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Article Description: ] by Hook - random 'programmer' guy on the inet espouses 'productivity' tips based on the success of John Carmack

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Content: use HTML Edit Content <h1 style="text-align: center;">title</h1> <h2>[WHAT]</h2> <ol> <li>]&nbsp;<a href="http://bookofhook.blogspot.de/2013/03/smart-guy-productivity-pitfalls.html" target="_blank">http://bookofhook.blogspot.de/2013/03/smart-guy-productivity-pitfalls.html</a></li> </ol> <h2>[WHY]</h2> <ol> <li><strong>]&nbsp;author <span style="background-color: #ffff99;">recognized the problem</span> of long days with not a lot of 'work'</strong></li> <ol> <li>distractions - water cooler, friendships, meetings, email, stuff</li> <li>somewhat expected as the cost of an office environment</li> </ol> <li><strong>] working around high-productivity&nbsp;professionals like John Carmack made me realize that if you want to excel, then <span style="background-color: #ffff99;">you have to work hard and focus the whole time.</span></strong></li> <ol> <li>] carmack had a system of 'productvity measurement'&nbsp;where he would listen to a CD(circa 1980's)&nbsp;and when he was interrupted would pause the CD whenever he wast productive,</li> <li>] That level of work ethic and focus is rare</li> <li>] my generation of programmers who were raised with the vile "work smart, not hard" mantra, coupled with the sense that we were somehow significantly brighter than most of our peers.</li> <li>] An overinflated sense of your own abilities creates a constant state of production deficit, because you assume that you can make it up with a burst of brilliance and/or crunch.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> </ol> <li><strong>] trap of the easy task</strong></li> <ol> <li>] update an SDK, an hour tops,</li> <li>] Well, as with so many things<span style="background-color: #ffff99;">, it's the unexpected things that screw you the hardest.</span></li> <li>] EXAMPLE what can go wrong -</li> </ol> <li><strong>] crazy 1 time bills</strong></li> <ol> <li>] It's like having a perfect monetary budget that assumes no crazy "one time" only bills, except life is full of crazy one time only bills and the only way you can keep those under control is by giving yourself a budgetary capacitor to dampen the fluctuations.</li> <li>] And now you're defensive about losing a week to something stupid because you budgeted an hour for it and waited until the last second to do it and now the schedule has gone to hell, but it's not <em>your</em>&nbsp;fault, because it could have happened to anyone! &nbsp;But&nbsp;if you had banked your surplus hours before and/or worked at closer to your theoretical peak effectiveness then this type of thing would get absorbed in the wash.</li> </ol> <li><strong>] my tip is&nbsp;NOT to just be more like John Carmack, my tips are</strong></li> <ol> <li>] self-awareness -&nbsp; aware -</li> <li>] give a shit - care</li> <li>] minimize uncertainty</li> <li>] commit to get something done everyday</li> <li>] never say "ill finish it up" tommorow OR ...</li> <li>] do not overpromise to make up for poor productivity</li> <li>] have an objective productivity metric</li> <li>] accept "the grind" is part of the job</li> </ol></ol> <h2>[WHERE]</h2> <ol> <li>]</li> </ol> <h2>[WHEN]</h2> <ol> <li>]</li> </ol> <h2>[EXAMPLE]</h2> <ol> <li>]</li> </ol> <h2>[HOW-TO]</h2> <ol> <li>]</li> </ol> <h2>[REFERENCE]</h2> <ol> <li>]</li> </ol> <h1 style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</h1>