[cahlansharp]

Note that I didn't say you needed to work 100 hour weeks. I don't think that you should spend all your time at the laptop, in fact I specifically mentioned helping others and family as a really important investment of time.

I just think talking yourself out of working extra hours when you waste a lot of those extra hours is just self deception.

[acuozzo]

> I just think talking yourself out of working extra hours when you waste a lot of those extra hours is just self deception.

Why does "wasting time" matter when there's a 100% guarantee that we're all going to die and that the universe is going to come to an end?

Fuck it. I say: Do whatever is necessary for you to lead the life you're happy leading and then... well... lead that life.

If someone is happy doing the bare minimum necessary to spend the rest of his/her time stuffing his/her face with junk food and pigging-out on reality TV, then who are you to call that time "wasted"?

The universe is going down the toilet and, when it does, there will be nobody around to think "Hmmm... Calhan Whatshisface should have spent his time learning the @$$32 JS framework instead of watching Real Fartfaces of Silver Spring".

If working gets you off, then that's fine, but please step off your high horse and stop expecting everyone else to want to spend their life slobbing the proverbial knob of ProductiveWork™.

[opendais]

You don't seem to understand that everyone probably needs those 15 hours of wind down time and doing something mindless [e.g. TV, video games] is how they do that.

It isn't self deception. Just like I know that I'm less productive at complex problems at 3am, I'm less productive if I'm doing it for 11 hours a day instead of 8.

You can become mentally exhausted to the point your work output is worthless because you make stupid mistakes that take longer to QA.

The cost of me making a mistake for 8 minutes? ~$10,000. The cost of me being properly rested, properly QAing things, etc. is not as expensive as the damage of a single mistake a year.

[justinpaulson]

I think more developers should "have a spine" by telling their employers that they refuse to work more than 40 hours a week. That's where the industry needs to grow a spine. You started off on the right track with this line "I hope it includes the people you helped, the children you raised, the spouse you loved dearly," and I was rooting for this article. But then you completely derailed and made the whole article about developers being spineless by not taking on more work at a greater risk. Maybe you will make something great at work and maybe it will out last your life, but most likely, it will not. Do what you enjoy all the time and try to give happiness to others whenever you can. If you don't want to take a job because it is too risky, then don't. But the real problem with spineless developers are those that take on 60-80-100 hour weeks when they really don't want to because they are too spineless to say no.

[nsxwolf]

You aren't addressing programmers who want to know why their side projects and startup ideas are never getting off the ground. "Maybe it's because you're playing too many video games" would be a reasonable thing to say to that audience.

You are instead addressing any and all programmers, and are assuming they all want what you want. I hope you realize how off-putting this is to the people who are just fine with working in a "safe" job and chipping away at their 401k and playing with their kids/TVs/Xbox for 15 hours a week.

[aaronem]

So they're put off. So what? The strong impression I have is that they aren't the people whom the author is addressing, in any case.

[nsxwolf]

He starts by chastising all developers, coders, and programmers that aren't into the idea of being entrepreneurs.

The thesis of the article is basically:

1. You're wrong to be happy with your non-entreprenuereal career

2. You're wrong if you aren't trying really hard to become an entrepreneur

This is a very dickish piece.

[namenotrequired]

I'm not a programmer, but I do know that there's a reason people watch TV and do other "useless" things, and that is because it's not work. People need balance. Personally I prefer going for a walk or writing, but hey, each their thing.

[Dewie]

Yeah. Considering TV and such in isolation is wrong. You can't just say "you wasted those 15 hours on TV" because, if we assume that that TV watching was wasteful in and of itself, you can't know what repercussions it would have if he hadn't done it. Maybe he would have burned out because he didn't have any off-time.