The top 5 new rules of productivity
-
Rama Krishna Vavilala wrote:
2: Working more hours means getting less done - I do not think I fully agree with this statement. If I find something interesting I automatically work long hours.
It's talking long-term... If you're working 60-hour weeks, as it uses in the example, you'll get more done initially, but eventually that's going to wear you out. Seriously, if you were stuck working 12-hour days, 5 days a week, whether you're "in the zone" or not, you'd burn out, wouldn't you?
Rama Krishna Vavilala wrote:
3: Working harder means getting less done - I doubt it.
It's talking about too much pressure. High stress, hard to concentrate, everything rushed... So the output is lower quality... This probably varies person-to-person, but on average, it makes sense.
Rama Krishna Vavilala wrote:
4: Procrastination can be good for you - Well I have been procrastinating writing articles and it did nothing to me
It's pretty standard advice... If you're stuck on a problem and just can't work it out, try switching to something else for a while and coming back to it later. If you're in a visually-creative mood today, work on the GUI instead of the data layer, because you'll probably get more done. Come on, Rama... Read more than just the headings :)
Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
Author of Guardians of Xen (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel)Ian Shlasko wrote:
It's talking long-term... If you're working 60-hour weeks, as it uses in the example, you'll get more done initially, but eventually that's going to wear you out. Seriously, if you were stuck working 12-hour days, 5 days a week, whether you're "in the zone" or not, you'd burn out, wouldn't you?
Only 5? I can work about 3 months of 10 to 12 hours a day 7 days a week before I burn out and production gets worse. Currently I am in that situation with 1 month left to deliver and only 15 to 20 thousand lines of code to write..
John
-
Ian Shlasko wrote:
It's talking long-term... If you're working 60-hour weeks, as it uses in the example, you'll get more done initially, but eventually that's going to wear you out. Seriously, if you were stuck working 12-hour days, 5 days a week, whether you're "in the zone" or not, you'd burn out, wouldn't you?
Only 5? I can work about 3 months of 10 to 12 hours a day 7 days a week before I burn out and production gets worse. Currently I am in that situation with 1 month left to deliver and only 15 to 20 thousand lines of code to write..
John
Ok, well, that's a lot more than I could handle. I work 45 hours a week (9 x 5), though I occasionally work late if I'm in the middle of something. This is near the upper end of my tolerance... Bit more than this, and I'd start to burn out far too quickly.
Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
Author of Guardians of Xen (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel) -
Ok, well, that's a lot more than I could handle. I work 45 hours a week (9 x 5), though I occasionally work late if I'm in the middle of something. This is near the upper end of my tolerance... Bit more than this, and I'd start to burn out far too quickly.
Proud to have finally moved to the A-Ark. Which one are you in?
Author of Guardians of Xen (Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel)I just hired an additional programmer to my team. Hopefully that will eliminate this problem in the future.
John
-
From: 5 New Rules of productivity[^] 1: Your productivity will vary wildly from day to day. This is normal. - Of course yes, that is expected. 2: Working more hours means getting less done - I do not think I fully agree with this statement. If I find something interesting I automatically work long hours. 3: Working harder means getting less done - I doubt it. 4: Procrastination can be good for you - Well I have been procrastinating writing articles and it did nothing to me:) 5: Happiness is the ultimate productivity enhancer - Agreed! In my opinion, doing all the productivity studies may be a waste of time. I do not think there is any universal formula that works for everybody. Incidentally, I was planning to get this book: Drive[^] which discusses about things which motivates us.
-
From: 5 New Rules of productivity[^] 1: Your productivity will vary wildly from day to day. This is normal. - Of course yes, that is expected. 2: Working more hours means getting less done - I do not think I fully agree with this statement. If I find something interesting I automatically work long hours. 3: Working harder means getting less done - I doubt it. 4: Procrastination can be good for you - Well I have been procrastinating writing articles and it did nothing to me:) 5: Happiness is the ultimate productivity enhancer - Agreed! In my opinion, doing all the productivity studies may be a waste of time. I do not think there is any universal formula that works for everybody. Incidentally, I was planning to get this book: Drive[^] which discusses about things which motivates us.
3: Working harder means getting less done - I doubt it. Showing only this, you change the context. Be forced to "work harder" to meet the expectations will probably stress the worker and, if it is an intellectual work with must not have errors, will increase the chance of such errors.
-
From: 5 New Rules of productivity[^] 1: Your productivity will vary wildly from day to day. This is normal. - Of course yes, that is expected. 2: Working more hours means getting less done - I do not think I fully agree with this statement. If I find something interesting I automatically work long hours. 3: Working harder means getting less done - I doubt it. 4: Procrastination can be good for you - Well I have been procrastinating writing articles and it did nothing to me:) 5: Happiness is the ultimate productivity enhancer - Agreed! In my opinion, doing all the productivity studies may be a waste of time. I do not think there is any universal formula that works for everybody. Incidentally, I was planning to get this book: Drive[^] which discusses about things which motivates us.
Oddly for me, I've found that productivity leads to more productivity. When I feel like I've accomplished more than trivial things I get energized and very focused.
And above all things, never think that you're not good enough yourself. A man should never think that. My belief is that in life people will take you at your own reckoning. --Isaac Asimov Avoid the crowd. Do your own thinking independently. Be the chess player, not the chess piece. --Ralph Charell
-
Rama Krishna Vavilala wrote:
2: Working more hours means getting less done
Apply Rule 1 and some discretion, and avoid working long hours without positive results. I also doubt Rule 3, but we can revise it together with my qualification of rule 2. Procrastination has often been good for me. Probably not as often as it's been bad for me, but procrastination when you can afford it should be actively explored. You must, however, do something else productive in the time it gives you. Or at least something enjoyable and postive. [Extra, no charge today: I often procrastinate tasks that I find frustrating or that I get 'stuck' on. Returning to them after some constructive distraction often yields a new perspective that removes the 'block' (like, cleans out the bad energy bru) Health, for me, is the ultimate productivity enhancer. Where I am normally physically healthy, I do suffer from anxiety disorder, manifest in severe indecision, avoidance behaviour, irritability etc. When I sort that, I work like a machine, and that makes me happy.
-
Brady Kelly wrote:
I do suffer from anxiety disorder
Have you ever tried seriously hard exercise 3 days out of 4 (works a treat for me)?
Yesterday they said today was tomorrow but today they know better. - Poul Anderson
I haven't seen seriously hard exercise since basic training, when I wss 18. :-O
-
I haven't seen seriously hard exercise since basic training, when I wss 18. :-O
-
Rama Krishna Vavilala wrote:
2: Working more hours means getting less done
Apply Rule 1 and some discretion, and avoid working long hours without positive results. I also doubt Rule 3, but we can revise it together with my qualification of rule 2. Procrastination has often been good for me. Probably not as often as it's been bad for me, but procrastination when you can afford it should be actively explored. You must, however, do something else productive in the time it gives you. Or at least something enjoyable and postive. [Extra, no charge today: I often procrastinate tasks that I find frustrating or that I get 'stuck' on. Returning to them after some constructive distraction often yields a new perspective that removes the 'block' (like, cleans out the bad energy bru) Health, for me, is the ultimate productivity enhancer. Where I am normally physically healthy, I do suffer from anxiety disorder, manifest in severe indecision, avoidance behaviour, irritability etc. When I sort that, I work like a machine, and that makes me happy.
-
From: 5 New Rules of productivity[^] 1: Your productivity will vary wildly from day to day. This is normal. - Of course yes, that is expected. 2: Working more hours means getting less done - I do not think I fully agree with this statement. If I find something interesting I automatically work long hours. 3: Working harder means getting less done - I doubt it. 4: Procrastination can be good for you - Well I have been procrastinating writing articles and it did nothing to me:) 5: Happiness is the ultimate productivity enhancer - Agreed! In my opinion, doing all the productivity studies may be a waste of time. I do not think there is any universal formula that works for everybody. Incidentally, I was planning to get this book: Drive[^] which discusses about things which motivates us.
1: Your productivity will vary wildly from day to day. This is normal. Matches my experience. 2: Working more hours means getting less done. Agree - usually. I put a lot of hours in up front to master the tools, the documentation, the technology and the underlying problem space so that I rarely have to work lots of hours to get lots done. Aside from brief stints I find that working lots of hours all the time usually coincides with "fix-break-fix-break" situations. Usually means the devs are in over their head - no one's taking on the task of doing the fundamental redesign needed to break the "fix-break-fix-break" cycle. 3: Working harder means getting less done. Once you've mastered the tools the process of coding becomes very fluid - it just flows out of you. If you're working hard all the time, not just for stints as you encounter something new, then there's a good chance you could work less hard by increasing your mastery of some piece of the puzzle. 4: Procrastination can be good for you No comment! :) 5: Happiness is the ultimate productivity enhancer. Hear Hear!
-
From: 5 New Rules of productivity[^] 1: Your productivity will vary wildly from day to day. This is normal. - Of course yes, that is expected. 2: Working more hours means getting less done - I do not think I fully agree with this statement. If I find something interesting I automatically work long hours. 3: Working harder means getting less done - I doubt it. 4: Procrastination can be good for you - Well I have been procrastinating writing articles and it did nothing to me:) 5: Happiness is the ultimate productivity enhancer - Agreed! In my opinion, doing all the productivity studies may be a waste of time. I do not think there is any universal formula that works for everybody. Incidentally, I was planning to get this book: Drive[^] which discusses about things which motivates us.
Talks about productivity make me laugh for the following 2 simple reasons ... 1. Productivity in the strictest sense has no relation to accomplishment. It's strictly a number that provides (a fuzzy) relation between the "effort" your put and the "outcome" that is outputted. The fact that the middle factor "Strength/Capacity" is not even considered, makes it a very risky performance indicator to consider alone. 2. All the above mentioned factors have to do with the personality and character. The variety of working conditions, ones preferences, endurance, strength of discipline when it comes to demanding or things that we don't like doing affect what/when/how and how much of it we're doing. People should really learn first about the true meaning of words like productivity, effectiveness and efficiency before they start writing misleading articles about what is usually their personal experience. :|
-
From: 5 New Rules of productivity[^] 1: Your productivity will vary wildly from day to day. This is normal. - Of course yes, that is expected. 2: Working more hours means getting less done - I do not think I fully agree with this statement. If I find something interesting I automatically work long hours. 3: Working harder means getting less done - I doubt it. 4: Procrastination can be good for you - Well I have been procrastinating writing articles and it did nothing to me:) 5: Happiness is the ultimate productivity enhancer - Agreed! In my opinion, doing all the productivity studies may be a waste of time. I do not think there is any universal formula that works for everybody. Incidentally, I was planning to get this book: Drive[^] which discusses about things which motivates us.