Great humans know how to not-work

I gave a short & internal talk at work on the benefits to engineers (and everyone!) of getting away from the problems we encounter day-to-day.

I've added some notes to this deck on Facebook here if you'd like the context: https://www.facebook.com/jphastings/posts/10102004929267839

Transcript

1. Great engineers know how to not-work humans
2. As engineers we think for a living Hobbies help us stop thinking about work But they are more than that
3. Code is easy,
 Engineering is hard The difference is creativity
4. Do they like it? Ship the code Find an Idea
5. Do they like it? Ship the code Find an Idea x x Value we provide =
6. Do they like it? Ship the code Find an Idea x x Level up with: Automated testing Continuous deployment Iterative development Small diffs
7. Do they like it? Ship the code Find an Idea x x Level up with: User research A/B testing & experiments Statistical analysis & modelling
8. Do they like it? Ship the code Find an Idea x x Level up with: User suggestions Research feedback …?
9. Do they like it? Ship the code Find an Idea Creativity Draw from relatable past experiences
10. Our strength as a company is not the code we have written It is the speed we can evolve and adapt to new challenges
11. Read books Learn a language Teach others Give talks Go dancing Ride your bike Play football Sing in a choir Knit sweaters Play with your kids Listen to music Travel the world Eat great food Do the other things too To be a great engineer…
12. Physics Fourier Transforms
13. What I’ve learned from Physics Time ∝ Frequency Every ½ second = 2 Hertz
14. What I’ve learned from Physics Strength Frequency Events in time Expressed in frequency
15. Social Dancing Partnerships
16. What I’ve learned from Social Dancing External whim The music keeps playing Control over self I can move my feet Limited influence Ask someone to dance
17. What I’ve learned from Social Dancing External whim Customers are fickle Control over self I can build software Limited influence Ask a team to help me
18. Books Inspiration
19. What I’ve learned from Reading Books Martin Cooper credits Gene Roddenberry for the
 Cellphone via Star Trek PS. theoatmeal.com/comics/plane
20. What I’ve learned from Reading Books Edward Bellamy inspired (and named) the
 Credit Card in Looking Backward
21. What I’ve learned from Reading Books Arthur C. Clarke inspired
 Geostationary Orbit with Wireless World
22. What I’ve learned from Reading Books Tim Berners-Lee credits Arthur C. Clarke for
 The Web, described in Dial F for Frankenstein
23. Hobbies are good: We learn from everything we do.
 We’re better at our work for it.
24. Hobbies are good: Making time to relax is important.
 Relax by doing something you enjoy!
25. Make time for things totally different to work You’ll win twice