport.
    - matwood 4y ago
      That's great! There are some dads at my gym whose sons train, and watching them roll together is a treat. From a toughness angle you're spot on. I've never done anything harder than learn to relax and survive underneath someone bigger who is also attacking. You want to panic, which is the absolute worst thing to do.
- euroderf 4y ago
  "If it was fun, they wouldn't pay you for it."

JonChesterfield 4y ago

That resonates. Smart kids can get a long way without working hard but eventually they meet someone who is smart and works hard anyway and that is not an even contest.

fmajid 4y ago

Productivity is tactical. “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.” (Peter Drucker)

personalidea 4y ago

It’s all fine and dandy until you have things to get done for kids and family. Dinner is a time sensitive topic. But I agree with the sentiment of creating urgency in sizable chunks. Good read, thanks.

caeril 4y ago
Carmack has kids, and still makes it work. A lot of excuse-making in these comments. Jonathan Blow has some good clips on this topic of "Work Life Balance": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alfCi8QoZQ8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alfCi8QoZQ8 There's nothing wrong with having higher priorities in your life than work, at all. But we need to be realistic about what those tradeoffs mean. We have limited hours, and the way we choose to allocate our time has consequences.
- personalidea 4y ago
  Absolutely agree. Just watched the first five minutes of that clip you linked and I 100% agree. Jonathan is an inspiring person that had a huge impact on my personal trajectory. If you want to be a top notch programmer/artist/craftsman, you need to put in the hours. I had to come to terms with this when I realized that I was not going to be a famous musician, because I didn’t put in the hours. Now that I have kids, my priorities shifted and I want to put in the hours with my kids. Which means, I won’t put them into anything else. And I am mostly fine with that. If someone else chooses differently, that’s their choice to make. With the accompanying consequences. If you want to put in 60-80 hours a week into your work, that means that you won’t spend those 60-80 hours with your kids. You might end up in history books, but that might mean you didn’t celebrate your kids scoring their first goal along the way. Take your pick.