Doing Nothing at Work

5 hours ago

Engineers should aim to work at 80% utilization, reserving time away from computers to stay available for high-impact opportunities.
High-impact work often involves trivial efforts that yield significant value, such as enabling enterprise deals, mitigating incidents, or accelerating key features, all requiring timely availability.
Staying busy with low-priority tasks can cause missed opportunities and make managers less likely to assign impactful projects.
Practicing 'doing nothing' reduces stress, enhances focus during high-pressure situations, and fosters creativity and idea generation.
Engineers should avoid glue work and uncompensated backchannel requests to prevent burnout and protect their careers.
Software engineering success depends on doing the right things at the right time, not on maximizing effort or output.

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