work-life balance

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Would you get tattooed just to interview at a 7-days-a-week AI startup?
2 months ago
- LemonLime, a small AI startup, uses unusual hiring gimmicks like a 'Is it a Lemon or a Lime?' game and offering tattoos of the company logo.
- Seven people got tattoos of the LemonLime logo during a party, leading to negative backlash and CEO Jordan Zietz apologizing for 'poor judgment'.
- The company has a grind culture, requiring employees to work 7 days a week, with no weekends or evenings, and has lost applicants who refuse to work past 5 pm or on weekends.
- LemonLime prioritizes hiring people they want to be friends with over grades, emphasizing fun and long hours pushing product features late at night.
Self-sabotage
2 months ago
- The author experiences recurring burnout and often feels torn about sharing personal struggles on the company blog, questioning if it is a form of self-sabotage.
- Posting about hard topics has little direct business upside, as it does not close deals or generate leads, but the author continues despite the risks.
- The author avoids high-touch emails, sales calls, and repetitive questionnaires to preserve energy and sanity, which may limit business growth.
- The pattern of avoiding draining activities is a form of self-preservation, optimizing for personal well-being over speed and growth.
- Despite professional costs, the personal reward comes from connecting with others who share similar experiences, reducing feelings of isolation.
It's okay to be selfish
2 months ago
- It's acceptable to build a lifestyle business that prioritizes family, health, time, freedom, and happiness over traditional growth metrics.
- You can choose alternative paths in business, such as using email over sales calls, working fewer hours, staying small, and focusing on profitability.
- It's okay to reject common startup norms like constant marketing, late hours, perpetual reinvestment, and empire-building in favor of personal choices like taking time off or prioritizing family.
- You can design a business around your life rather than reshaping your life for the business, embracing calm over chaos.
- The main message is that being 'selfish'—focusing on your own wellbeing and preferences—is valid in entrepreneurship.
"Efficiency" is bad for your health, and your learning
2 months ago
- The author used to stress about maximizing every minute for productivity, but found it didn't lead to the expected '10x' results.
- After working for five years, the author adopted a healthier attitude toward work-life balance, realizing that being 'totally efficient' is unrealistic for humans.
- Most professional skill development occurs during regular job hours, not through side projects or forced efficiency.
- The author recommends pursuing extra activities only when genuinely interested, rather than out of obligation, to avoid mental health costs.
- Giving yourself leeway reduces stress and allows better focus, leading to more effective learning.
The Productivity Paradox: Why Doing More Leads to Less
2 months ago
- The productivity paradox shows that increased efficiency often leads to more demands and exhaustion rather than fulfillment.
- People have become 'human doings' instead of 'human beings', turning homes into offices and hobbies into side hustles.
- The endless pursuit of productivity traps individuals in a hamster wheel effect where the world's work supply is limitless.
- True efficiency should create space for meaningful experiences like daydreaming, gardening, and deep conversations instead of just more tasks.
- Worth is not measured by tasks completed but by the richness of experiences and depth of connections.
- Taking breaks and slowing down is a revolutionary act that prioritizes being over doing.
NLNOG Presentation trilogy on technical jobs and careers - Bert Hubert's writings
2 months ago
- A trilogy of presentations on technical jobs and careers was held at NLNOG events over eight years, now compiled in one page.
- The first talk addresses the polarization between technical people and management, highlighting communication gaps and differing views on meetings.
- The second presentation focuses on career improvement, warning against staying in bad jobs too long and offering tips for job changes.
- The third talk discusses alternatives like contracting or starting a company, emphasizing the need to understand business perspectives.
- Part four covers lifelong learning, advising how to adapt to new technologies without chasing every trend.
- The author notes a Dutch/Western European perspective and mentions undervaluation of technical talent in Europe.
- Key advice includes visiting industry events and actively managing one's career for better outcomes.
Out of the Office: Into each life some rain must fall - Bert Hubert's writings
2 months ago
- The author is taking a break from projects due to a serious family medical situation and asks for no emails or help, except donations to Ukraine.
- The 'big rain' refers to life events so scary that normalcy seems out of reach, and the author has experienced this three times.
- Facing such crises provides a unique perspective on what truly matters, but that perspective can fade with protective amnesia.
- The author validates Kurt Vonnegut's quote that little things like walks, meals, and gatherings are actually the big things.
- Reflecting on overwork, the author admits to trying to take on too much, neglecting the little things that are truly important.
- Despite the hardships, the author found joy in nature walks and hopes to remember this lesson when things improve.
- The author requests support for Ukraine via aidtoukraine.nl or United24 as a way to help them.
Doing nothing at work
2 months ago
- Engineers should aim for 80% utilization, spending 20% of work time away from the computer to stay available for high-impact opportunities.
- High-impact work often involves trivial effort at the right time, such as unblocking enterprise deals, mitigating incidents, or speeding up high-profile features.
- Being perpetually busy prevents noticing opportunities and discourages managers from volunteering you for impactful tasks.
- Deliberately doing nothing reduces stress, enables better decision-making during incidents, and allows new ideas to surface.
- Avoid glue work that lacks organizational priority, as it wastes time and masks systemic issues.
- Protect yourself from predatory requests that extract uncompensated work via backchannels.
- Delay reactive work (e.g., changing designs) until stable to avoid wasted effort.
- Reserve intense effort for a few high-reward occasions per year; otherwise, maintain a slower pace.
- Success in software engineering depends on doing the right things at the right time, not on scaling technical effort.
Show HN: Working Async – The new wave of remote work is async-first
2 months ago
- The page promotes finding perfect async jobs that respect timezone and work-life balance.
- Benefits of async work include flexible hours, global opportunities, and a culture prioritizing results over meetings.
- A list of current async job openings is provided from companies like Supabase, Oyster, GitLab, Docker, and Sporty Group.
The Sad Wives of AI
2 months ago
- The article describes the phenomenon of 'sad wives of AI,' where women feel neglected and overwhelmed by their husbands' obsessive involvement with artificial intelligence, often at the expense of family life.
- Many men in the Bay Area work in AI, leading to a homogenous social environment where conversations revolve around AI, creating isolation for their partners.
- The AI boom creates a 'perfect storm' in households, with gendered labor patterns intensifying as men dedicate themselves to work while women manage domestic responsibilities.
- Some wives use AI tools like ChatGPT for marriage advice or even to explore infidelity, but therapists note this often fails to resolve underlying issues.
- The article highlights the emotional toll on partners, including resentment, existential dread, and the burden of being the 'chief existential officer' without compensation.
- A few wives find AI helpful for efficiency in daily tasks, but most see it as a disruptive force in their relationships.
Michigan bill would bar employers from requiring after-hours coms with workers
3 months ago
- Michigan bill (Senate Bill 948) aims to restrict employers from requiring after-hours contact with employees.
- Introduced by Sen. Erika Geiss, it's also called the Workplace Employee Boundaries Act.
- Bill seeks to protect workers from constant availability pressures, citing impacts on well-being and family life.
- Allows exceptions for on-call compensation in contracts, set availability hours, and emergencies affecting business.
- Violations could lead to fines or overtime pay, reported to the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.

work-life balance

Would you get tattooed just to interview at a 7-days-a-week AI startup?

Self-sabotage

It's okay to be selfish

"Efficiency" is bad for your health, and your learning

The Productivity Paradox: Why Doing More Leads to Less

NLNOG Presentation trilogy on technical jobs and careers - Bert Hubert's writings

Out of the Office: Into each life some rain must fall - Bert Hubert's writings

Doing nothing at work

Show HN: Working Async – The new wave of remote work is async-first

The Sad Wives of AI

Michigan bill would bar employers from requiring after-hours coms with workers