The Productivity Cycle(alexsexton.com)
alexsexton.com
The Productivity Cycle
https://alexsexton.com/blog/2014/1/the-productivity-cycle/
12 comments
While the Hawthorne Effect is widely cited, even after many years the results have not been reliably reproduced so it should be invoked cautiously.
It is certainly a debated effect, but at least it'd be a starting point for a discussion. As is, the article is "well, for me...". Any further discussion or research is impossible since it is a purely personal anecdote.
(N.B., since on re-reading this is less than clear from my original post: I did not intend to give a definitive answer to any of the items raised in the article. I do not possess the knowledge to do so. I merely intended to point out trivial starting points for research for this article)
(N.B., since on re-reading this is less than clear from my original post: I did not intend to give a definitive answer to any of the items raised in the article. I do not possess the knowledge to do so. I merely intended to point out trivial starting points for research for this article)
Or, more likely, "here's how I think I can work better; you give it a try too".
Agreed, this is what I did say several times in the article, as well as calling much of it non-scientific. Though I did cite 2 scientific studies, and some non-trivial biology, I meant the article as a personal experience piece more so than a case-study for what everyone should do.
Nice work! In order to balance my project and school I ended up taking 2 hour naps around 6pm (right after school) to refresh my brain for coding between 8pm and 4am, then napping again till 8am for the 9am till 5pm cycle. The good news was that the project I was building allowed me to post all of my side projects for others to be able to contribute to and see all cool projects done around me ( http://doerhub.com ) , so now that both helps me jump back on the bandwagon faster and energizes my new cycle of work.
Uhh, that's hardcore. On the one hand I admire that kind of energy and your results, on the other I'm old enough to see the risks. I hope that was only over a small period of time. Let me generalize without knowing you :-): You need to sleep more at night. It's all about waves. If you overstress during productivity periods your brain will go to a forced shut down afterwards. That can trigger serious issues (burnout a.ka.a. depression).
Yeah, it lasted about 2 months. Now I can only do it a couple of times a week unless absolutely necessary. Instead of coffee I used milk/high protein foods to keep the brain going. At one point it got so bad I couldn't recognize myself and I think I lost a good friend in the process. Another hacker friend who tried this approach said it only worked for him if the naps were perfectly timed - you shift by one hour and you turn into a monster. (he promptly lifted his hands waving frantically and screeched to demonstrate) If you make one of the naps last more than 4 hours, I think you can get some REM sleep and last longer.
Why don't go fuck yourself ? Every time I see your comment I always wonder why the FUCK you post link to your website. I mean, just see your own comment history. We all know you are girl who code, so there are thousands many like you , more smarter , brilliant than you. Don't for FUCKING sake relate everything to you. Its like saying I am super hard worker and everyone else is stupid. Again, go fuck yourself
If you're taking the time to dig through my posts and/or remember them then I assume you stick around as a more active member of this community and create a fake account to vent. So I'll reply for you and for others who may think like you.
I LOVE building things and creating things that add value. That's it! The world can be a very very lonely place for someone like me and many others here. I try to find the handful of people who do that in my real-world community, because only a handful of my 1500+ peers do what we do here. Three of us are so desperate, we are actually teaching hacking culture and development skills to 190 non-tech classmates, just so we can have a common language with them.
That is why I come to HN. To find other doers and share work and get feedback and grow and help others who are facing the same issues. (I am away from the Silicon Valley for 5 more months, but it feels like an eternity of living on another planet) I'd much rather talk about projects than gossip or news and I miss this type of community in real life so much that I've built a full-blown site that allows people like me to team up, and do things for each-other, and discuss projects tackling cool stuff, regardless of who we know or where we are located. It's working and I keep building it without 1 cent of compensation from anyone, because it has to exist. I am also building a people search tool, mobile apps, wearable apps, and a drone, and mentoring a bunch of other entrepreneurs in the making (who found me because they saw my projects). I vote with my time and I am what I do. Thousands of others are here doing the same.
If we see a problem we tackle it. The AMA was done to help. As you can see I haven't posted any of my projects for scrutiny on HN yet because I'm busting my ass to make them good enough to be worth your time.
I'd rather do constructive stuff, than spend it in a flame war, so please do all of the things you accuse me of doing - post your web site, relate this stuff to you, show how hard you work, show what got you fired up to do what you are doing, and what you've learned, and let's talk about that instead.
I LOVE building things and creating things that add value. That's it! The world can be a very very lonely place for someone like me and many others here. I try to find the handful of people who do that in my real-world community, because only a handful of my 1500+ peers do what we do here. Three of us are so desperate, we are actually teaching hacking culture and development skills to 190 non-tech classmates, just so we can have a common language with them.
That is why I come to HN. To find other doers and share work and get feedback and grow and help others who are facing the same issues. (I am away from the Silicon Valley for 5 more months, but it feels like an eternity of living on another planet) I'd much rather talk about projects than gossip or news and I miss this type of community in real life so much that I've built a full-blown site that allows people like me to team up, and do things for each-other, and discuss projects tackling cool stuff, regardless of who we know or where we are located. It's working and I keep building it without 1 cent of compensation from anyone, because it has to exist. I am also building a people search tool, mobile apps, wearable apps, and a drone, and mentoring a bunch of other entrepreneurs in the making (who found me because they saw my projects). I vote with my time and I am what I do. Thousands of others are here doing the same.
If we see a problem we tackle it. The AMA was done to help. As you can see I haven't posted any of my projects for scrutiny on HN yet because I'm busting my ass to make them good enough to be worth your time.
I'd rather do constructive stuff, than spend it in a flame war, so please do all of the things you accuse me of doing - post your web site, relate this stuff to you, show how hard you work, show what got you fired up to do what you are doing, and what you've learned, and let's talk about that instead.
There's nothing remotely egotistical about what dzink is saying. In no way is she putting other people down, let alone saying "everyone else is stupid." This is one of the few places on the internet I can go and expect to have a civil conversation, and you're ruining it for me.
You are obviously new here, so I'll explain: people post links to their own projects and seek out constructive feedback all the time on HN, and it's totally acceptable. "Fuck you" is not.
Edit: thanks for the downvote, I would have done it if I could.
You are obviously new here, so I'll explain: people post links to their own projects and seek out constructive feedback all the time on HN, and it's totally acceptable. "Fuck you" is not.
Edit: thanks for the downvote, I would have done it if I could.
Hey, I'm sorry that somebody else is getting you down. Is everything okay? Are you going through any sort of trouble?
I ask not to be condescending or sarcastic, but because there are usually deeper causes for such anger and aggression. You can talk to me if you like, email or whatever. Take care.
I ask not to be condescending or sarcastic, but because there are usually deeper causes for such anger and aggression. You can talk to me if you like, email or whatever. Take care.
[deleted]
Well, she did an AMA - it would be kind of expected that most of her recent comments are about herself. But unlike you, she's posting under an actual account, not a sock puppet specifically made to insult.
If you want to disagree with her, how about cutting the insults and engaging with a real account?
If you want to disagree with her, how about cutting the insults and engaging with a real account?
Have you tried therapy?
The coolest thing about caffeine is that it does actually help with mental agility and various cognitive tasks. But surprisingly few cognitive tasks. It actually only increases your working memory and positively influences your ability to concentrate on a task. That's it.
More interestingly still, it doesn't have any cognitive effects at all unless you're sleep deprived. It also doesn't have any cognitive effects in the morning. So that coffee people drink in the morning to wake up, that's just a placebo (unless they slept less than 6 hours, then it helps a bit).
But it does have a bunch of physical effects. Like increased blood flow to the brain, which helps with various things regardless of the fact that blocking adenosine receptors is doing jack shit. It also increases your stamina and physical strength. Which can be useful. Also why a lot of sports bars and most flu medicine contain a bunch of caffeine.
I write about this a lot in my book about Why programmers work at night: https://leanpub.com/nightowls (shameless plug :))
More interestingly still, it doesn't have any cognitive effects at all unless you're sleep deprived. It also doesn't have any cognitive effects in the morning. So that coffee people drink in the morning to wake up, that's just a placebo (unless they slept less than 6 hours, then it helps a bit).
But it does have a bunch of physical effects. Like increased blood flow to the brain, which helps with various things regardless of the fact that blocking adenosine receptors is doing jack shit. It also increases your stamina and physical strength. Which can be useful. Also why a lot of sports bars and most flu medicine contain a bunch of caffeine.
I write about this a lot in my book about Why programmers work at night: https://leanpub.com/nightowls (shameless plug :))
Flu medicine has caffeine because often people unknowing go through caffeine withdrawal unknowingly while they have the flu. Excedrin has it because people with headaches often just hadn't had their fix recently enough. Headaches are one of the major things a day or two after stopping.
Caffeine also potentiates the effects of OTC painkillers
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2012456
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2012456
You're underselling working memory. Working memory is essential for almost everything productive that you do.
And a few of the drawbacks of caffeine:
• It causes peristalsis of the intestines, resulting in what might be called "premature" defecation. I have a hunch this reduces nutrient absorption in the small intestine.
• The "pick me up" you receive when drinking your morning joe is actually just the elimination of your body's withdrawal symptoms through reintroduction of the stimulant. It raises you back to "normal".
• Depending on whether your body metabolizes caffeine quickly or slowly, even a small/moderate dose early in the day may disrupt your sleep cycle, perpetuating insomnia.
• It causes peristalsis of the intestines, resulting in what might be called "premature" defecation. I have a hunch this reduces nutrient absorption in the small intestine.
• The "pick me up" you receive when drinking your morning joe is actually just the elimination of your body's withdrawal symptoms through reintroduction of the stimulant. It raises you back to "normal".
• Depending on whether your body metabolizes caffeine quickly or slowly, even a small/moderate dose early in the day may disrupt your sleep cycle, perpetuating insomnia.
I am a big fan of these ideas. I've long since concluded that caffeine is a tool best used sparingly.
As for the macro productivity cycles, I totally agree that they exist and I very much think that burn out is essentially a case of ignoring those cycles. Sometimes you just need to ease off and coast the downtrend.
I'm hoping to, at some point in the near future, experiment with working/traveling across hemispheres in order to see if I can induce highs in productivity by abruptly placing myself in nicer weather. I have a hunch that your typical seasonal depression has a manic phase and I want to see if I can exploit that.
As for the macro productivity cycles, I totally agree that they exist and I very much think that burn out is essentially a case of ignoring those cycles. Sometimes you just need to ease off and coast the downtrend.
I'm hoping to, at some point in the near future, experiment with working/traveling across hemispheres in order to see if I can induce highs in productivity by abruptly placing myself in nicer weather. I have a hunch that your typical seasonal depression has a manic phase and I want to see if I can exploit that.
Your hunch is popular enough that there are studies looking at SAD being a variant of bipolar disorders - see e.g. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2874241/
Of course, if you believe in the article's idea of cyclical productivity (and a constant total amount of productivity over long phases, no matter if you use stimulants or not), you might as well save yourself the trip and mope in front of the fireplace - your summer is going to be awesome ;)
Of course, if you believe in the article's idea of cyclical productivity (and a constant total amount of productivity over long phases, no matter if you use stimulants or not), you might as well save yourself the trip and mope in front of the fireplace - your summer is going to be awesome ;)
"I’ll hop off my projects with deadlines and build something that I know probably won’t ever even get finished, but that I’m just excited to build."
That's sooo me... I always tell myself and my wife that these keep me sane.
PS: I don't drink coffee or mt dew though...
That's sooo me... I always tell myself and my wife that these keep me sane.
PS: I don't drink coffee or mt dew though...
I have stopped paying attention (well, obviously not entirely) to all the coffee stories, because I realized how tiny the effect of coffee is compared to other things.
Trying to solve a tricky problem that I already know well (that is I don't have to read tons of background material first) keeps me very focused regardless of time of day. Same thing with some kinds of debates I have with people. Time of day only makes a difference when I'm not focused to begin with, and that difference is huge.
The other thing is that standing up and moving around is orders of magnitude more effective than any substance. It works instantly.
Trying to solve a tricky problem that I already know well (that is I don't have to read tons of background material first) keeps me very focused regardless of time of day. Same thing with some kinds of debates I have with people. Time of day only makes a difference when I'm not focused to begin with, and that difference is huge.
The other thing is that standing up and moving around is orders of magnitude more effective than any substance. It works instantly.
When I read one of these Lifehackery blogs with a section that is entitled 'The Nap Month' it makes me feel that the author was procrastinating and trying to justify behaviour they felt guilty about.
I have zero caffeine in my diet, try to sleep between 7 and 10 hours a night - the latter is preferred when I am learning new concepts as it gives my brain a chance to rewire. Walking will stop my sedentary work from leading to constipation more than high-fibre alone.
Really, the secret to productivity is understanding the nature of the problem you are working on. All too often you can think it is all about solving X when in fact it is more about Z. No one really sets aside sufficient time to take stock and review the trajectory of their work so that they smooth the path that lies ahead with proper insight into what constitutes the essential aspects of the solution. As a designer it is vital for me to list every feature I aspire to include and then rank them mercilessly in order of most essential constraining and ultimately eliminating subsequent dilemmas of choice further down the list towards those aspects that would be nice to have but are not essential should you run out of time.
Even if you don't know enough about a highly ranked feature in this list its position in the list should not be influenced by your ignorance of it. It merely represents an area of on the job training that you need to budget for (or realise that you have no time to learn about, in which case you should probably ditch the whole endeavour and pick a project more suited to your skill set, don't pretend that you can reshape your design without it as it will just remind you of its compromised state each time you test it and make you unhappy with your craft).
I have zero caffeine in my diet, try to sleep between 7 and 10 hours a night - the latter is preferred when I am learning new concepts as it gives my brain a chance to rewire. Walking will stop my sedentary work from leading to constipation more than high-fibre alone.
Really, the secret to productivity is understanding the nature of the problem you are working on. All too often you can think it is all about solving X when in fact it is more about Z. No one really sets aside sufficient time to take stock and review the trajectory of their work so that they smooth the path that lies ahead with proper insight into what constitutes the essential aspects of the solution. As a designer it is vital for me to list every feature I aspire to include and then rank them mercilessly in order of most essential constraining and ultimately eliminating subsequent dilemmas of choice further down the list towards those aspects that would be nice to have but are not essential should you run out of time.
Even if you don't know enough about a highly ranked feature in this list its position in the list should not be influenced by your ignorance of it. It merely represents an area of on the job training that you need to budget for (or realise that you have no time to learn about, in which case you should probably ditch the whole endeavour and pick a project more suited to your skill set, don't pretend that you can reshape your design without it as it will just remind you of its compromised state each time you test it and make you unhappy with your craft).
Intentionally inducing manic depressive swings seems like a bad idea. The first-order problem is that you're self-administering, causing changes to your mental state while you have to make decisions about your mental state. But even if you have a physician on standby trying to optimize your state you're still only human.
The theme in the post that resonated with me is that we're subject to waves in the day, the year, etc.. This jibes with my experience. We're only so effective at any given time, and certain times we're far more effective than others.
Rather than trying to create more of those times, I've come to the conclusion that I already get plenty of those times. I just don't always see it. Realizing this, life becomes more like surfing: sharpen awareness of opportunity, be ready when the opportunity comes, and then ride it to see where it takes you.
The theme in the post that resonated with me is that we're subject to waves in the day, the year, etc.. This jibes with my experience. We're only so effective at any given time, and certain times we're far more effective than others.
Rather than trying to create more of those times, I've come to the conclusion that I already get plenty of those times. I just don't always see it. Realizing this, life becomes more like surfing: sharpen awareness of opportunity, be ready when the opportunity comes, and then ride it to see where it takes you.
Enjoyed the read, but not so sure that "caffeine is a zero-sum game." - http://www.futurity.org/caffeine-stimulates-long-term-memory...
From your link:
The subjects—*none of whom regularly ate or drank caffeinated products*—
I like the macronap concept
I can’t help but lead with “ego” and “legacy” because the entire ability to create something from nothing (programming) and to get disproportionally rewarded for doing so (programming salaries) comes along with more than a touch of blind privilege.
#Fail
http://michaelochurch.wordpress.com/2013/11/03/software-engi...
Programmers are well-compensated compared to most people outside of the 1%, but this idea that we're this overpaid class of people is ludicrous. Look at the Bay Area: there's immense value being created entirely by some of the world's top programmers, most of whom can't even afford to buy a house there.
We make enough money that no one should pity us, but the general payoff we get is on the low side of fair, especially in VC-istan where the upside is mostly hogged while the downside risks (damaged careers, sudden firings, constant reorgs, rapid obsolescence of skills) are externalized to the engineers, who are almost trained to personalize their failures amid the dysfunctional institutional miasma (marginal, poorly-managed companies) the VCs have created.
Even if it were true, it would be against our interest to say that we're an overpaid, entitled class. The fact that it's not true makes it even more ridiculous when I hear people say it.
#Fail
http://michaelochurch.wordpress.com/2013/11/03/software-engi...
Programmers are well-compensated compared to most people outside of the 1%, but this idea that we're this overpaid class of people is ludicrous. Look at the Bay Area: there's immense value being created entirely by some of the world's top programmers, most of whom can't even afford to buy a house there.
We make enough money that no one should pity us, but the general payoff we get is on the low side of fair, especially in VC-istan where the upside is mostly hogged while the downside risks (damaged careers, sudden firings, constant reorgs, rapid obsolescence of skills) are externalized to the engineers, who are almost trained to personalize their failures amid the dysfunctional institutional miasma (marginal, poorly-managed companies) the VCs have created.
Even if it were true, it would be against our interest to say that we're an overpaid, entitled class. The fact that it's not true makes it even more ridiculous when I hear people say it.
I don't know if I can properly distinguish the difference between programmers being overpaid and the rest of humanity being underpaid.
> Even if it were true, it would be against our interest to say that we're an overpaid, entitled class.
Not everything that's true or right has to be in our interest.
> Even if it were true, it would be against our interest to say that we're an overpaid, entitled class.
Not everything that's true or right has to be in our interest.
I think everyone can agree that what you are paid to work should be near the value your work provides to whomever is paying you.
Therefore people are underpaid if they provide a lot of value and receive a lot less in return and vice versa.
Therefore are lawyers who create bad patents and then sue people over them, thus destroying value and producing none themselves overpaid? Yes
Is a fast food worker working for minimum wage for a company that makes billions of dollars in profits underpaid? Yes.
Unfortunately supply and demand determine our salaries and not strictly the value our labor produces.
Therefore people are underpaid if they provide a lot of value and receive a lot less in return and vice versa.
Therefore are lawyers who create bad patents and then sue people over them, thus destroying value and producing none themselves overpaid? Yes
Is a fast food worker working for minimum wage for a company that makes billions of dollars in profits underpaid? Yes.
Unfortunately supply and demand determine our salaries and not strictly the value our labor produces.
Therefore people are underpaid if they provide a lot of value and receive a lot less in return and vice versa.
The problem is determining the value those people provide.
If a business owner invests $10 million dollars in a complex machine that creates $10 million dollars a year, is the employee who flips the machine on and off every day and replaces toner cartridges producing $10 million dollars in value? Hardly. The person/company who created the machine more directly produced the value and he/they determined to sell it to the business owner for $10 million dollars.
Is a fast food worker working for minimum wage for a company that makes billions of dollars in profits underpaid? Yes.
No.
This has similarities to my contrived scenario. Billions of dollars were spent in creating fast food companies that can mostly be operated by teenagers with little or no skills. What creates the profit, the investment in all of the infrastructure that lets the teenagers follow simple instructions or the easily replaceable teenagers themselves?
The problem is determining the value those people provide.
If a business owner invests $10 million dollars in a complex machine that creates $10 million dollars a year, is the employee who flips the machine on and off every day and replaces toner cartridges producing $10 million dollars in value? Hardly. The person/company who created the machine more directly produced the value and he/they determined to sell it to the business owner for $10 million dollars.
Is a fast food worker working for minimum wage for a company that makes billions of dollars in profits underpaid? Yes.
No.
This has similarities to my contrived scenario. Billions of dollars were spent in creating fast food companies that can mostly be operated by teenagers with little or no skills. What creates the profit, the investment in all of the infrastructure that lets the teenagers follow simple instructions or the easily replaceable teenagers themselves?
You seem to often conflate the world of programmers with the world of VCs. It looks like tunnel vision or myopia.
I know plenty of people who are 30 years old, and are making 20-30k, or don't have a career and are still working in the service industry. We are fortunate.
I know plenty of people who are 30 years old, and are making 20-30k, or don't have a career and are still working in the service industry. We are fortunate.
These "optimizations", assuming they are correct and will work, would give some 5% "improvement" as so many optimizations do.)
Another thing is all linked to this very meaningless term "creativity", and, perhaps, caffeine could somehow boost it, but in context of real craftsmanship we probably should talk about artistic sense and inspirations, insights, "flow" and "aha-moments" which, it seems, follow much more complex and subtle patterns than just sleep, routine, glucose and caffeine. This will definitely work for sports, but programming is not a sport, it is an art. And for an artist a Muse is required, not a military routine.
Of course, routines and rituals has tremendous power - entire religions are still standing on nothing but them, but this quite another subject.
Another thing is all linked to this very meaningless term "creativity", and, perhaps, caffeine could somehow boost it, but in context of real craftsmanship we probably should talk about artistic sense and inspirations, insights, "flow" and "aha-moments" which, it seems, follow much more complex and subtle patterns than just sleep, routine, glucose and caffeine. This will definitely work for sports, but programming is not a sport, it is an art. And for an artist a Muse is required, not a military routine.
Of course, routines and rituals has tremendous power - entire religions are still standing on nothing but them, but this quite another subject.
Here are few things that would've been beneficial in giving a better foundation to this article - it would've been a much better starting point for actually taking action, for one thing.
BRAC/ultradian rhythm cover the basic idea of a cyclical nature of focus.
Basic neurological effects of caffeine and withdrawal cover the idea that caffeine is a zero-sum game.
The Hawthorne effect[1] covers the idea of "Macro-caffeine"
There are quite a few case studies[2] to support the idea that stress reduction improves productivity.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthorne_effect [2] http://www.amazon.com/Preventing-Stress-Improving-Productivi...