The amount of times I’ve logged off work with a coding problem only to stew on it for 4 hrs including when I’m laying in bed. I’m not billing work for any minute of that nor would I be able to if I tried. Game is fucking rigged in favour of the employer.
Similar problem for me as a lawyer. I can have a case that keeps me up at night stewing and trying to think of a solution, but I feel it would be ethically irresponsible to bill them for 5 hours when I’m not “technically” working on their case.
I realize I’m very privileged. If I’m working on an issue for a whole day or a half day, everything I do during that day is part of the solution and will be billed to the customer (and I’ll be paid for by my employer too). If that includes taking a nap, so be it. Results are what matter, as it should be. If someone ever starts saying I’m taking too long to do something I may consider changing my ways.
Just because I’m not sitting at a keyboard doesn’t mean my brain isn’t working on the problem. I’ve had epiphanies taking a shit before. I’m a systems architect so not really a code monkey but I solved a DNS/networking issue the other day doing dishes. No idea why it hit me then but then again I have ADHD and my brain is fucking weird.
Eh, it’s pretty common for your subconscious to process things in the background. If I’m stuck on a problem at the end of the day, I leave early and I’ll have solved it 9/10 times by the time I get to work the next day. I don’t have ADHD AFAIK (never tested nor felt the need to be), so I’m pretty sure it’s a common experience for creative jobs.
The amount of times I’ve logged off work with a coding problem only to stew on it for 4 hrs including when I’m laying in bed. I’m not billing work for any minute of that nor would I be able to if I tried. Game is fucking rigged in favour of the employer.
Similar problem for me as a lawyer. I can have a case that keeps me up at night stewing and trying to think of a solution, but I feel it would be ethically irresponsible to bill them for 5 hours when I’m not “technically” working on their case.
I realize I’m very privileged. If I’m working on an issue for a whole day or a half day, everything I do during that day is part of the solution and will be billed to the customer (and I’ll be paid for by my employer too). If that includes taking a nap, so be it. Results are what matter, as it should be. If someone ever starts saying I’m taking too long to do something I may consider changing my ways.
Just because I’m not sitting at a keyboard doesn’t mean my brain isn’t working on the problem. I’ve had epiphanies taking a shit before. I’m a systems architect so not really a code monkey but I solved a DNS/networking issue the other day doing dishes. No idea why it hit me then but then again I have ADHD and my brain is fucking weird.
Eh, it’s pretty common for your subconscious to process things in the background. If I’m stuck on a problem at the end of the day, I leave early and I’ll have solved it 9/10 times by the time I get to work the next day. I don’t have ADHD AFAIK (never tested nor felt the need to be), so I’m pretty sure it’s a common experience for creative jobs.