This Is How I Work | Hacker News Reader

This Is How I Work

semihyagcioglu.com

I get up at 9-ish, hopefully. I use intermittent fasting so I don't eat breakfast. I go to work still exhausted. I have a paper notebook I use to take notes. Space constraints at work means my team's whiteboard wall for standup is now inaccessible. I work as late as I can, eating lunch and maybe dinner, until 8 or 9. I go home and stay up online reading until 2 or 3 in the morning, with a few games of something in-between. I pass out exhausted.

Heaven forbid I ever go to bed not ready to fall asleep instantly, lest I be forced to consider all that I have not done in life, all that I have failed to be. All the missed opportunities that I let pass me by, all the mistakes I have made.

Maybe start eating breakfast?

Intermittent Fasting + Ketogenic Diet is awesome, fully recommend it. It is like having an internal source of energy that just goes on and on forever!

Cereal and toast means a blood sugar crash a few hours later, no thanks!

>>Cereal and toast means a blood sugar crash a few hours later, no thanks!

Well, you could try eating like an adult and see how it works for you.

I have a protein shake every morning. Milk, banana, peanut butter and chocolate protein powder. Works great: it's filling, delicious, healthy and it doesn't cause a sugar crash.

I've also done high protein breakfasts, they work out well.

IF provides unique benefits, not saying it is the only way, but it is a comfortable way.

My lack of energy in the morning is more due to my internal clock being shifted about 8 hours forward. My natural hours would be to take at ~1pm and be up until ~4am.

Separate issue. :)

Have you done a sleep or diet study or are you just making assumptions based on your experience?

There are numerous studies into 'night owls' and such a people do exist, I was actually reading about this earlier due to the fact I've always been more active, alert and mentally capable when waking up at 11-13 as opposed to times earlier, and the energy lasted throughout the day.

I think the Wikipedia page on night-owls explains in greater detail the exacts of what is essentially a genetic predisposition, the sources hold up too.

Anecdotally, I've tried many diets, I thought I had insomnia at one point and the doctors did not disagree, taking pills does not make it easier- you feel more disconnected and my usual grumpy demenour is more apathetic.

As with most things YMMV

My guess is the Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_sleep_phase_disorder )

One problem I have with doctors is that everything is a fucking disorder if it deviates from the mean in any way. There are people who are far more functional and productive following this sleep pattern. I can't imagine going to bed at 11 and waking up at 7 every day.

A thing is called a "disorder" if

1. it makes it hard to function in society; and

2. it can be treated or mediated somehow, so there's a point to having a name for it.

Basically, a "disorder" is a node connecting "symptoms" to "treatments."

This is the exact same shake I have and it's wonderful. If you're a coffee person, try adding some cold brew as well.

There is nothing childish about cereal and toast.

He didn't say "Lucky Charms" and "toast loaded with grape jelly".

I eat a low carb meals also, and I totally get not wanting a sugar crash due to eating a carb-loaded breakfast. But sheesh "Well, you could try eating like an adult" just sounds terribly condescending to me.

Plenty of adults eat cereal and toast for breakfast and are just fine doing so.

there are cereals without sugar...

fasting for a longer time can be dangerous...

your body in the morning needs energie its like a engine...

I don't eat after 7:30 PM I can't sleep with a full belly

Fasting for a day is not in any way dangerous. We've evolved to cope with situations much more extreme than that just fine.

I generally have oats and raisins for breakfast, (my boyfriend makes a cooked breakfast sometimes but that's far from a regular thing,) never noted a blood sugar crash.

How old are you? And what sort of body type? Intermittent fasting sounds really interesting, but I am already fairly skinny. I don't really need to loose weight.

I also don't break the fast until 1/2pm after I get up at 830/9am and I operate just fine.

com2kid just needs better sleep. Change pillows, change beds. Also, for your sake, take your laptop to bed with you and use something like f.lux to change the hue of the screen, anything but sitting at your desk (although getting that LCD out of your face would be optimal). You could probably use an extra hour of sleep.

Also, making sure that when you do sleep it is pitch dark. Cover all lights, smoke detectors etc. Will make for a better quality sleep.

Wow, this hit at home exactly - down to the meal plan and sleep schedule(except that I don't fast on purpose). I used to drink, only at night, so that I could fall right asleep. Works well, but not great for health or feeling good in the morning. I think that most of your/our problem comes down to lack of physical activity. Start trying to exercise more, even at night. A good physical exhaustion will put you right to sleep, and has the side effects of being good for you. I'm slowly climbing out of the rut this way, and hope you can too.

"I believe in taking care of myself and a balanced diet and rigorous exercise routine. In the morning if my face is a little puffy I'll put on an ice pack while doing stomach crunches. I can do 1000 now. After I remove the ice pack I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower I use a water activated gel cleanser, then a honey almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb-mint facial mask which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an after shave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion."

- Patrick Bateman

Exactly. Sometimes I feel like we're playing a game where we see just how many different ways we can regurgitate old ideas in the style of Patrick Bateman (emotionless, preachy, assuming superiority).

Hopefully OP realizes this before it's too late: This lifestyle -- these attempts at maximizing productivity will decrease your happiness. They completely ignore a well-accepted truth: variety is the spice of life. In the 90s we started to laugh at the yuppie workaholics of the 80s for what they were and all they failed (and succeeded) to do. It seems we've forgotten the tragedy of their often short-sighted and unsustainable lifestyle choices because I see them being repeated.

To anyone who has subscribed to this lifestyle: Go watch American Psycho and introspect on how much you're becoming a modern day version of that caricature of insanity (minus the literal killing).

I'm not entirely sure what you're driving at. It seems you're equating having a routine with being a psychopath. While narcissism like in your extract can be considered part of the dark triad, it seems like you've decided the OP is also a narcissist with little to no evidence to back it up. Then again, I can only guess at what you're getting at when your only statement (argument?) is a quote from a piece of fiction.

Working out regularly does not make you a narcissist. In fact, he doesn't even specify the exercises he does. For all we know, he goes jogging to help boost his cardiovascular health, rather than pumping iron. And even if he did pump iron, let him. It's what he wants to do, and it doesn't make him a psycho.

This sounds like a terrible life. Do you live in Sparta? Where is the balance?

No mention of a significant other, socializing, meals, etc. And only 15 minutes for exercise? Seriously? You get more than that in prison.

Big +1.

While sure, my productivity might be better with that kind of routine, I feel like I could be much happier if I followed a more nature routine and go with the flow while following a general outline.

Sometimes I dream being that productive (although his exercise routine is ridiculously short). But then I also want a social life, I want to party with my friends, I want to meet new people, I want to take holidays, I want to meet women... overall I want to be impulsive sometimes.

Having a routine like is just looking for troubles when you end up breaking it one day.

The first thing is to know the tricks that work to make you effective when you want to get into an effective loop: [The chain system, the pomodoro technique, getting good sleep + eating well + sport, no alcohol] does the trick for me.

The second thing is to learn how to balance those things with a social life, with a good one. And I've yet to read an article about it. Maybe I'll write about it if I find the solution one day.

The title of this is "This is How I Work", not "This is How I Play" or "This is How I Spend Time With (Family|Significant Others)". Many of you read way beyond the content of this article and drew the conclusion that the author has no capacity to write equally lengthy posts on those other topics.

The schedule laid out is probably idealized. Would this really be as useful a post if he or she qualified everything with branches like "well, unless it's the first Tuesday of the month... On that day, I meet up with...", "Oh, and every Monday morning I have to put the trash out".

Knowing exactly what you need to do when you really need to shift into Get Sh*t Done mode is incredibly useful, and takes trial and error to continually improve. Stories like these provide new things to try in your own process.

im always a little intrigued when i see these stories.

list of applying so-called perfect formulas for an efficient work-bee style life that you're apparently supposed to be craving for.

my take:

- never know if real or wishful thinking

- most formulas have simple common sense equivalents for each person. yet it seems many are drawn to a "must have some formula to follow that has been spelled out and named by someone". ie: don't wanna learn, prefer to apply some magic formula - blindly. sounds dull to me.

- wrong amounts in formulas. it never achieves balance. balance is in my eyes the most important thing in the world. and im not talking just work/life balance. even if one could sustain a worker bee type schedule - and im sure some can - the ones i see arent efficient. 15min x2 workout really? averaged what you found in the past 3 such blog posts to do this? looks like so.

finally - do you really need to follow a guide on how to make bullet lists and organise a notebook? reeeallly? if you never try to solve any such problem on your own, you'll never achieve what you're looking for.

What?

Why would you do this?

You're basically saying you work constantly. What is the point of life if you're always working?

No friends, family, social activities, or random fun unproductive moments? Is this truly a goal for the tech community? To just be a slave your whole life?

What an efficient robot. It is amazing how our entire lives are about being most "productive". Do we do anything just for the for the fun of doing it, in an unstructured unplanned way?

Nice post. One small comment: "For taking notes I use a squared Moleskine notebook and a black pen." I used to use Moleskine notebooks, until one catastrophically broke (http://jseliger.wordpress.com/2011/05/11/eight-years-of-writ...). Since then, I've begun using Rhodia "Webnotebooks." The name is stupid but they're incredibly durable.

Thank you! It seems really great.

Every time I see these kind articles I feel like the writer is being sponsored by one of these tools.

I am not. I love those tools. This is the real reason I mentioned their names. They helped me accomplish things. I truly believe, if this is the case, there are lots of other people who could benefit using them. Like I do.

You would have to make a huge number of assumptions to draw the conclusion that this guy is a psychopath or otherwise a no-lifer. So what if he continues working after dinner? Does he say what he works on? It could be anything, personal projects, writing..

I know that I split my post-work time in to my various projects, and I wouldn't personally call it 'work'. I understand that others believe that you should take the time to watch television or play games or otherwise unwind. For me, working on my projects lets me unwind. I'm not sure what people mean by 'balance', when I consider my own projects the 'life' part of work-life.

This guy gets up early, keeps himself fit, works hard, keeps up the social side of things (sure, he might talk about work over lunch, but he doesn't say he doesn't just shoot the shit too), and then gets on with stuff he enjoys. This doesn't scream Patrick Bateman to me at all.

This is the saddest thing I've ever read.

On the other hand this is one of the best things I've ever read.

Thank you! I learned a lot in this community. Seeing this type positive feedback from like-minded people means a lot!

I'm surprised by how many people are taking your blog post negatively. I was under the impression that most HN'rs love their work and try to get the most out of it.

Are you happy? That's my most important takeaway from this, because if you are, then this is a well-done routine -- like neat code, if you will. If you aren't happy, then, this sounds more like an android's schedule.

I personally prefer a very flexible schedule, something that can live with my moods

Yes, happier than ever before. If I was not, I would never continue this. It really helped me accomplish a lot. But there are other things in life that help you. Friends and family, I appreciate them all.

I am drawn to this type of life, especially when my goal is learning a new skillset.

Only problem is, you end up feeling like just another 'productive asset', squeezing every inch of time to maximize output.

It sounds the author's routine is so closed, almost never leaving time for an open mind or time to reflect.

Haha, throw in a couple of kids and wife and let's see what life has to say about your 'plans'. ;)

I'd say this type of hardcore schedule works fine if you:

a) Live completely alone with no people to respond to.

b) Don't give a shit about your family (spouse and kids).

For added fun, open this video in the background while reading OP: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttvmkXi-rZU

Thank you for posting this. I have at one point or another utilized many of these techniques. I've never tried Evernote, though. I'll have to try it out. How do you deal with lingering problems, things that require uncertain action/are at the whim of other people? Similarly, what tools and methods do you use for scheduling and intermittent tasks?

Thank you for this great feedback. These problems are the hardest ones. I try to break them into smaller tasks whenever possible. I start small. Try to finish that small thing. Otherwise it may become overwhelming. If I need to be reminded for a future task I set up a calender event and an alert. For that I use Google Calendar. For the rest I prefer using notebook.

As a lover of handy paper pocketsized moleskineish notebooks, I was very happy to learn about Bullet Journal from this post http://www.bulletjournal.com/

I understand that work is important in life, but it's not entire life, I believe. May be we don't need to think about work from the moment we wake up till the moment we fall asleep. Just saying.

This is a great post! I have an history of abandoning goals/plans before they are complete. How do you manage to maintain consistency

Is there any reason to believe he is more productive than I am already?

(He is spot on about multitasking being a productivity killer though).

Checkout workflowy.com <- it's "just" an outliner, but it's really changed the way I work.

do while (alive) { work() }

It seems like that dude has no girlfriend/wife/family.. :[

Semihcigim great post. Thanks

Glad that you liked it! Thanks for the great comments and feedback.

What was the point of this?

One of my friends wanted me to share how I work with him. I thought it might also be helpful for like-minded people.

It helped me. Mission accomplished! thanks.

Productivity for the sake of productivity is pointless. What are you trying to accomplish? You're not going to get rich or make history because of this. And it certainly isn't sustainable alongside a social life.

Well this is like your opinion, if your goal is to learn, I find that looking for productivity is great for you. You learn more and feel more connected.

Then if your goal in life is to get rich or make history I don't know... But it's not everyone's goal.

Completely agree with that. I am trying to be happy. In the mean time I am trying to learn, discover, and have fun.

and yet another single, young man post about productivity.

get a wife, a kid, then talk about organising a life. your only constraint is yourself. nothing remotely challenging.

boring HN navel gazing.

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