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Mindlessly coding is stuff like gluing together libraries, components, and services that do the actual work, building simple CRUD UIs, copying AWS configuration

• deleted 1y ago
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• roarcher 1y ago
  I wouldn't call that mindless, just not as cerebral as some tasks. But mindless or not, if it needs to be done then it's still productive work. Why the author feels that only "deep work" counts is beyond me.
  • aaronbaugher 1y ago
    Right. Some of my programming work is done sitting back in my chair, a movie going on the TV for background noise, probably daydreaming a little while I write code or documentation or do basic tasks. Then there's other "deep work" where I stand up at my desk, turn off anything in the background, and block everything else out of my mind until I've finished the task. It's possible that I'm 10x more valuable during the latter periods than the former (1000x is just silly). If I could turn the first type of work over to an AI assistant so I could spend that time napping or working on a hobby or side interest, that would be cool. But that's not the goal of companies pushing AI. They figure if I don't have to do the "mindless" work anymore, I can do "deep work" for my full 40 hours. But maybe I'm not capable of working more hours at that level of focus. Maybe the hours spent doing "mindless" work are necessary for resting and recharging between the intense sessions. So if my company takes away the "mindless" work, they're probably not going to get the jump in productivity they're going for. They're more likely to burn me out and send me looking for a new job.