3 ms·

Privately, some of my most productive development has been when my girlfriend and I had separate apartments. I'd spend days working on problems undisturbed at m

Privately, some of my most productive development has been when my girlfriend and I had separate apartments. I'd spend days working on problems undisturbed at my place, and then I'd go visit her for a few days (bringing no computer). I always came back to my apartment full of inspiration, with half a notebook full of ideas and plans, which I'd spend the next days implementing, while spawning new background jobs that would mature the next time I was AFK. Rinse and repeat. Something about this set-up was just insanely good for my productivity. I was much more productive than periods I didn't have these forced breaks away from input.

Nevermark 4y ago
You just reminded me that I have also experienced a two location split week, with one side consistently in isolation. It was a wonderfully creative & productive situation.
tpoacher 4y ago
Indirectly this also betrays the kind of job where you had the "luxury" of being in a position to be able to take such forced breaks in the first place. This is already a good situation to be with regard to burnout. I'd love to do this (and try to when I can), but more often than not it's a balancing act between "rest but fall behind" vs "don't rest but catch-up".
- marginalia_nu 4y ago
  While there's some element of privilege involved, I wouldn't have been able to ever work like this if I wasn't willing to take risks that many would consider too much. But the pay-off from taking those types of risks also (sometimes) ends up opening doors for more unconventional career steps. I'm grant funded for the next year, and after that I have some savings to live off that may last another year or so (maybe less if this inflation keeps up), but after that I haven't got a singular clue where my money is coming from. But I also don't have kids, and don't want any either. If I had or wanted, none of this would be possible. I'd definitely choose the golden handcuffs in that counterfatual.

Nevermark 4y ago

You just reminded me that I have also experienced a two location split week, with one side consistently in isolation. It was a wonderfully creative & productive situation.

tpoacher 4y ago

Indirectly this also betrays the kind of job where you had the "luxury" of being in a position to be able to take such forced breaks in the first place. This is already a good situation to be with regard to burnout. I'd love to do this (and try to when I can), but more often than not it's a balancing act between "rest but fall behind" vs "don't rest but catch-up".

marginalia_nu 4y ago
While there's some element of privilege involved, I wouldn't have been able to ever work like this if I wasn't willing to take risks that many would consider too much. But the pay-off from taking those types of risks also (sometimes) ends up opening doors for more unconventional career steps. I'm grant funded for the next year, and after that I have some savings to live off that may last another year or so (maybe less if this inflation keeps up), but after that I haven't got a singular clue where my money is coming from. But I also don't have kids, and don't want any either. If I had or wanted, none of this would be possible. I'd definitely choose the golden handcuffs in that counterfatual.