I hear a lot of talk about this "Work Life Balance" thing. It sounds interesting, and at some point in my life I think I will probably enjoy having one. Should I have a family, for instance. One thing I appreciate about this field is how mom friendly it is. As a developer, it's super easy to work from home, and keep some pretty weird hours. I hope one day I can sit next to my child while I hack away at work, maybe they will read Nancy Drew books.
As far as my swinging bachelorette lifestyle in the big city goes: there is no balance. My work is my life, and I love it that way. My process is thus: I wake up in the morning. Usually around 10am(ish). I roll over and check my iPhone. I have a horrible habit of getting important emails when I am half asleep and not starring them, this itself isn't awful but when I wake up sometimes I don't remember them. I have been getting better at this. I <3 priority inbox.
When I get up I decide where I want to work that day. The unofficial slogan of New Work City is "People that can work anywhere work here." Independance means I can work anywhere. Most of the time it is there, or outside somewhere, or at a restaurant, or at a salon getting a pedicure (I have wifi to go).
My first priority is always client work. This can take anywhere from 1-10 hours, depending on my workload. It varies depending on number of clients and where I am in a project. Lately I have found happiness in being short term JavaScript support for existing teams, or working on small projects or plugins. Depending on who I am working with we often have chat open, or a constant email dialog. Sometimes I take a few calls. I spend equal time in Komodo, my editor of choice, as Vi or just in the CLI git-ing it up. I like solving unique problems, and I like to think of myself as a bit of a browser sleuth.
After I am done with client work I move on to Girl Develop It. This can be anything from coding to answering emails to working on curriculum to interviewing potential teachers. Vanessa and I share a Remember the Milk todo list, and every day I try to knock a little bit off the top. Some days I'm in the zone and I'm knocking things off our list, other days that's Vanessa. We balance each other out pretty well, a great pair.
Throughout the day I am talking to other developers about life and their craft.
If I'm at New Work City or a community space I've usually had conversations with at least a few keyboard slingers around me. Today no one would shut up about Google+, tomorrow it will be something else. Sometimes a debate about frameworks. Sometimes Kevin Galligan waxes crazy about hating dynamic languages. Sometimes Alex Godin impresses me with the latest thing he's working on. My darling Tony Bacigalupo sometimes wants to chat with a question or some commentary.
If I'm alone somewhere hacking away it's likely an IM from Jackson Harper inquiring about a Girl Develop It swimsuit calendar, or asking if my quiet protest of Go Daddy is because I don't support their female models contributing to technology, or introducing me to a new technology I hadn't heard of/vice versa (or asking what to get his fiancee for her birthday). It may also be Scott Reynolds who I bug for Ruby help and always get it (riddled with snark). I can be insufferably inattentive to IM windows however, and consider forgetting a conversation existed the reason to end it. Sorry about that.
After I am at a point where I feel it's ok to walk away from Girl Develop It related work, I can focus on my personal projects. The shoemaker's shoes, if you will. New design on the blog, new project with a friend, returning some emails, learning a new language... I must admit I rarely get this far.
Evenings start around 9pm. There is an equal chance I will be out on the town, teaching JavaScript to Girl Develop It students, going to a developer event, or sitting in a cafe working all night.
Like tonight:
There are times I get tired of teaching classes, or working on a certain project, or solving the same problem. However, I'm never sick of being a developer or being surrounded by them. This is a great thing because I am got-dang 24 hours a day, and that's how I like it.
For now.
It's funny that you mentioned checking emails in the middle of the night. This habit is a killer for me these days. At least you just check those emails. Lately, I've started noticing that sometimes I answer them while half asleep, all this effort just to regret about how little sense my responses actually make when I re-read them in the morning! haha
ReplyDeleteOn a serious note, work life balance is important to keep one from burning out. However, same as you, I feel like there is a phase in life when having work as life just feels right. Cheers, Vlad.
It's so nice to finally hear a female programmer's perspective on being one. I'm a software and mobile developer and, female. I'm having a bit of a dilemma at the moment, should i stay in this field which i have a passion for and is so much a part of me.. or should i go along with the other passion of mine which pertains more to fashion and writing. Only difference between the two is that the latter also encompasses a big part of my social life(i'm very outgoing and party quite a lot) whereas the previous does not. I am torn between these 2 sides and the juxtaposition is proving more difficult than i expected.. work-life balance.. hmm.. :)
ReplyDeleteAvoid having kids unless you have no debts, own a house in a family-friendly neighborhood and the house is big enough to accommodate your kids (hint: little babies take up loads of space with all the stuff you have to get for them), have plenty of cash in the bank and be willing and able to pay for a full-time nanny. Otherwise, you will be trapped in corporate slavery for at least the next 20 years, rather than changing the world with your mad coding skills. (Or you may change the world, but someone else will profit and take the credit because you'll be an employee.) Kids take up more space than you think and milk more time, energy and money out of you than you ever could imagine. When you have no kids, you can take risks because you only have your own welfare to consider. Having kids changes that.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing wrong with not wanting to have kids. The only reason people have kids is because their family, friends and society put pressure on them to the point they convince themselves they want, and even need, to have kids. There is no such thing as work-life balance. One always demands your time at the expense of the other. If you have kids, you will either be a lousy worker (or not work at all) or a lousy parent.
Figure out what sort of life you want and then live that life. It's your life, not anyone else's. That is, unless you have kids.
I admire your passion! Some of us can't stay at the computer for that long, have to go out or I go crazy
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