What does your perfect work day look like? \ stacker news ~meta

What does your perfect work day look like?

7614 sats \ 28 comments \ @cryotosensei 22 Apr meta

Though I must make things clear. Today didn’t go perfectly.

But somehow, I’m in a ridiculously good mood. Trying to unpack the reason(s) why as I pen my thoughts down.

I only had two hours of free time (including my lunch hour) today. After school, I couldn’t focus on my work either because I had to supervise my dancers for their upcoming performance. (In case you are wondering, nope I don’t teach them dance. I just provide them with moral and emotional support as their coaches push them to deliver their best haha.)

I started out by writing a heartfelt thank you note to the four educators who observed my lesson last Wednesday. They delivered positive feedback and constructive criticism in spades, so it was nice to start the day with something life-affirming.

I then took the time to display my students’ work on a whiteboard located along the corridor:

During a lesson, I got my literacy coaching student to make two YouTube shorts so as to facilitate his acquisition of said and little.

During the Dance Club session, I wrote an email to the literacy support team and suggested that we needed to enforce that our weakest progress students learn the irregular past tense verbs on the Dolch list. All 33 of them:

Time flew by in a flash and during the last 15-30 minutes, I was rushing to churn out an email to invite the entire school staff to observe my lesson this Friday.

As I left home, I asked the Saloon whether they know the difference between -ful and -ous. I got an answer right away!

Now I’m home earlier than usual and speedwriting this post. My wife is working overtime today, but because I have some buffer, I think I can change shower feed two kids all by myself. I’m a superhuman parent.

Thank you for enduring my verbal diarrhoea. I think I can determine the elements that contribute towards a satisfying work day for me:

fun & creativity (getting my student to do the YouTube shorts)
doing something unorthodox & high-impact (inviting the staff to observe my classroom makes a powerful statement!)
speaking my truth (about how the weakest progress students should be forced to learn 33 irregular past tense verbs)
learning a cool fact about affixes (thanks to carlosfandango!)
having time to write something personal for SN
not feeling rushed about parenting

Seems like I have distilled the elements of a successful work day for myself. How about you?

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305 sats \ 1 reply \ @Murch 22 Apr

Thanks for sharing Sensei. You're one of my favorite Stacker News contributors.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei OP 23 Apr

I’m very flattered, given that your BTC resume inspires me to dig deeper n work harder!

243 sats \ 2 replies \ @Cje95 22 Apr

A big thing for me is getting in before my coworkers so that I can get as much done uninterrupted as possible. I've realized when I get in around everyone else I am just less productive and end up a heck of a lot more stressed

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @cryotosensei OP 23 Apr

Woah does it matter to you that you’re kinda sacrificing your personal time in order to get things done?

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Cje95 24 Apr

Sometimes it does but on the other hand, since I have the stuff done I can spend more time writing articles here or researching something or the other. It also takes off a ton of pressure and I often get off of work early because of it.

It is def a catch 22 though!

243 sats \ 1 reply \ @HardRich 22 Apr

I’m normally pretty busy but I had a few days off. On both days I ended up hardly doing anything. Just relaxed, napped, and wasted time online. It was nice to have at least one lazy day, but two made me feel lame.

I think your post is a reminder that a good day usually includes taking care of a few tasks. Also, working with others usually seems to increase happiness.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei OP 24 Apr

Are you the kind who likes to plan your off-days or just go with the flow? I think the former will help you not waste your second day. But I belong to the latter type. I feel like we have to be so structured n organised for our work lives, so if I get a couple of days off, I.just.dont.want.to.think hahaha

186 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined 22 Apr

My perfect workday has lots of time for writing at Stacker News.

Other than that, it would mean learning and working on research, rather than pointless meetings and irritating tasks.

173 sats \ 2 replies \ @grayruby 22 Apr

I haven't had a true work day in awhile but one thing I do know is it must start with coffee.

50 sats \ 1 reply \ @cryotosensei OP 23 Apr

Same. Haha.

How do you like your coffee, ser?

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @grayruby 24 Apr

Dark roast coffee with just a bit of milk.

111 sats \ 1 reply \ @Manikese 22 Apr

I get to work. Get a coffee with a friend. Have a 30 minute meeting about a problem and how we are going to solve it. Work for 2 hours. Go over the solution with colleagues. Add code to source control. Call it a day.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei OP 24 Apr

I envy you. Sounds like you are working few hours but doing deep work! Very focused n intense effort

62 sats \ 0 replies \ @0xbitcoiner 22 Apr

All it takes to have a perfect day at work is for the phone not to ring.

59 sats \ 3 replies \ @DEADBEEF 22 Apr

My perfect day is being able sit down at my desk, turn on my podcasts, and crank out 8 hours of code with no interruptions. Most days I’m lucky to listen to 1-2 hours of podcasts. My days are almost always full of interruptions and meetings :(

49 sats \ 2 replies \ @DEADBEEF 23 Apr

So today I was able to listen to exactly 0 minutes of podcasts. What a super productive day! /s

10 sats \ 1 reply \ @cryotosensei OP 24 Apr

This sucks. Hope these sats help haha.

Was there anything you should or could have done differently?

Anyway, tomorrow is a brand new slate

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @DEADBEEF 24 Apr

Thanks! Not really unfortunately. Just a bunch of meetings came up. Today and tomorrow aren’t going to be much better. But at least Friday looks good so far!

49 sats \ 1 reply \ @SatsMate 23 Apr

perfect work day for me is getting in before others and knocking out my most difficult tasks, while sipping on a home brewed coffee. Then, I like to make my rounds around the office to chat with people. I like to go to lunch with a coworker, or walk around for 30 minutes for some slight exercise.

End of day I like to close out my meetings, complete my emails, and plan my next days schedule accordingly. Ideally I leave the office before traffic comes. This is what an ideal day looks like for me.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei OP 26 Apr

This is my perfect work day too!

49 sats \ 1 reply \ @BitcoinIsTheFuture 22 Apr

Complete my top 3 priorities for the day, get a run in over lunch!

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei OP 23 Apr

I have something similar. Except that I focus on clearing one task every day haha. Teaching doesn’t allow for deep work, unfortunately.

I run too! After school to the nearest subway station

49 sats \ 1 reply \ @DesertDave 22 Apr

I like waking up really early and working on what ever I am called to that day. Usually I work for about half a day. Then I might have a nap and eat something. Then often I am working on something more in the afternoon. For me, it's all about freedom. I don't work a regular job. So my work is always my work, my choice, when and how I want it. Freedom is key for me.

11 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei OP 23 Apr

Freedom is my top value of all time. Hopefully I can lead a life that pays heed to freedom when both my kids get older

49 sats \ 1 reply \ @Nadia 22 Apr

This is a great work day! I love your posts!

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei OP 26 Apr

You are too kind

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @voxmagdalenea 22 Apr

Not doing that. lol Right now in a mineral bath and a massage.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @k00b 22 Apr

I’m impressed by how well you’ve articulated these. Good work days come and go for me, sometimes not coming back for awhile, and I couldn’t say more than good days are when I’ve made measurable progress toward something I wanted to do. The bigger and more measurable the progress, and the less it cost me progress in other areas, the better the day.