Good intentions, but the visualizations don't work for me (I get Invalid Date errors) and I find the analysis to be shallow. If the amount of data which they say was collected, was actually collected, I think that this dataset deserves a much deeper dive.
Thank you! It is blocked by uBlock Origin as well. So if you are seeing the article but without any visualizations check your ad blocker. Definitely not a good sign for a startup.
Edit: Also, they claim insights about what influences productivity. However the visualizations shown (after you disable adblocking) do not reflect the claimed insights.
Edit2: Downvote this all you want. I assume you have a personal stake, and I doubt you will make it disappear -- they are valid criticisms. Maybe responding would be more constructive.
Edit3: Hey Colby, thanks for responding (can't respond directly). Turning uBlock off and reloading may have been coincident with visualization showing back up. Maybe overtaxed servers with the front page HN spot? (Congrats btw).
I have nothing to do with this startup but from your comments I don't think you read the article very carefully. Also it's unfair to blame them for what your browser plugins did.
uBlock Origin ("uBO") isn't blocking the visualisations on that page. The only way I could reproduce such issue is by blocking 1st-party scripts, definitely not a default settings in uBO.
And also keep in mind that hours spent being distracted isn't the only metric. Another important thing is how often you interrupted your work for something unimportant.
I believe the most benefit could be reaped by adding one two metrics that RescueTime doesn't have. Possibly LOCs, or "emails written" for someone who does that a lot – or maybe even a subjective assessment of your day's productivity. Then you could find real correlations with, for example, taking a day off or amount of sleep etc.
The big thing that jumps out at me from these graphs is that, apart from a couple break days (April 1st and April 8th, when they say they took the ferry), these guys seem to be working 7 days a week, not taking weekends off at all.
A hyper-focus on productivity metrics (like hours spent coding) plus no regular, scheduled breaks seems like a recipe for burnout to me.
This is a really great point. I think it would have been useful to point out that we're currently going through an accelerator (Techstars), so all this data is somewhat atypical. Additionally, I wouldn't say we're "hyper focused" on these metrics. Rather, it's something I check periodically in order to help think about shaping my habits. Does that make sense?
Still, it's something to be aware of. The accelerator's going to do your company little good if you're all so exhausted that you can't work efficiently afterwards.
(Note that I'm not necessarily saying you're going that direction; only you know the answer to that question.)
I find the part about taking breaks actually increasing productivity interesting.
Years and years ago, I worked as a blackjack dealer. We had 20 minute breaks every hour. It seemed ludicrous to me at first, but the job has essentially two main components - solving a lot of very simple math problems quickly and without errors, and customer service. By keeping all of the dealers fresh, the casino was able to ensure that problems were minimized. Adding cards up to 21 isn't exactly mental gymnastics, but do that at a rate of up to 280 times in an hour and it's actually kind of surprising that more mistakes aren't made.
I've often wondered about how that kind of schedule would play in software development. I find that my own code is better when well rested, but even after all these years I've never been able to force myself to take breaks that frequently.
The side effect of frequent and scheduled breaks was social interaction that was usually work-focused.
28 comments
[ 4.1 ms ] story [ 68.3 ms ] threadEdit: Also, they claim insights about what influences productivity. However the visualizations shown (after you disable adblocking) do not reflect the claimed insights.
Edit2: Downvote this all you want. I assume you have a personal stake, and I doubt you will make it disappear -- they are valid criticisms. Maybe responding would be more constructive.
Edit3: Hey Colby, thanks for responding (can't respond directly). Turning uBlock off and reloading may have been coincident with visualization showing back up. Maybe overtaxed servers with the front page HN spot? (Congrats btw).
https://medium.com/@vojto/fixing-rescuetime-charts-458edd86a...
tldr: https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1600/1*_IbFy8gq6Fqmu1ZZX...
And also keep in mind that hours spent being distracted isn't the only metric. Another important thing is how often you interrupted your work for something unimportant.
For that purpose we built a mini app: http://focuslist.co/escape/#
Well, not if you're gold plating, but if you're honest with yourself about the work you're doing then this shouldn't be a problem.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_plating_%28software_engin...
Unfortunately, they do not offer in-depth analysis of the data.
I build my own tool to print customized charts and I would appreciate hearing your opinion on this..
Here is the repo: https://github.com/ilbonte/rescuetime-again and this is an output example: http://i.imgur.com/PptwdMU.png
Check this out! https://gyrosco.pe/myusuf3/2016/4/26/
A hyper-focus on productivity metrics (like hours spent coding) plus no regular, scheduled breaks seems like a recipe for burnout to me.
Still, it's something to be aware of. The accelerator's going to do your company little good if you're all so exhausted that you can't work efficiently afterwards.
(Note that I'm not necessarily saying you're going that direction; only you know the answer to that question.)
Years and years ago, I worked as a blackjack dealer. We had 20 minute breaks every hour. It seemed ludicrous to me at first, but the job has essentially two main components - solving a lot of very simple math problems quickly and without errors, and customer service. By keeping all of the dealers fresh, the casino was able to ensure that problems were minimized. Adding cards up to 21 isn't exactly mental gymnastics, but do that at a rate of up to 280 times in an hour and it's actually kind of surprising that more mistakes aren't made.
I've often wondered about how that kind of schedule would play in software development. I find that my own code is better when well rested, but even after all these years I've never been able to force myself to take breaks that frequently.
The side effect of frequent and scheduled breaks was social interaction that was usually work-focused.
my best productivity comes from dividing efforts piecemeal and then allotting an hour for each task
the relatable bit is that if the task takes me 15 or 40 or however many minutes to finish the rest of the hour is mine to do with whatever i want
i could go for a walk, make some tea, pick up a book
if the task is unfinished at the end of the hour, i move onto the next task and return to it at the next hour block
even though it creates my most productive circumstances, like you said, i still find i rarely 'force' myself to follow it