7 ms·
This is a great reason to do what is often frowned upon by us high achieving Hacker Newsers: get a job. I have worked on so many projects in so many jobs that
by edw519 13y ago
This is a great reason to do what is often frowned upon by us high achieving Hacker Newsers: get a job.
I have worked on so many projects in so many jobs that I lost track long ago. But it's always been the same: Get it done, good enough, on time! At first, I was always frustrated that I wasn't delivering product up to my own standards. But a funny thing happens when you do that hundreds (or thousands) of times: You get so good from sheer repetition that "good enough" morphs into "pretty damn good".
Don't be afraid to take what appears to be a boring, repetitious, or demeaning job. You never know what you might become.
Thanks for the great story, Derek!
And thanks for the great post and project, Jennifer. You inspire me.
- gmrple 13y agoThanks, I've been feeling like what I've been doing lately just isn't up to snuff, and have been getting frustrated. I think this will help change my perspective.
- bcbrown 13y agoThat's very helpful, Ed. I recently started a new job, and I've been frustrated that my work output isn't 'perfect' yet. I rationally know that I just need to keep my head down and churn through assignments over time, but it helps to hear that from someone else, too.
- markdown 13y agohttp://i.imgur.com/nWcYizP.jpg http://i.imgur.com/nWcYizP.jpg
- scott_s 13y agoQuoth Ira Glass. I wish whoever made that had attributed it - Ira certainly deserves it.
- mambodog 13y agoRather than a poster, check out the original source[0], I find Ira Glass' delivery more relatable. [0] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI23U7U2aUY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI23U7U2aUY
- bennyg 13y agoPractice makes perfect. It's a tired adage, but it's absolutely true.
- mscarborough 13y agoTrue, for sure. But then perfect is the enemy of good, which for anyone doing software should remember. Until a customer or someone important actually cares about that 2px off CSS, that refactor you want to do, or your caching/performance numbers, just don't do it. Wait till someone asks and then get after it. I love how OP put her work out there to prove her wide array of skills, or more important, her ability to learn random skills. Who else has put out 180 sites for public review? Awesome!!
- bennyg 13y agoI agree - but I don't think the statement semantically means perfection. It really means "practice makes greatness." Perfect just has a P.
- mscarborough 13y agoYes, you said it much more succinctly than I did.
- ckeck 13y agoTrue if you know what perfection is (be sure to have some guidance, mentors, etc)... Otherwise practice makes permanent in many cases. Just hope you're doing whatever it is right.
- outworlder 13y agoOnly if you are making an active effort to improve yourself.
- taytus 13y agoThank you Ed, you have not idea how I needed those words right now.
- amerika_blog 13y agoI believe in "just do it" and worry about the details later. However, on the internet, there is a worship of "hard work" that strikes me as emotional more than real. Hard work is 1/2 of the equation. The other part is your wiring: intelligence, skill, etc. Not everyone can do everything. We can dumb down any task to the point where anyone can do it... but at that point, it's a bubble waiting to pop.
- rickhanlonii 13y agoHard work is half of what equation? Is the equation 'success in life as measured against everyone else,' or is the equation 'success in life as measure against yourself'? If the question is the latter--which is the only question a person should care about--then hard work is very close to 100%. This isn't an emotional claim, it's a rational and evidence based claim. The reason that there is a rightful reverence to hard work is because working hard is the variable we can change. Not only that, it's guaranteed to produce results. If you intentionally build 180 web sites in 180 days, you will get better. You may not get better than someone more intelligent, but you can't be that person, you can only be who you are. Not everyone can be everything, but anyone who does nothing will be nothing.
- kamaal 13y ago>>Hard work is half of what equation? I'd say the full equation is to find a worthwhile goal to work hard on. While learning, the 'How to build 180 websites' goal works fine. Hard work is fruitful only when applied in the right direction. Work 16 hrs/day in a large corporate and all you will get is some middle manager taking credit for all your work, grabbing all the milk and honey for himself and throwing some peanuts at you along the way. If you are good, find a lofty goal, which is in your best interest and work on that.
- wslh 13y agoAlso context is important: the hard work of the poor guy in Mozambique can make an infinitesimal part of his alter ego in US.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- eru 13y agoHave you tried finding some productive use for your downtime?
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- regal 13y agoEver consider setting up a freelancing profile on oDesk or Guru or wherever, and getting paid to do interesting, challenging, different kinds of work of your own selection (more or less)?
- levosmetalo 13y agoDepending on the definition of "getting paid", it's better to do it on the own time for free than bothering with oDesk or Guru if you are located in a developed country.
- chiachun 13y agoI like the story very much! And that's a great project, Jennifer. Perfect practice makes perfect!
- girvo 13y agoI'd agree and add to that: go work in sales for a while. Pitching and selling becomes second nature :)
- hhuuggoo 13y agoI took a really boring job, and it was a terrible experience but I came away with 2 lessons 1. python can be just as terrible or worse than java when written by ex-java programmers 2. I can now understand and read some seriously scary large and ridiculously bloated code bases - which is a valuable and painfully learned skill.