You can overdo it, but just my personal experience is that focus on work at work, even with urgency, never brings those.
Where anxiety and stress can come in for me is letting unsolvable, abstract-ish things hound me for a long time: "I have made a big mistake in life N years ago", etc.
Where I think urgency is hurting is breadth: I focus only on the easiest solution and long term view goes out the window so I need to intersperse walking or similar to let my mind wander to strange, stupid or potentially good ideas. Just my 2c, YMMV.
Too much multitasking and producing software for years has made me feel this weird thing:
Which is that all accomplishments are meaningless in the end. And we are just getting older. Once a person dies they aren’t experiencing any stuff that came as a result of their effort. They may as well have just messed around and had a family sooner, or traveled, or not. It’s all meaningless anyway.
I can’t shake it. Anyone felt this way all the time? Any advice?
Yep. The thought process you describe came on hard once I actually had my first child. The tech that dominates today is just pushing bytes from client to server in the pursuit of some business person's perception of value for the fleeting moment - all we write is dust in the wind. Failing getting a the chance to work on some truly novel technology or research, my next work move will be a big company where work hours and load is better respected.
There are amazing people out here on HN who can help you with better answers to the question. Why don't you post an Ask HN and see? Or better talk with people in person about this.
As for me, Yes, I might pick traveling and having fun over creating software. But I'm not from a wealthy background and my need for a better quality of life is satisfied by selling my skill for money. In that sense, I picked long-term quality of life over short bursts of fun and happiness.
Also, I do have fun coding so it's kind of alright for me.
I used to feel this way, a little bit. Then I had a family and was glad to have the financial security to provide for my family compared to so many others.
So, consider your heirs, and work long enough to build a nest egg cushion the devote time to having a wonderful spouse, making babies and enjoying them.
Yes, this is a valid way of considering life. I'm personally not that into travel or starting a family, so I just replace the "might as well have just" to fit my own interests.
I think starting your own project or startup can fall into that category, too. It can be very intrinsically fun and rewarding, and the idea is to do stuff that's intrinsically fun and rewarding while we're still alive, I think. Writing 2.0 of BigCorp's latest TPS management app carries none of that, and so it seems like a complete waste in the grand scheme of life.
Another option is to do things that really will have a significant positive impact on people's lives post-death, and despite the fact that you won't be able to see, feel, or appreciate the impact you caused after you die, it will still feel very worthwhile for the entire duration that you're still alive. Like helping fight global hunger or disease, for example. You'll forget that TPS 2.0 app a few days after you've quit that job probably, but if you quit a non-profit helping fight hunger and you made something that actually tangibly helped, you'll probably think about that your whole life.
If you focus on yourself as individual, your are limiting yourself to your lifespan, and sure everything seems meaningless in perspective.
Think of yourself as a part of humankind - you can contribute big or small to the goal of continuing the existence of humankind and its further expansion - with your work, raising children, other.
Ultimately, there is no meaning given to us from any source (given that you are not religious), and you search and choose your own.
Sounds a bit like the Pomodoro method: focus intentionally for short periods, and then rest intentionally for even shorter breaks. It's a bit like interval training for the brain.
I've been wondering if 20 minutes of coding in 'urgent mode' then a 5 minute break, repeated, with a lunch break, would be more productive than 'average mode' all day, and without the burnout.
Try it and let us know - it's different for many people. I can work weeks at 14 hours a day without more than brief bathroom/food breaks if I'm passionate and not distracted.
You can overdo it, but just my personal experience is that focus on work at work, even with urgency, never brings those.
Where anxiety and stress can come in for me is letting unsolvable, abstract-ish things hound me for a long time: "I have made a big mistake in life N years ago", etc.
Where I think urgency is hurting is breadth: I focus only on the easiest solution and long term view goes out the window so I need to intersperse walking or similar to let my mind wander to strange, stupid or potentially good ideas. Just my 2c, YMMV.
True. Too much of anything is bad. I keep this mode on for as long as I don't get mentally tired. Usually, that's a span of 2-3 hours.
Surprisingly, at the end of the day (typically after two/three of these zones) I feel more fresh, satisfied and productive. But that's just me.
Too much multitasking and producing software for years has made me feel this weird thing:
Which is that all accomplishments are meaningless in the end. And we are just getting older. Once a person dies they aren’t experiencing any stuff that came as a result of their effort. They may as well have just messed around and had a family sooner, or traveled, or not. It’s all meaningless anyway.
I can’t shake it. Anyone felt this way all the time? Any advice?
Yep. The thought process you describe came on hard once I actually had my first child. The tech that dominates today is just pushing bytes from client to server in the pursuit of some business person's perception of value for the fleeting moment - all we write is dust in the wind. Failing getting a the chance to work on some truly novel technology or research, my next work move will be a big company where work hours and load is better respected.
There are amazing people out here on HN who can help you with better answers to the question. Why don't you post an Ask HN and see? Or better talk with people in person about this.
As for me, Yes, I might pick traveling and having fun over creating software. But I'm not from a wealthy background and my need for a better quality of life is satisfied by selling my skill for money. In that sense, I picked long-term quality of life over short bursts of fun and happiness.
Also, I do have fun coding so it's kind of alright for me.
I used to feel this way, a little bit. Then I had a family and was glad to have the financial security to provide for my family compared to so many others.
So, consider your heirs, and work long enough to build a nest egg cushion the devote time to having a wonderful spouse, making babies and enjoying them.
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Yes, this is a valid way of considering life. I'm personally not that into travel or starting a family, so I just replace the "might as well have just" to fit my own interests.
I think starting your own project or startup can fall into that category, too. It can be very intrinsically fun and rewarding, and the idea is to do stuff that's intrinsically fun and rewarding while we're still alive, I think. Writing 2.0 of BigCorp's latest TPS management app carries none of that, and so it seems like a complete waste in the grand scheme of life.
Another option is to do things that really will have a significant positive impact on people's lives post-death, and despite the fact that you won't be able to see, feel, or appreciate the impact you caused after you die, it will still feel very worthwhile for the entire duration that you're still alive. Like helping fight global hunger or disease, for example. You'll forget that TPS 2.0 app a few days after you've quit that job probably, but if you quit a non-profit helping fight hunger and you made something that actually tangibly helped, you'll probably think about that your whole life.
If you focus on yourself as individual, your are limiting yourself to your lifespan, and sure everything seems meaningless in perspective.
Think of yourself as a part of humankind - you can contribute big or small to the goal of continuing the existence of humankind and its further expansion - with your work, raising children, other.
Ultimately, there is no meaning given to us from any source (given that you are not religious), and you search and choose your own.
Just do what you want/enjoy doing and stop worrying.
Sounds a bit like the Pomodoro method: focus intentionally for short periods, and then rest intentionally for even shorter breaks. It's a bit like interval training for the brain.
I've been wondering if 20 minutes of coding in 'urgent mode' then a 5 minute break, repeated, with a lunch break, would be more productive than 'average mode' all day, and without the burnout.
Try it and let us know - it's different for many people. I can work weeks at 14 hours a day without more than brief bathroom/food breaks if I'm passionate and not distracted.
Yeah I never feel that passionate when someone is paying me to work. Motivation is a funny thing.