Comment by raju
14 years ago
Is it just me, or does anyone else feel like an underachiever after reading that? :-/ In comparison my year feels like I spent it watching re-runs on TV in my pajamas with a bowl of Cheetos by my side.
On a serious note, that is an excellent selection of papers and books - Thanks fogus. You have me very inspired for 2012. Now, on to get some reading done.
Always remember, no matter how hard you work it's important to take some Cheeto time occasionally.
Thanks fogus. FWIW awesome work by you, the Clojure and the ClojureScript team this year. Kudos! Looking forward to more informative posts in 2012
I've done and learned a lot this year but I've never been much of a books and paper reader. Perhaps you've done more constructive things than just eating Cheetos behind the TV? (And even if not, I hope you at least enjoyed it?)
Absolutely. My comment was a little tongue-in-cheek - That's not to take away from everything fogus (and many like him) have accomplished.
It's just that after reading a post like that, it makes me think that I need a little bit more focus. I get attracted to new shiny things, but I still have a day job - which means that outside of shifting contexts a lot, I also shift my focus a lot.
A post like this makes me think that perhaps I need to dedicate a considerable amount of time to learning something new (Clojure in my case) and sticking with it.
And to answer your question, I did accomplish quite a lot this year (in my own little way). And I did enjoy it. Thank you.
I don't know how some people do it either. My excuse is I have a full-time job, a wife and two kids but then there's people in similar situations like me that accomplish things on the scale of what fogus did...
I do like to relax and do nothing so it is probably that ;-)
Also there was an article recently about "elite" archivers as they called them, pianists and violinists that achieved more while putting in the same hours as their peers because they kept pushing their boundaries and had two well defined practice sessions each day. It also meant they felt more relaxed during the rest of the day.
Not I. Made a decision not to waste too much time just to read, rather "do".
That's great if it works for you, but I can't sit and "do" day after day hour after hour. I need some time to reflect. I need some time to explore a problem more deeply. I need to forget about "do" completely sometimes and just read a book about zombies. I'm far more productive at the "do" if I do something other than "do" as a supplement.
I think my statement warrant more explanations before people misinterpret it.
I still read. But I made a decision not to read too much like I used to in the past. In the past, I used to read tons of books an do less. The problem with that is that I only absorb 10%-20% of the books and simply forgot the rest. My workflow was probably as follow: read book, done, tinkering for a day or two before starting to read another book. Repeat the cycle. (Doesn't matter what book it is; productivity, technology, etc).
I also change my perspective on which books I should read. Gone are the days where I get easily excited when someone said "hey, this book is a must-read for developers/entrepreneurs". Only to find out that there's another book written in the 70's, 80's, or 90's with less pages, boring title, and colorful cover that explain things in a much better, simplified, and to the point.
Hence my statement of "not to waste too much time to just read".