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Classic Gerald Weinberg Essay Reprinted
danielread writes "Programmer abuse has been a popular topic recently, especially within the gaming industry. However, excessive overtime and overwork are not new problems for software professionals. Twenty years ago, acclaimed author Gerald Weinberg wrote an essay called 'Personal Chemistry and the Healthy Body,' which is as relevant for programmers today as it was two decades ago. Given this topic's recent resurgence, Mr. Weinberg was generous enough to let developer.* Magazine reprint this classic essay."
Many of us have observed that "geeks" are often anxious in a social situation. Be sure to socialize often; if you cannot, then professional counseling may be in order. Social skills are essential in a business environment. You're only as confident as you feel, and by extension appear to others.
Do you like German cars?
What are normal hours? When programming, sometimes you get into a zone and forget time. This is different from a 450lb CEO sitting in your cubical threatening to sit in your arms - to make you type faster. Or firing you for getting medical treatment.
One is brought about by inspiration, the other is by bad management.
Fight Spammers!
WTF? Once in a while I like to blow 300 bucks at the titty bar.
20 years ago it was easy for me to spend 3-4 nights a week at the pub, crawl home at 2 AM, sleep ~5 hours and get to work somewhat refreshed. Now (at 39) I can stay out once a month until 10 PM, sleep ~6 hours and get to work feeling like a bag of shit.
Ah the ravages of age...
Trolling is a art,
tfa seems like good advice. i've known people to whom a regular schedule came naturally, and i envy them to some degree.
i've never felt right getting up before 10, and i've always wanted to stay up late. --ALL-- my life, but admittedly, less so lately as i'm approaching late 20s and for the most part have a daily routine.
i dream one day we'll put rockets in the earth and slow the rotation so that we get 36 hour days. 12 work, 12 play, 12 sleep, THAT would come naturally to me. 8 of each just isn't enough in one day.
People criticize the pseudo-xenophobic, anti-social nerd culture, but honestly, have you looked around at what's going on "outside?" I don't blame a lot of these guys for getting lost in the glow of a screen.
I have subcontractors I work with. Some of them are brilliant coders and designers, but putting them in the boardroom would create a scene. OTOH, if I had these guys brush their hair and teeth more often and they discovered GURLS, their productivity would likely be exponentially reduced. They might have a more normal social experience, but they'd also likely sacrifice the uniqueness that their antisocial position has manifested that resulted in superior coding and design.
I contend that the ultra-passionate are the ones that really create quantum change in our society, and often this is at the cost of pandering to many other socially-appropriate conventions. I'm not sure whether it's best to try to become more socially acceptable or work to dispell the notion that if you don't look or act "normal" you have no chance for advancement?
Then again, I concede that how we treat ourselves is a reflection of how we treat others. I would have less faith in the code produced by a morbidly obsese programmer who obviously has no personal self control, than someone who wasn't as personally self-destructive and negligent, because you can bet their habits bleed into their work as well.
When I talked to him the next morning he said he'd found the bug within an hour after getting back from lunch.
I will let the reader find the moral to this story.
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10 years in coding/web design. Never had a job where I averaged more than 40 hours a week. Never had a week that I've worked more than 50. It's called comp time and setting boundaries. First time on a new job I'm asked to work late I say "let me check with my wife." and usually it's fine. Then I say "in the future, unless it is a true emergency, I need at least 1 day, preferable 2 days of notice to make arrangments.". Then, later that week, probably Friday, I'll say "I'm leaving early, 'cause I stayed late Tuesday." If they say a problem, I say, "
well, I can take it next week". Note: DO NOT PHRASE THIS AS A QUESTION! Like "can I leave early". Just announce it.
This has always worked for me, and frankly, I have no sympathy for people who work long hours and gripe. It's your choice.
DO NOT DISTURB THE SE
A few random points:
1) Are you trying to be a prick, or does it just come naturally?
2) The article can be applied to most of those "other professionals working long [shouldbeacommahere] thankless hours". Regardless of the nature of your job--so long as it requires even a modicum of creativity--overworking yourself may be less productive than working according to a sane schedule. In short, it's good advice for everybody, and doesn't amount to coders demanding special treatment.
3) Is it really "getting ahead" if it means we die of stress-induced coronaries before the age of 50? On the bright side, at that point we don't really lose much. A couple of decades of neglect should be enough to dump anyone's personal life down the toilet.
4) I think the major difference between you and me is that you appear to idolize the overachievers who put in 12-16 hour days to "get ahead", and seem to get really touchy when that lifestyle is called into question. Me, I consider them to be a bunch of morons who are driven by a mix of greed and ego.
You want the truthiness? You can't handle the truthiness!