Dec 20, 2009
Books can be of any length — if they're mysteries“People apparently only read mystery stories
of any length. With mysteries, the longer the better and people will read any
damn thing. But the indulgent, 800-page books like The Brothers
Karamazov or Moby-Dick of a hundred years ago are just not going
to be read anymore.”
— Cormac
McCarthy. Contrast Jeff Bezos.
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Aug 12, 2009
What you do when alone affects how interesting you are around others“The ideal forum: a bunch of people who are individually working away on
their own personal projects. Each participant has a vested interest; he or
she needs to deliver results first, and is discussing it with others only
second.”
— James Hague
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Feb 18, 2009
“If I get in five or six hours of writing, the other stuff [routine chores] feels
satisfying, like a kind of grace. But if I have to do that stuff when I haven’t
written—that’s a terrible thing."
—
Jonathan Lethemi via
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Sep 30, 2007
“ ‘Work’ is usually doing what others tell you to. ‘Life’ is doing what you want. The modern fixation on
‘work-life balance’ becomes irrelevant if you work for yourself.
— me
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Jan 17, 2009
Defining
leisure
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Aug 6, 2007
“ The most productive people rarely have more than 6 hours or so of really concentrated work per day. If you can ensure you get that every day, you don’t need to economize on sleep.
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May 1, 2007
“ What can you do feel more ease at work? Act responsibly: “I belong here, and it’s ok to have my particular skills here, and my limitations, too. My code works, the work that I do is important to somebody else.” Make all status information public: “I make public commitments, I make myself accountable. Transparency at work yields freedom from fear of embarrassment.” Value feedback appropriately: take it in context, be realistic; don’t give in to flattery or attack.
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Mar 27, 2008
“ Measure productivity over weeks and months rather than days.
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May 2, 2007
“ Building something is easy. Evaluating what you build is hard. Iterate between the two as fast as you can.
— me
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