

Ask HN: How did you build your current work ethic? - chunky1994

In all of my reading of motivational literature and other productivity related material, I have never seen a concrete method of maintaining a sustainable work ethic. Most books&#x2F;essays&#x2F;articles I&#x27;ve read have mostly broached this topic with methods to improve your productivity, however they all skim over a holistic approach of how to actually get work done.<p>Furthermore, since the audience on HN is diverse, I thought it would be very interesting to see how people deal with stress or other distractions in their day to day life, and how they actually formed their work ethic (from being a kid who does not produce &quot;work&quot; to an adult who does both enjoyable work as well as the typical &quot;grunt&quot; work). (As a young adult who has now been in university for two years, it seems like the work ethic cultivated here is mostly organic in nature, and could definitely benefit with insight on experiences of current working professionals.)
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tomcam
I grew up in a place I don't want to return to. Also, I have two handicapped
kids, one of whom will need round-the-clock care long after I'm dead. I got
sick (at 21) of crappy bosses. And finally, I chose a good field to work in
(programming)

I became highly self-motivated at 21 because I was a dropout & knew I had to
be better than my degreed peers to get an equally good job. It was either go
to college, then get some crappy job as a teacher, or find an area of
programming so challenging that it scared other programmers (back then, it was
embedded systems and compiler implementation).

Ever since I decided at 21 to become a programmer (despite having absolutely
no tech background) I have studied for my next job while I'm working the
current one. At 34 Microsoft hired me with no resume despite the fact that I
was old and the last thing I graduated from was middle school.

One thing I always keep in mind is this: are there people dumber than I am
doing better than I am in whatever I happen to be doing at the moment? If the
answer is yes, then I know I can be just as successful simply by working as
hard as I need to until I'm as good as they are, or maybe a little better.

Have been CEO of my own company for 14 years now, but continue to study
current programming practices and to do interesting projects with them. No
matter what job I have had, no matter how good, I have always operated under
the assumption I could lose it all tomorrow, and that I would be facing stiff
competition for jobs.

I avoided Silicon Valley because it was too much of a pressure cooker. Instead
I lived in more laid back areas that still had some tech presence. This let me
live a moderately balanced life despite essentially working 2 jobs at all
times. Had I gone to Silicon Valley I knew, even in the late 80s, I would be
slave to an 80 hour-per-week job and end up, in all likelihood, with nothing
to show for it.

I read the industry and business press carefully from afar & kept a close eye
on what was doing well and where the market was underserved. I tried to match
my skills to holes in the market. My approach can be scary because I have to
take on more risk, but the rewards have been better.

Because of this I invested lots in Microsoft stock in the late 90s when
everyone said they were dead. Their past, and their P/Ls, said something very
different. The stock I owned went up 1300% during this time because everyone
else, including Microsofties, was trying to get out if it. (I exited at the
peak.) This money helped me invest in the business I own now. It was also a
risky buy at the bottom of a market.

I have more than one paid-for house and no debt but I still keep up my skills.

Though my income is very good, even in my 50s I am ready to work as a
developer or architect if my company shuts down tomorrow.

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milkcircle
The most proactive step I take to get things done is to go somewhere where
I'll feel guilty if I don't do work. I've learned not to trust myself when I'm
alone in a room with no oversight...I'll just end up getting distracted or
playing games or going on social media, and I very easily lose track of time
this way.

It's much easier for me because I'm in college right now and the library is
only a few steps away from my dorm, so the activation energy isn't as great.
But I've found that I get very self-conscious about what's on my screen if I
move to an open spot in the library where people can see my laptop screen as
they walk by. What also helps is seeing my friends be productive; it pushes me
to begin work as well.

An unintended benefit of constantly going to libraries or cafes to work is
that it makes me separate my work from my dorm room, which is advantageous in
itself. Returning to my room now allows me to put my work behind me and truly
relax, something that hadn't really been possible before. Of course, all this
is psychological, but I find it really helps me.

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lily2014
As a kid/ green hand, firstly, get used to new enviroment, and understand what
is your job. After that, enjoy your work. Then try to get a promotion.

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aarohmankad
note: I work in freelance, so my view might be a bit different than what you
are looking for.

I basically work whenever I feel like it. Obviously if I'm on a tight
deadline, I just work till I'm done (putting your phone in airplane mode
helps). While I try to work on a regular schedule, I've only found it to be
counter-productive. Let me give you a recent example.

I was working on creating an email template for a local startup and wasn't
really in to it. I opened up Hacker News and read a couple posts and saw the
Vinod Khosla interview with Sergey Brin and Larry Page. I watched the longish
(45 minutes) video and went back to work.

About half an hour later, I got into a really nice flow and finished my two
day project in about 3 hours.

