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> foam dart / BBQ / bro time Oh god, all my life I've seen people waste so much time and then claim that they're so busy. It has developed into a huge pet peev

> foam dart / BBQ / bro time Oh god, all my life I've seen people waste so much time and then claim that they're so busy. It has developed into a huge pet peeve of mine, especially when they get pissed when I arrive to work at 8 AM and get up to leave at 5 PM. And I've done more in those 9 hours than they've done in their last two 16-hour days.

outside1234 14y ago
I totally hear you - I had the same experience at my last startup - it was butt in seat time not lines of code that was rewarded (and punished).
Swizec 14y ago
Coincidentally, you'll find that it is impossible to spend more than ~6 hours of focused time on a single type of task. If you have different types you might be able to stretch your total focus to about 8 or maybe 9 hours. So if your main job is coding, you can probably spend about 6 real work hours on that. This leaves you with another 3 hours to spend on stuff like email, or writing or whatever. Certain types of hobbies do count into this as well.
- nthj 14y ago
  I've found I can hack this -slightly- if I get up early, knock out five hours of work, goof off for a few hours, eat a good meal, maybe throw a nap in there, and then come back for another 5 hour stretch. But I've really only gained 2-3 hours over one 7-8 session. 12 or 16 hours is completely unsustainable over more than 2-3 days.
- willurd 14y ago
  "Coincidentally, you'll find that it is impossible to spend more than ~6 hours of focused time on a single type of task" I'm not sure who did this research, but I can tell you from personal experience that this is simply not true. Maybe I'm a freak of nature but when I was first learning how to code I would hold one man hackathons in the summer from the moment I got up until deep into the night. Similarly, when I was younger and played a lot of RPGs, I would play quite literally all weekend, pausing only for sustenance and a little bit of sleep, and usually multitasking on the food part, far surpassing 6 hours of focus time.
  - inDigiNeous 14y ago
    When I was younger I could do it easily too, hack through the night with the power of some caffeinated cola drinks, easily doing 12h hackathons. When I was 16 to about 20 years old, that is. Nowadays it's a bit different. My body just can't take the sitting in front of the computer for so long. Maybe it's a good thing though, but it really makes me want to think about how I spend my time on the computer and seek those creative hours when I am able to get into the zone and just code. Usually I find myself doing from anywhere to 2 to 4 hours of concentrated creative work a day, and that's it.
    - willurd 14y ago
      After speaking with a couple of people that have ADHD (I've never been diagnosed, though I probably would have been with my behavior and inattentiveness during my school years), I've worked up a pet theory that so-called "ADHD" or "ADD" is what allows people to hyper focus like this. Granted, of the people I've talked to, including myself, that hyper focus really only extends to things they are truly interested in, but it's real nonetheless. I found this out for myself when I got into programming (as stated above). As for me, I've noticed the amount of time I can focus on something go down a little over the years as well, though I still occasionally get inspired and hyper focus like I used to.
      - HeyLaughingBoy 14y ago
        That's not just your pet theory, it's commonly accepted by psychiatry. One of the defining characteristics of ADD/ADHD is ability to focus for extended periods. The main reasons ADD gets a bad rap is that people (often children) are either focusing on something that adults don't want them to focus on, or there is nothing interesting that holds their attention so they become easily distracted.
        willurd 14y ago
        300 years in the future kids will be in school, uploading into their brains the story of how in the early 21st century leading psychiatrists and willurd independently discovered the fact that ADHD is actually a super power. Or so I imagine...
- joonix 14y ago
  The system is biased against letting people work a shorter work week in the US for professional positions. a) Health insurance is partially paid by employers, creating a lot of overhead for each employee, and the cost is the same whether they work 20 hrs or 60 hrs. and b) most professionals are exempt from paying OT to salaried employees, so there is no disincentive to not push your employees to work longer than 40hrs/wk
omnisci 14y ago
Thank you! I hear this all the time and it drives me nuts! "Omg, I'm sooooOoOooO busy.... I've been working (on my facebook profile) for 10 hours today :sadpandaface:" I have no problem with posting cat videos to facebook, more power to you, but don't claim that you're busy when your not. My fav is the "I didn't have the time (enter any task here)" forgetting that the two of your are friends on facebook and you can see the 189321983729 icanhascheezburger photos that were shared during the "busy" time.
- technotony 14y ago
  The most annoying is the 'Staying alive' response when you ask how someone is. Really common from Stanford grads. Basically they are trying to say they are soooooo busy and important. The most successful people I know all get the balance right. They focus and work hard, but also know when to focus on play (and keep them very distinct)

outside1234 14y ago

I totally hear you - I had the same experience at my last startup - it was butt in seat time not lines of code that was rewarded (and punished).

Swizec 14y ago

Coincidentally, you'll find that it is impossible to spend more than ~6 hours of focused time on a single type of task. If you have different types you might be able to stretch your total focus to about 8 or maybe 9 hours. So if your main job is coding, you can probably spend about 6 real work hours on that. This leaves you with another 3 hours to spend on stuff like email, or writing or whatever. Certain types of hobbies do count into this as well.

nthj 14y ago
I've found I can hack this -slightly- if I get up early, knock out five hours of work, goof off for a few hours, eat a good meal, maybe throw a nap in there, and then come back for another 5 hour stretch. But I've really only gained 2-3 hours over one 7-8 session. 12 or 16 hours is completely unsustainable over more than 2-3 days.
willurd 14y ago
"Coincidentally, you'll find that it is impossible to spend more than ~6 hours of focused time on a single type of task" I'm not sure who did this research, but I can tell you from personal experience that this is simply not true. Maybe I'm a freak of nature but when I was first learning how to code I would hold one man hackathons in the summer from the moment I got up until deep into the night. Similarly, when I was younger and played a lot of RPGs, I would play quite literally all weekend, pausing only for sustenance and a little bit of sleep, and usually multitasking on the food part, far surpassing 6 hours of focus time.
- inDigiNeous 14y ago
  When I was younger I could do it easily too, hack through the night with the power of some caffeinated cola drinks, easily doing 12h hackathons. When I was 16 to about 20 years old, that is. Nowadays it's a bit different. My body just can't take the sitting in front of the computer for so long. Maybe it's a good thing though, but it really makes me want to think about how I spend my time on the computer and seek those creative hours when I am able to get into the zone and just code. Usually I find myself doing from anywhere to 2 to 4 hours of concentrated creative work a day, and that's it.
  - willurd 14y ago
    After speaking with a couple of people that have ADHD (I've never been diagnosed, though I probably would have been with my behavior and inattentiveness during my school years), I've worked up a pet theory that so-called "ADHD" or "ADD" is what allows people to hyper focus like this. Granted, of the people I've talked to, including myself, that hyper focus really only extends to things they are truly interested in, but it's real nonetheless. I found this out for myself when I got into programming (as stated above). As for me, I've noticed the amount of time I can focus on something go down a little over the years as well, though I still occasionally get inspired and hyper focus like I used to.
    - HeyLaughingBoy 14y ago
      That's not just your pet theory, it's commonly accepted by psychiatry. One of the defining characteristics of ADD/ADHD is ability to focus for extended periods. The main reasons ADD gets a bad rap is that people (often children) are either focusing on something that adults don't want them to focus on, or there is nothing interesting that holds their attention so they become easily distracted.
      - willurd 14y ago
        300 years in the future kids will be in school, uploading into their brains the story of how in the early 21st century leading psychiatrists and willurd independently discovered the fact that ADHD is actually a super power. Or so I imagine...
joonix 14y ago
The system is biased against letting people work a shorter work week in the US for professional positions. a) Health insurance is partially paid by employers, creating a lot of overhead for each employee, and the cost is the same whether they work 20 hrs or 60 hrs. and b) most professionals are exempt from paying OT to salaried employees, so there is no disincentive to not push your employees to work longer than 40hrs/wk

omnisci 14y ago

Thank you! I hear this all the time and it drives me nuts! "Omg, I'm sooooOoOooO busy.... I've been working (on my facebook profile) for 10 hours today :sadpandaface:" I have no problem with posting cat videos to facebook, more power to you, but don't claim that you're busy when your not. My fav is the "I didn't have the time (enter any task here)" forgetting that the two of your are friends on facebook and you can see the 189321983729 icanhascheezburger photos that were shared during the "busy" time.

technotony 14y ago
The most annoying is the 'Staying alive' response when you ask how someone is. Really common from Stanford grads. Basically they are trying to say they are soooooo busy and important. The most successful people I know all get the balance right. They focus and work hard, but also know when to focus on play (and keep them very distinct)