4 ms·

I smoke on and off - tend to quit for awhile then start again. Back when I was doing full-time office-style programming gigs, I found it a good excuse to go out

I smoke on and off - tend to quit for awhile then start again. Back when I was doing full-time office-style programming gigs, I found it a good excuse to go outside and walk around if I was stuck on some particular problem, and it always worked wonders in that regard. That being said, It's a nasty/expensive habit and I don't recommend it to anyone. Anecdotal evidence: of the 600 or so people at the last startup school, I saw maybe 4 people light up, so it can't be very prevalent among good hackers.

derwiki 17y ago
When I worked tech support in high school at a company where almost everyone was a smoker, I used to take hacky-sack breaks. Ah, high school.
staunch 17y ago
I was working at a well respected hacker company for a brief period. Out of something like 200 people in the office I was the only smoker as far as I could tell. Ever since I've considered it a reasonable way to judge a company. Maybe a good interview question: "So, how many of your programmers smoke?"
- randallsquared 17y ago
  You smoke, and you consider having few smokers as a good metric of company worth? Hm.
coffeeaddicted 17y ago
That chance to just walk out for a few minutes (or simply just to walk...) was probably the main reason I didn't want to stop smoking when I still worked for companies. I just find it hard solving some problems while sitting at a desk - can't help it. Once I started working from home it was suddenly no longer such a problem to stop smoking. Now when I feel like it I just stand up and walk around the room. No more need for excuses. I wonder if one of the desks where you can stand would also have helped - I never had the chance to work at one of those.
- dsil 17y ago
  I feared the same thing when I stopped smoking, but I found, to my great surprise, it's actually possible to get up from your desk and go for a little walk WITHOUT smoking.
  - coffeeaddicted 17y ago
    Probably it is - it just takes more confidence.
    - moe 17y ago
      At least for an ex-smoker it also takes a lot more discipline. It's the habits that are the hardest to break. After a good meal or during a work-break the urge to light up is the strongest, even when you quit long ago. Moreover a cigarette provides a nice time-frame and the illusion of of doing something. You can have a "one cig break" or a "two cig break". And you have something to do while thinking, which helps with the process (at least it does for me).
- brianmckenzie 17y ago
  I work from home and use a standing desk exclusively - hasn't helped me (permanently) quit smoking...although it has made me smoke quite a bit less.
niels_olson 17y ago
You should stop smoking. If you are ready to quit, http://www.smokefree.gov/ http://www.smokefree.gov/
- tsally 17y ago
  I understand you're passionate about this issue, but you've really got to stop flooding the conversation threads with your postings. I don't object to one or two, or even more than that. However you've posted a ton of similar one liners with no sign of slowing down.
  - randallsquared 17y ago
    If people go and look at their comment threads as often as I do (to see if there have been replies), this tactic is more likely to be effective here on HN, as opposed to sites that notify you when there's been a reply so that you only look then.
- xiaoma 17y ago
  You should quit telling others how to live their lives. If you are ready to quit, http://www.43things.com/things/view/324138/dont-tell-others-how-to-live-their-lives http://www.43things.com/things/view/324138/dont-tell-others-...

derwiki 17y ago

When I worked tech support in high school at a company where almost everyone was a smoker, I used to take hacky-sack breaks. Ah, high school.

staunch 17y ago

I was working at a well respected hacker company for a brief period. Out of something like 200 people in the office I was the only smoker as far as I could tell. Ever since I've considered it a reasonable way to judge a company. Maybe a good interview question: "So, how many of your programmers smoke?"

randallsquared 17y ago
You smoke, and you consider having few smokers as a good metric of company worth? Hm.

coffeeaddicted 17y ago

That chance to just walk out for a few minutes (or simply just to walk...) was probably the main reason I didn't want to stop smoking when I still worked for companies. I just find it hard solving some problems while sitting at a desk - can't help it. Once I started working from home it was suddenly no longer such a problem to stop smoking. Now when I feel like it I just stand up and walk around the room. No more need for excuses. I wonder if one of the desks where you can stand would also have helped - I never had the chance to work at one of those.

dsil 17y ago
I feared the same thing when I stopped smoking, but I found, to my great surprise, it's actually possible to get up from your desk and go for a little walk WITHOUT smoking.
- coffeeaddicted 17y ago
  Probably it is - it just takes more confidence.
  - moe 17y ago
    At least for an ex-smoker it also takes a lot more discipline. It's the habits that are the hardest to break. After a good meal or during a work-break the urge to light up is the strongest, even when you quit long ago. Moreover a cigarette provides a nice time-frame and the illusion of of doing something. You can have a "one cig break" or a "two cig break". And you have something to do while thinking, which helps with the process (at least it does for me).
brianmckenzie 17y ago
I work from home and use a standing desk exclusively - hasn't helped me (permanently) quit smoking...although it has made me smoke quite a bit less.

niels_olson 17y ago

You should stop smoking. If you are ready to quit, http://www.smokefree.gov/ http://www.smokefree.gov/

tsally 17y ago
I understand you're passionate about this issue, but you've really got to stop flooding the conversation threads with your postings. I don't object to one or two, or even more than that. However you've posted a ton of similar one liners with no sign of slowing down.
- randallsquared 17y ago
  If people go and look at their comment threads as often as I do (to see if there have been replies), this tactic is more likely to be effective here on HN, as opposed to sites that notify you when there's been a reply so that you only look then.
xiaoma 17y ago
You should quit telling others how to live their lives. If you are ready to quit, http://www.43things.com/things/view/324138/dont-tell-others-how-to-live-their-lives http://www.43things.com/things/view/324138/dont-tell-others-...