4 ms·

The topic is nice, but above all I thoroughly enjoy the writing. I feel like I get a lot more done precisely because I don't like to eat frogs. I sleep until I

by nicbou 4y ago

The topic is nice, but above all I thoroughly enjoy the writing. I feel like I get a lot more done precisely because I don't like to eat frogs. I sleep until I'm rested. I don't touch my computer until I've had tea on the balcony. I work on what feels right, when it feels right, for as long as it feels right. If the weather is nice, I'll hop on my bicycle and forget about work. But when something sparks my interest, I have stores of energy to throw at it. My appetite for work is unrestrained by the frogs I've had for breakfast. I embraced the fact that I am not a machine, and that my output is neither constant nor predictable. I'd rather respect the tides of my energy than fight against them.

taneq 4y ago
Sounds nice to either have no real outside demands upon your time, or to sufficiently lack emotional attachment to anything you do such that it can’t exert pressure on you. That said, I don’t know if I’d actually want to live that dispassionately.
- nicbou 4y ago
  That's a very uncharitable take. What part of my comment makes you think that I live dispassionately? The whole point is that my work is almost single-handedly defined by passion. When that runs dry, I take a break and do other things. It's easier to do good work with a well-rested mind full of ideas.
  - timmahoney 4y ago
    Not to mention, the work you perform while in that rested, ready state is of better quality than it would be otherwise.
  - ttyprintk 4y ago
    I think what people envy is that not everyone get to achieve your set of options. This article is by an academic advisor for students at an elite university. I have a feeling that GP was a post that didn’t need to be made, but to achieve your set of options, a lot of things have to go right. You can’t have kids too young, you can’t take on disabled family members, you can’t make certain career choices because you have to pay for aging parents. Some people have to pick up and move everything because of politics. And drug and gambling addiction add at least a frog a day.
    - nicbou 4y ago
      I'm admittedly sitting on a winning lottery ticket, no doubt. But it came out of the many impulses I followed when I should have been eating frogs. Other impulses got me all sorts of connections, career boosts and other perks. Some frogs you just have to eat, but I don't think that anyone's denying that. The original article is questioning competitive frog-eating. In my experience, refusing to eat those frogs is how you end up finding other ways. This guy who makes computers put it best: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYfNvmF0Bqw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYfNvmF0Bqw
mingusrude 4y ago
When I interviewed for my current job, I had to take psychology test and I'm very skeptical to those kind of tests. The guy that ran the test explained that this wasn't about putting me into a colored box but trying to figure out what I naturally preferred to do in a work situation with the idea being that things that I enjoy are probably things that I'm good at because it takes less energy to perform. I don't know if it works but it's an interesting idea, things that takes less energy, you do more and you're probably more proficient at it.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- ttyprintk 4y ago
  I had a similar experience which, when combined with my academic background, pointed toward a particular corporate need that (to my surprise) was mostly received as unpleasant. It’s a decision support role starting with a risk-based statistical model of products, then devising for hypothetical competing devices the best selling points. The test was useful to decide which frog, reminded me of the movie Brazil.
  - bogdanoff_2 4y ago
    >was mostly received as unpleasant. By this, do you mean the role ended up unpleasant to you?
    - ttyprintk 4y ago
      No, people had assumed it was hard and non-redeeming. Part of me thought that the personality quiz worked surreptitiously to identify me as someone just boring enough to put up with it.
- kevin_thibedeau 4y ago
  I'd walk immediately. These sort of hiring practices are demeaning and a warning sign that those running the show are blithering idiots.
wnolens 4y ago
> work on what feels right, when it feels right, for as long as it feels right How have you achieved this? I once had a setup like this, but eventually the work which permitted that freedom got boring, and I was so void of responsibility that I felt a pain of meaninglessness. Climbing out of this hole was via a feast of frogs.
- BrianOnHN 4y ago
  One way is to minimize your responsibilities and requirements to maintain your lifestyle. Most people get indoctrinated into a 1:1 relationship with what they make and their lifestyle cost.
  - lotsofpulp 4y ago
    I find that this comes with kids. Once the kids come, many are compelled to play the game since many feel responsible for their kids’ health and future opportunities (education). This turns into competing for best schools districts, which turns into paying as much as you can for land, to surround yourself with others who can pay at least as much as you can. In the US, healthcare costs also keep people on their toes. Between health insurance premiums and annual out of pocket maximums, you need somewhere around $24k per year plus ~$34k emergency funds for 2 years worth of out of pocket maximum healthcare expenses for a family of 4. If I was single or without kids, I would not necessarily care enough about any of that.
jrochkind1 4y ago
What is your occupation where you get paid to work only on what feels right, only when it feels right, for only as long as it feels right, with leeway to hop on your bicycle and forget about work whenever you want? Cause I am interested in this line of work. At least if it pays enough to live comfortably.
- dymk 4y ago
  Remote software engineer at a company with good WLB
  - jrochkind1 4y ago
    Intersting. I am also a remote software engineer, but either working "feels right" a lot less for me than for you, and I feel like spending time outside riding my bike a lot less than you, or my employer is a lot less tolerant of taking the day off to ride my bike because work just didn't feel right. I am curious how many hours a day/week you work, and if you are open about this with your employer...
    - dymk 4y ago
      I wouldn't say that I'm taking my day off to go ride my bike without telling anybody, but I would say that working from home affords me flexibility to, say, take a few hours to get a massage, go work out, or take my time making lunch. I make sure I'm aligning my personal technical interests with the kinds of projects I work on for the company, so work feels more like a fun puzzle to solve rather than slogging through tedium. Generally I don't work late into the evenings, but sometimes a problem is really just that fun to solve, and I enjoy spending time on it. Other times, projects may be less interesting, so I work fewer hours, letting myself rest. Burnout is real, and it sucks, and I avoid it at all costs. My employer really just cares that I get my work done, not how many hours it takes to do it. If I'm getting "meets all" or "exceeds" in my yearly ratings, then I'm meeting or exceeding their standard, and we're both happy.
- Atheb 4y ago
  I have a similar schedule, although a slightly more organized. I try to be available from 9 to 4, atleast through emails if I'm not in my office, because that's when other people also work and might need me. I often leave mid-day to go running or come in late because I went bouldering in the morning. If I don't feel inspired to write or work, I often instead go for a walk and read books tangentially to my research topics. Then some days I'll work 12 hours straight. I mostly work when it feels right, yes, and do something else when it doesn't. But I am doing my PhD and (in Canada) it absolutely does not pay enough to live comfortably.

by nicbou 4y ago

taneq 4y ago

Sounds nice to either have no real outside demands upon your time, or to sufficiently lack emotional attachment to anything you do such that it can’t exert pressure on you. That said, I don’t know if I’d actually want to live that dispassionately.

nicbou 4y ago
That's a very uncharitable take. What part of my comment makes you think that I live dispassionately? The whole point is that my work is almost single-handedly defined by passion. When that runs dry, I take a break and do other things. It's easier to do good work with a well-rested mind full of ideas.
- timmahoney 4y ago
  Not to mention, the work you perform while in that rested, ready state is of better quality than it would be otherwise.
- ttyprintk 4y ago
  I think what people envy is that not everyone get to achieve your set of options. This article is by an academic advisor for students at an elite university. I have a feeling that GP was a post that didn’t need to be made, but to achieve your set of options, a lot of things have to go right. You can’t have kids too young, you can’t take on disabled family members, you can’t make certain career choices because you have to pay for aging parents. Some people have to pick up and move everything because of politics. And drug and gambling addiction add at least a frog a day.
  - nicbou 4y ago
    I'm admittedly sitting on a winning lottery ticket, no doubt. But it came out of the many impulses I followed when I should have been eating frogs. Other impulses got me all sorts of connections, career boosts and other perks. Some frogs you just have to eat, but I don't think that anyone's denying that. The original article is questioning competitive frog-eating. In my experience, refusing to eat those frogs is how you end up finding other ways. This guy who makes computers put it best: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYfNvmF0Bqw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYfNvmF0Bqw

mingusrude 4y ago

When I interviewed for my current job, I had to take psychology test and I'm very skeptical to those kind of tests. The guy that ran the test explained that this wasn't about putting me into a colored box but trying to figure out what I naturally preferred to do in a work situation with the idea being that things that I enjoy are probably things that I'm good at because it takes less energy to perform. I don't know if it works but it's an interesting idea, things that takes less energy, you do more and you're probably more proficient at it.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
ttyprintk 4y ago
I had a similar experience which, when combined with my academic background, pointed toward a particular corporate need that (to my surprise) was mostly received as unpleasant. It’s a decision support role starting with a risk-based statistical model of products, then devising for hypothetical competing devices the best selling points. The test was useful to decide which frog, reminded me of the movie Brazil.
- bogdanoff_2 4y ago
  >was mostly received as unpleasant. By this, do you mean the role ended up unpleasant to you?
  - ttyprintk 4y ago
    No, people had assumed it was hard and non-redeeming. Part of me thought that the personality quiz worked surreptitiously to identify me as someone just boring enough to put up with it.
kevin_thibedeau 4y ago
I'd walk immediately. These sort of hiring practices are demeaning and a warning sign that those running the show are blithering idiots.

wnolens 4y ago

> work on what feels right, when it feels right, for as long as it feels right How have you achieved this? I once had a setup like this, but eventually the work which permitted that freedom got boring, and I was so void of responsibility that I felt a pain of meaninglessness. Climbing out of this hole was via a feast of frogs.

BrianOnHN 4y ago
One way is to minimize your responsibilities and requirements to maintain your lifestyle. Most people get indoctrinated into a 1:1 relationship with what they make and their lifestyle cost.
- lotsofpulp 4y ago
  I find that this comes with kids. Once the kids come, many are compelled to play the game since many feel responsible for their kids’ health and future opportunities (education). This turns into competing for best schools districts, which turns into paying as much as you can for land, to surround yourself with others who can pay at least as much as you can. In the US, healthcare costs also keep people on their toes. Between health insurance premiums and annual out of pocket maximums, you need somewhere around $24k per year plus ~$34k emergency funds for 2 years worth of out of pocket maximum healthcare expenses for a family of 4. If I was single or without kids, I would not necessarily care enough about any of that.

jrochkind1 4y ago

What is your occupation where you get paid to work only on what feels right, only when it feels right, for only as long as it feels right, with leeway to hop on your bicycle and forget about work whenever you want? Cause I am interested in this line of work. At least if it pays enough to live comfortably.

dymk 4y ago
Remote software engineer at a company with good WLB
- jrochkind1 4y ago
  Intersting. I am also a remote software engineer, but either working "feels right" a lot less for me than for you, and I feel like spending time outside riding my bike a lot less than you, or my employer is a lot less tolerant of taking the day off to ride my bike because work just didn't feel right. I am curious how many hours a day/week you work, and if you are open about this with your employer...
  - dymk 4y ago
    I wouldn't say that I'm taking my day off to go ride my bike without telling anybody, but I would say that working from home affords me flexibility to, say, take a few hours to get a massage, go work out, or take my time making lunch. I make sure I'm aligning my personal technical interests with the kinds of projects I work on for the company, so work feels more like a fun puzzle to solve rather than slogging through tedium. Generally I don't work late into the evenings, but sometimes a problem is really just that fun to solve, and I enjoy spending time on it. Other times, projects may be less interesting, so I work fewer hours, letting myself rest. Burnout is real, and it sucks, and I avoid it at all costs. My employer really just cares that I get my work done, not how many hours it takes to do it. If I'm getting "meets all" or "exceeds" in my yearly ratings, then I'm meeting or exceeding their standard, and we're both happy.
Atheb 4y ago
I have a similar schedule, although a slightly more organized. I try to be available from 9 to 4, atleast through emails if I'm not in my office, because that's when other people also work and might need me. I often leave mid-day to go running or come in late because I went bouldering in the morning. If I don't feel inspired to write or work, I often instead go for a walk and read books tangentially to my research topics. Then some days I'll work 12 hours straight. I mostly work when it feels right, yes, and do something else when it doesn't. But I am doing my PhD and (in Canada) it absolutely does not pay enough to live comfortably.