You need to step back from the day-to-day and see if you are able to generate any meaningful accomplishments at the end of a month or a quarter. Things being a little random at a day level is okay if you are ultimately growing as an IC with projects / accomplishments that can help you for your next job or promotion.
People who are in constant PoC mode will eventually get burnt out and won’t get rewarded for it either. It’s a sign of poor management. See if you can work with your manager to create a set of quarterly goals to accomplish which are meaningful to the organisation. Unless your org is a very early stage startup, they should be able to do this. If not, time to find a new job or you’ll end up having wasted your time
> I just wasted a day investigating something for nothing
Nah not for nothing, they paid you. If they want to pay you for dumb shit, that's on them.
You'll have to find a way to let go of the frustration though, that's the real problem here. I just try not to get caught up in what the business is doing, it's just a job, and their goals will never ever ever align with my own, so no point sweating it.
I work at a small company now. When my boss does something stupid, I tell so and why. Sometimes I need to change tact because that's what the business demands, but sometimes he's like huh you're right (generally for technical reasons, although the cognitive cost of task switching is real) and we stay the course. Either way it's nice to have somebody listen at least.
Keep in mind that whatever you are doing day-to-day has value, even if it gets thrown away. Sometimes you need to build a feature so that people can see it, react to it, and realize it is not what is actually needed. That was not wasted work, it was research. If you are doing what the business is asking of you, your job is getting done, even if you are whip-lashing around and nothing you do actually sticks.
It can be frustrating, but it helps to think of yourself as more than someone who slings code... think of it as being someone who is helping to explore possibilities.
I will reply from the point of view of the manager assuming good intentions. They either know what you currently working on and believe that the newer item is more important, that's why they throw you around or they aren't aware of what you are currently working on and just reacting to a urgent ask from seniors.
You can inform them of what you are doing currently why is it important and then let them decide which item is higher priority. If the priority of the newer item is truly higher you changing context is worth it.
I get paid regardless of what I'm working on. If management asks me to shift gears (which they do, often) its because that's the most valuable thing for me to do at that time. At the end of the day, my goal is to provide value to the company.
Does it suck. Yes. But its part of my current job.
I've worked at other places where this happens much less often as well, such places do exist.
To me, much of what you describe sounds like the nature of creative work. Painters sketch, bands rehearse, athletes practice, and there is no academy award for fewest takes in a feature film.
Creative work is enjoyed by embracing the messy process. Frustrations and all. Only assembly lines are repetitive and solving hard problems feels like hard work because it is.
The good side of creative work is it is mostly not boring. Therefore you don’t have to make up high standards to have something interesting to do.
Do whatever it is that will make you the kind of person other people want to work with again. That’s what being on a team is all about.
Hard work feels like work. And it feels hard. Good luck.
Totally agree with this. It's a sign that what you're working on is just one of what will be a series of half-baked ideas, pivots, etc. as random stuff is being thrown at the wall to see what sticks.
Find yourself a job on a profitable / cash cow product and you won't have this problem.
Try and reframe those 8 hours of "wasted time investigating" as an opportunity to:
- learn something
- explore different parts of the codebase
- think about new/different problems to solve
...and try and enjoy the ride.
Small companies do tend to thrash around, but it's pretty unavoidable and often can be a small companies competitive advantage. Doesn't make it any easier, I appreciate.
You can't. Better not to work at big corp. I did that for 16 years and everyday I was miserable. High performer, always but big stress. I had chronic back pain.
One day, I simply quit and started my business. We are doing $200k in MRR now with two of us. Business is mix of software and physical store.
You need to step back from the day-to-day and see if you are able to generate any meaningful accomplishments at the end of a month or a quarter. Things being a little random at a day level is okay if you are ultimately growing as an IC with projects / accomplishments that can help you for your next job or promotion.
People who are in constant PoC mode will eventually get burnt out and won’t get rewarded for it either. It’s a sign of poor management. See if you can work with your manager to create a set of quarterly goals to accomplish which are meaningful to the organisation. Unless your org is a very early stage startup, they should be able to do this. If not, time to find a new job or you’ll end up having wasted your time
> I just wasted a day investigating something for nothing
Nah not for nothing, they paid you. If they want to pay you for dumb shit, that's on them.
You'll have to find a way to let go of the frustration though, that's the real problem here. I just try not to get caught up in what the business is doing, it's just a job, and their goals will never ever ever align with my own, so no point sweating it.
I work at a small company now. When my boss does something stupid, I tell so and why. Sometimes I need to change tact because that's what the business demands, but sometimes he's like huh you're right (generally for technical reasons, although the cognitive cost of task switching is real) and we stay the course. Either way it's nice to have somebody listen at least.
Keep in mind that whatever you are doing day-to-day has value, even if it gets thrown away. Sometimes you need to build a feature so that people can see it, react to it, and realize it is not what is actually needed. That was not wasted work, it was research. If you are doing what the business is asking of you, your job is getting done, even if you are whip-lashing around and nothing you do actually sticks.
It can be frustrating, but it helps to think of yourself as more than someone who slings code... think of it as being someone who is helping to explore possibilities.
I will reply from the point of view of the manager assuming good intentions. They either know what you currently working on and believe that the newer item is more important, that's why they throw you around or they aren't aware of what you are currently working on and just reacting to a urgent ask from seniors. You can inform them of what you are doing currently why is it important and then let them decide which item is higher priority. If the priority of the newer item is truly higher you changing context is worth it.
How I mentally cope with this is:
I get paid regardless of what I'm working on. If management asks me to shift gears (which they do, often) its because that's the most valuable thing for me to do at that time. At the end of the day, my goal is to provide value to the company.
Does it suck. Yes. But its part of my current job.
I've worked at other places where this happens much less often as well, such places do exist.
To me, much of what you describe sounds like the nature of creative work. Painters sketch, bands rehearse, athletes practice, and there is no academy award for fewest takes in a feature film.
Creative work is enjoyed by embracing the messy process. Frustrations and all. Only assembly lines are repetitive and solving hard problems feels like hard work because it is.
The good side of creative work is it is mostly not boring. Therefore you don’t have to make up high standards to have something interesting to do.
Do whatever it is that will make you the kind of person other people want to work with again. That’s what being on a team is all about.
Hard work feels like work. And it feels hard. Good luck.
Find a better org. This is a symptom of poor management.
Totally agree with this. It's a sign that what you're working on is just one of what will be a series of half-baked ideas, pivots, etc. as random stuff is being thrown at the wall to see what sticks.
Find yourself a job on a profitable / cash cow product and you won't have this problem.
Try and reframe those 8 hours of "wasted time investigating" as an opportunity to:
- learn something
- explore different parts of the codebase
- think about new/different problems to solve
...and try and enjoy the ride.
Small companies do tend to thrash around, but it's pretty unavoidable and often can be a small companies competitive advantage. Doesn't make it any easier, I appreciate.
You can't. Better not to work at big corp. I did that for 16 years and everyday I was miserable. High performer, always but big stress. I had chronic back pain.
One day, I simply quit and started my business. We are doing $200k in MRR now with two of us. Business is mix of software and physical store.
My suggestion is to work on and for yourself.
Disclosure: Not a finance or health advise
That sounds like the dream. I just need to think of any idea like that