5 ms·

> Have to be more productive, more efficient Most people on their deathbed would counsel you to focus on relationships rather than productivity.

ge96 2y ago
I'd like my KPI metrics etched on my gravestone
- kingo55 2y ago
  It's me, your manager, quit slacking on Hacker News and get back to work. /s
  - ge96 2y ago
    It's Saturday
    - cbsks 2y ago
      Not a team player, I see. This will be reflected in your next performance review.
- shepherdjerred 2y ago
  I have delivered value, but at what cost? https://youtu.be/DYvhC_RdIwQ https://youtu.be/DYvhC_RdIwQ
  - ge96 2y ago
    DevOps is a meaningful term. You understand DevOps because you use it everyday.
- beau_g 2y ago
  If you distill every metric in your life and put it in a Tableau dashboard, the load time would be so long that you could achieve immortality
  - graypegg 2y ago
    That’s a very meaningful and comforting thought about one’s own impact on the world… except for tableau’s web performance team.
  - cyberpunk 2y ago
    Only if you have to restart Prometheus…
- chairmansteve 2y ago
  Or your net wealth?
adriand 2y ago
That’s the conventional wisdom but I think it’s worth challenging it. Or at least, if by “productivity” you mean “work” (I think there’s an important distinction there). There is nothing wrong with your work being the focus of your life. Many people derive great pleasure and satisfaction from, and make a positive impact on the world with, their work. Life without relationships would be a hell of loneliness, but life without work would be a hell of boredom and meaninglessness. (I’m aware that much work is drudgery, I refer mainly to the kind of work one can derive joy from, which I suspect many of us on HN have in our lives.) The question “is it okay to work all the time” is explored rather well here: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/search-engine/id1614253637?i=1000683440991 https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/search-engine/id161425...
- tonyedgecombe 2y ago
  >Life without relationships would be a hell of loneliness, but life without work would be a hell of boredom and meaninglessness. There are plenty of people who don't work such as children, students, carers and retirees. They find meaning in all sorts of activities outside of work.
massysett 2y ago
This is something one says on their deathbed when they have had a good life. Maybe some people who have wasted half their life being completely unproductive say “I wish I focused on relationships more” on their deathbed. But many others might say “I wasted my whole life, I wish I got it together.” The thing is, those people don’t write books or give seminars on how to live a good life. They die alone and are quickly forgotten.
- theshackleford 2y ago
  > This is something one says on their deathbed when they have had a good life. I can assure you the reaction at hand is not limited to those you suggest. I know because I faced my own mortality, if only for a brief moment of time, far earlier than I ever expected and earlier than most would prefer I think. And when I did, this exact realisation hit me like a freight train. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a more profound, visceral moment. What also may have helped, is developing quite a deep and close relationship with an individual who would later go on to pass from cystic fibrosis. Now one of this is to say I may not now have an entirely different reaction when again it comes time for my card to be punched. However I feel like this has been somewhat tested by the SCI that would follow five years later. It's also not to say that what I felt had been a waste vs what is important will be applicable to all of us, in fact I am sure that realistically, it will be deeply different, personal and particular to each of us as individuals. When I have particularly bad days as a result of my unlucky medical outcomes, I remind myself of what I experienced that night, and how lucky I was ultimately to be able to experience something like that, and then actually have somewhat of a "second chance" at taking a look down the second fork in the road. TL;DR I give 100x times less of a shit about a "career/being productive/min-maxing" than I once did. Your mileage may vary.
  - throwaway277432 2y ago
    I was briefly diagnosed with "99.9% sure it's cancer" before it turned out to be benign. Say about 2-3 weeks. In those few weeks my main regrets were a) not having done many of the things on my bucket list, and b) not having children or not going to be live long enough to see them grow up. I'm someone with recurring nightmare about career goals and such. However at that time, work only crossed my mind briefly and was easily dismissed.
card_zero 2y ago
Most people on their deathbed who would counsel you would counsel you to focus on relationships. The ones who had the insight "people can fuck right off, that's the key to it all" aren't interested in telling us about it.
guax 2y ago
The only life worth living is the one that maximizes shareholder value. /s

ge96 2y ago

I'd like my KPI metrics etched on my gravestone

kingo55 2y ago
It's me, your manager, quit slacking on Hacker News and get back to work. /s
- ge96 2y ago
  It's Saturday
  - cbsks 2y ago
    Not a team player, I see. This will be reflected in your next performance review.
shepherdjerred 2y ago
I have delivered value, but at what cost? https://youtu.be/DYvhC_RdIwQ https://youtu.be/DYvhC_RdIwQ
- ge96 2y ago
  DevOps is a meaningful term. You understand DevOps because you use it everyday.
beau_g 2y ago
If you distill every metric in your life and put it in a Tableau dashboard, the load time would be so long that you could achieve immortality
- graypegg 2y ago
  That’s a very meaningful and comforting thought about one’s own impact on the world… except for tableau’s web performance team.
- cyberpunk 2y ago
  Only if you have to restart Prometheus…
chairmansteve 2y ago
Or your net wealth?

adriand 2y ago

That’s the conventional wisdom but I think it’s worth challenging it. Or at least, if by “productivity” you mean “work” (I think there’s an important distinction there). There is nothing wrong with your work being the focus of your life. Many people derive great pleasure and satisfaction from, and make a positive impact on the world with, their work. Life without relationships would be a hell of loneliness, but life without work would be a hell of boredom and meaninglessness. (I’m aware that much work is drudgery, I refer mainly to the kind of work one can derive joy from, which I suspect many of us on HN have in our lives.) The question “is it okay to work all the time” is explored rather well here: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/search-engine/id1614253637?i=1000683440991 https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/search-engine/id161425...

tonyedgecombe 2y ago
>Life without relationships would be a hell of loneliness, but life without work would be a hell of boredom and meaninglessness. There are plenty of people who don't work such as children, students, carers and retirees. They find meaning in all sorts of activities outside of work.

massysett 2y ago

This is something one says on their deathbed when they have had a good life. Maybe some people who have wasted half their life being completely unproductive say “I wish I focused on relationships more” on their deathbed. But many others might say “I wasted my whole life, I wish I got it together.” The thing is, those people don’t write books or give seminars on how to live a good life. They die alone and are quickly forgotten.

theshackleford 2y ago
> This is something one says on their deathbed when they have had a good life. I can assure you the reaction at hand is not limited to those you suggest. I know because I faced my own mortality, if only for a brief moment of time, far earlier than I ever expected and earlier than most would prefer I think. And when I did, this exact realisation hit me like a freight train. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a more profound, visceral moment. What also may have helped, is developing quite a deep and close relationship with an individual who would later go on to pass from cystic fibrosis. Now one of this is to say I may not now have an entirely different reaction when again it comes time for my card to be punched. However I feel like this has been somewhat tested by the SCI that would follow five years later. It's also not to say that what I felt had been a waste vs what is important will be applicable to all of us, in fact I am sure that realistically, it will be deeply different, personal and particular to each of us as individuals. When I have particularly bad days as a result of my unlucky medical outcomes, I remind myself of what I experienced that night, and how lucky I was ultimately to be able to experience something like that, and then actually have somewhat of a "second chance" at taking a look down the second fork in the road. TL;DR I give 100x times less of a shit about a "career/being productive/min-maxing" than I once did. Your mileage may vary.
- throwaway277432 2y ago
  I was briefly diagnosed with "99.9% sure it's cancer" before it turned out to be benign. Say about 2-3 weeks. In those few weeks my main regrets were a) not having done many of the things on my bucket list, and b) not having children or not going to be live long enough to see them grow up. I'm someone with recurring nightmare about career goals and such. However at that time, work only crossed my mind briefly and was easily dismissed.

card_zero 2y ago

Most people on their deathbed who would counsel you would counsel you to focus on relationships. The ones who had the insight "people can fuck right off, that's the key to it all" aren't interested in telling us about it.

guax 2y ago

The only life worth living is the one that maximizes shareholder value. /s