4 ms·

How do you have the time to do this? I already barely have free time, let alone time to attend classes

ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago
In my case, I'm a bit obsessed. I'm "on the spectrum," and that helps me to concentrate and understand stuff. Also, I just like doing this stuff. My work is also my hobby. There's not that many things that I'd rather be doing. I have also had a very good venue for doing volunteer work, and that has always provided a driving force. Of course, now that I'm retired, I have the time.
- fm2606 1y ago
  This is me to a big extent. Sometimes I feel like I to learn for learning's sake. Which is okay, or at least that is what my therapist tells me. I struggle with the fact that I "think about doing" vs actually doing. My work is my hobby too, that is why I struggle sometimes wondering if I will ever retire. Why retire when what I'm doing is for the most part fun. Sure, there are days that I'd rather be "doing X", or more like "studying X" than actually working but I'm enjoying work so much lately that it soon passes. Work also forces me to actually DO instead of thinking about doing. I have to perform. People are depending on me to get stuff done and that is a big motivator. With my personal projects, no one needs it or is expecting it so it is too easy to abandon.
  - ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago
    > With my personal projects, no one needs it or is expecting it so it is too easy to abandon. In my case, I was fortunate to have projects that people depend on. Even my "hobby" work has always shipped.
LRVNHQ 1y ago
The overwhelming majority of people who work around 40 hours a week have plenty of free time. "I don't have freetime" is usually a tell sign that people either don't know how to manage their time / prioritize free time activities, or have made choice that they refuse to see as choice but as obligations instead (which implicitely just means they prioritize this activity a lot)
- matwood 1y ago
  Yeah. I worked 30 hours/week when I went to undergrad full time for CS. Later I went back to grad school while also working full time. There is a lot of free time in many people's day. I'm also not saying it all has to be productive, I know mine certainly isn't, but it should be deliberate. I love sitting down to watch a movie or play a game, and I hate when I get sucked into some social media for 30 mins or an hour without realizing it.
- paulryanrogers 1y ago
  > The overwhelming majority of people who work around 40 hours a week have plenty of free time. Overwhelming majority? Plenty of people don't make enough from their 40h/w job to pay all their expenses and have to get another job or have to share responsibilities with a working spouse. Having kids or aging parents is also a common demand on ones time.
  - LRVNHQ 1y ago
    The average weekly hours of US employees is ~34 https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/AWHAETP https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/AWHAETP "Only" 5.2% of US job holders hold more than one job https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat36.htm https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat36.htm If you want to argue that this doesn't add up with "The overwhelming majority of people who work around 40 hours a week have plenty of free time." then please provide sourced numbers rather than baseless internet doomerism. Oh and I'll add that the average commute time in the US is among the shortest in the OECD, since the long commute boogeyman always end up popping up in these discussions.
  - hitarpetar 1y ago
    you're describing people who work MORE than 40 hours a week
    - paulryanrogers 1y ago
      Good point. Still, plenty of households can't get by on one 40h/w job. And regardless, childcare and elder parent responsibilities are things that I'd consider taking away from 'free' time, not a part of it.
znpy 1y ago
Wild guess: gp is self-employed and can manage their own time. I’m assuming that with some planning you can carve “learning time” across contracts.
- ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago
  No, I always worked for companies. However, there was never the "996" shit, you see, these days. I generally did about 50 hours per week. Sometimes more; sometimes, less. Sometimes, if the extracurricular stuff also benefitted my day job, I could get the company to help out, there.
  - znpy 1y ago
    I see, thank you for correcting me!
  - jonas21 1y ago
    How did you manage to write off for your expenses for tax purposes? I thought this was not possible for regular employees in the US (your profile says you're in the New York). I'd love to be able to do this.
    - ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago
      It’s been awhile, so I can’t remember exactly how it worked (I’ve used an accountant for the last 30 years or so), but I was able to argue that it went to benefit my day job (which it actually did), and I mixed in a lot of stuff that directly benefited my day job (like taking my team out for a holiday dinner, on my personal expense, as the company didn’t do that kind of thing). I wouldn’t do it without a decent accountant. In my experience, they always paid for themselves.
      - tanjtanjtanj 1y ago
        I don’t know your exact circumstances but it sounds like your “decent accountant” was helping you commit tax fraud.
skeeter2020 1y ago
what works for me: I need to establish a "normal state" that includes some of this, achieve momentum and then add a little more. Most of us have a lot of slack hiding in the required activities, but you can't recapture this all at once. Do something scheduled but onyl a few hours a week. Once it ends, keep doing something scheduled in that timeslot - even if it's not "official" (ex: I go to the library on a specific day/time and study low-level electronics). It is way easier to keep going with your normal routine and supplement than it is to make big changes all at once.

In my case, I'm a bit obsessed. I'm "on the spectrum," and that helps me to concentrate and understand stuff. Also, I just like doing this stuff. My work is also my hobby. There's not that many things that I'd rather be doing. I have also had a very good venue for doing volunteer work, and that has always provided a driving force. Of course, now that I'm retired, I have the time.

fm2606 1y ago
This is me to a big extent. Sometimes I feel like I to learn for learning's sake. Which is okay, or at least that is what my therapist tells me. I struggle with the fact that I "think about doing" vs actually doing. My work is my hobby too, that is why I struggle sometimes wondering if I will ever retire. Why retire when what I'm doing is for the most part fun. Sure, there are days that I'd rather be "doing X", or more like "studying X" than actually working but I'm enjoying work so much lately that it soon passes. Work also forces me to actually DO instead of thinking about doing. I have to perform. People are depending on me to get stuff done and that is a big motivator. With my personal projects, no one needs it or is expecting it so it is too easy to abandon.
- ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago
  > With my personal projects, no one needs it or is expecting it so it is too easy to abandon. In my case, I was fortunate to have projects that people depend on. Even my "hobby" work has always shipped.

LRVNHQ 1y ago

The overwhelming majority of people who work around 40 hours a week have plenty of free time. "I don't have freetime" is usually a tell sign that people either don't know how to manage their time / prioritize free time activities, or have made choice that they refuse to see as choice but as obligations instead (which implicitely just means they prioritize this activity a lot)

matwood 1y ago
Yeah. I worked 30 hours/week when I went to undergrad full time for CS. Later I went back to grad school while also working full time. There is a lot of free time in many people's day. I'm also not saying it all has to be productive, I know mine certainly isn't, but it should be deliberate. I love sitting down to watch a movie or play a game, and I hate when I get sucked into some social media for 30 mins or an hour without realizing it.
paulryanrogers 1y ago
> The overwhelming majority of people who work around 40 hours a week have plenty of free time. Overwhelming majority? Plenty of people don't make enough from their 40h/w job to pay all their expenses and have to get another job or have to share responsibilities with a working spouse. Having kids or aging parents is also a common demand on ones time.
- LRVNHQ 1y ago
  The average weekly hours of US employees is ~34 https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/AWHAETP https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/AWHAETP "Only" 5.2% of US job holders hold more than one job https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat36.htm https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat36.htm If you want to argue that this doesn't add up with "The overwhelming majority of people who work around 40 hours a week have plenty of free time." then please provide sourced numbers rather than baseless internet doomerism. Oh and I'll add that the average commute time in the US is among the shortest in the OECD, since the long commute boogeyman always end up popping up in these discussions.
- hitarpetar 1y ago
  you're describing people who work MORE than 40 hours a week
  - paulryanrogers 1y ago
    Good point. Still, plenty of households can't get by on one 40h/w job. And regardless, childcare and elder parent responsibilities are things that I'd consider taking away from 'free' time, not a part of it.

znpy 1y ago

Wild guess: gp is self-employed and can manage their own time. I’m assuming that with some planning you can carve “learning time” across contracts.

ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago
No, I always worked for companies. However, there was never the "996" shit, you see, these days. I generally did about 50 hours per week. Sometimes more; sometimes, less. Sometimes, if the extracurricular stuff also benefitted my day job, I could get the company to help out, there.
- znpy 1y ago
  I see, thank you for correcting me!
- jonas21 1y ago
  How did you manage to write off for your expenses for tax purposes? I thought this was not possible for regular employees in the US (your profile says you're in the New York). I'd love to be able to do this.
  - ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago
    It’s been awhile, so I can’t remember exactly how it worked (I’ve used an accountant for the last 30 years or so), but I was able to argue that it went to benefit my day job (which it actually did), and I mixed in a lot of stuff that directly benefited my day job (like taking my team out for a holiday dinner, on my personal expense, as the company didn’t do that kind of thing). I wouldn’t do it without a decent accountant. In my experience, they always paid for themselves.
    - tanjtanjtanj 1y ago
      I don’t know your exact circumstances but it sounds like your “decent accountant” was helping you commit tax fraud.

skeeter2020 1y ago

what works for me: I need to establish a "normal state" that includes some of this, achieve momentum and then add a little more. Most of us have a lot of slack hiding in the required activities, but you can't recapture this all at once. Do something scheduled but onyl a few hours a week. Once it ends, keep doing something scheduled in that timeslot - even if it's not "official" (ex: I go to the library on a specific day/time and study low-level electronics). It is way easier to keep going with your normal routine and supplement than it is to make big changes all at once.