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Ask HN: How have you optimized your company/ work?

10 points by Xx_crazy420_xX ↗ HN
Looking for routines, methodologies, bash scripts, or anything that works for you.

I will start with mine:

  - Short cardio before meetings brings huge energy, especially if rest of team is involved
  - Define all tasks with short, crystal-clear acceptance criteria
  - Complete software rewrite is inevitable, don't overengineer
  - Code review should include aspects like user experience

6 comments

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harryquach
I have been doing sets with a grip trainer during zoom meetings. Forearms are getting huge.
markus_zhang
I lowered my productivity gradually so stakeholders got used to it.
bravesoul2
Define all tasks with short, crystal-clear acceptance criteria

+1

And don't make the acceptance criteria the solution

nicbou
I make it abundantly clear that I work at my own pace and that thins will get done if/when they get done. This is mentioned in any first call, and repeated as often as necessary. This is a lifestyle business and it will stay that way.

Nothing ever needs to be done right now. I describe it as a balloon that slowly deflates. I never need to pump air into it at a specific time, as long as I do it regularly enough.

I optimise for low overhead and minimal maintenance. Whenever I create something, I consider the effort it will take to keep it updated for years. I have finite energy, so I take on a finite amount of obligations.

treetalker
I work on paper only and iterate drafts of jots, outlines, and mindmaps until I have all the main parts/ideas on a single page (ideally; sometimes 2–3 pages).

I do that until I can look at the entire thing at once; see that all the important parts are there and in the right order; see that no non-essential parts are present; and have it all make sense from a bird's eye view.

Only once that's done do I move it over to the computer and finish working with it there.

pillefitz
Same here. There's no insights to be gained writing code that I couldn't have had iterating on paper (and possibly showing to users).