News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on You Don't Need to Quit Your Job to Make. Parent comment

Re:You Don't Need to Quit Your Job to Make by amoitnga on Thursday February 14, 2019 @01:18PM (#19164321)
I agree with you here. After 8 hours of intensive coding, or whatever I could squeeze out of myself that day, going home and doing more of the same is the last thing I want to do. I doubt we can code for 12-14 hours a day steadily for a long period of time.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:You Don't Need to Quit Your Job to Make by cr0sh on Thursday February 14, 2019 @03:14PM (#19165551)
> I doubt we can code for 12-14 hours a day steadily for a long period of time.

For me, it depends on what I'm coding. If I were to go home and work on something practical or "planned" - yeah, I might not like that much.

But if it's for something fun, or just "playing around" - then I can do that all day long. I don't know about you, but when I was a kid, I recall just "futzing around on my computer". Now, granted, this was in the 1980s - and my computer was an 8-bit TRS-80 - but I played.

That's what I like to do today. I'm not there to make anything revolutionary - but rather just to play around with an idea or concept. Maybe one day it's Python with some OpenGL or QT; maybe another it's maze generation algorithms in Javascript; on another day it might be some kind of sound generation code in QB64!

Just all for fun - for myself. Not for a business, not for anything else much except maybe learning something new, and having some fun!

Being a kid again, in a way; I'm 45 years old, btw.

This could really be anything; you could do the same with hardware - an Arduino project for fun, or maybe Lego (you could combine all three - fun coding on an Arduino to control your Lego motors or whatnot)...

The key is that it isn't work - it is instead play. Just because you're an adult, doesn't mean you can't play, or that you shouldn't play. That's a lie that society wants you to believe.

Instead of thinking "I need me time to make a business" instead just say "I need me time to play" - sure, it won't lead to you becoming rich monetarily, but it will make you happier, possibly healthier.

Call it a hobby, call it playing with your toys, just don't call it work - because it shouldn't be.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:You Don't Need to Quit Your Job to Make by wccrawford on Thursday February 14, 2019 @01:44PM (#19164590)
Studies have shown that people can't reliably work mental jobs for more than 8 hours a day long-term and keep up the same level of quality.

I can't see why it would matter if those hours were spent at home or in an office.

So yeah, I'm sure that it's not sustainable long-term.

[ Parent | on HN ]