I literally had to do a double take on that LOL. I enjoy watching all your videos! Great content!! I am starting at Amazon tomorrow... super stoked, and hopefully I get to cross paths with you! :)
"Focus completely for 2-4 hours every day, and you will always be a high performer" Wrote that quote down and stuck it to the wall above my desk. Thanks, Uncle Steve.
1. Focus completely for 2-4 hours everyday on your highest priority thing. - remove things that take away your time - do a little everyday, not everything in one go as that will be unhealthy - tip: wake up early in the morning for these extra hours to focus and relax - avoid excessive contents like social media 2. Do one thing at a time - Put your focus on one one thing at a time - too much priority = bad performance for each and every task - break it up if there is too many tasks or priorities (easy schedule example- one day at a time) 3. Declutter your schedule - when u free up time, don’t pack more things in - if the important meeting/ task was not as important as u think, u may let it go( remove it from yr schedule) Extra: 1) Don’t pack too much into your schedule, be okay with not doing other stuff bc you’re putting your focus into what rly makes an impact 2) A promotion is a recognition that you can handle more scope
Great advice Steve. Early in my career I focused too much on my input and didn't have the awareness of what was important. Now, as a staff engineer, I know what's important and am way more productive with less time invested.
I’m slowly also realizing this as a mid level developer, at times I’m too focused on solving every technical issue thrown at me but tend to miss the bigger picture in doing so, thus missing out on bigger opportunists to showcase my work or prioritize what actually brings value to the table.
@David, can you explain what you mean by knowing what's important? How can I "figure out" what's important? As a junior dev nearing promotion, I think I end up putting a lot of energy into things that get zero visibility and I'm worried about burnout.
@@Assassin8anos Techlead started with some pretty good content and it has been a long time since I saw his videos. So i've just peeked on his channel again and I can't agree with you more.
@@otmaneelansary2142 many youtube channels were really great at the beginning, but the quality of their content goes downhill over the years. Not sure why but maybe they changed the view of their life after they started being a content creator. Lol
@@yichengfeng77 it’s the curse of the yt algorithm telling the creators to dumb down their videos with unnecessary shocking facial expressions on thumbnails and maximizing clicks and viewer retention for ads
I'm listening to this at the beginning of every day for two weeks now. I have really boring tasks lately and this helps me focus and stay motivated till I get something better.
I've been watching alot of your videos and lemme tell you, I've just become more confident in how you approach this field. With no CS degree to L7 engineer? That's incredibly impressive. Thanks for your time
Greet video! Completely on the same page as you Steve. Focusing on one thing at a time rather than scattering focus on multiple things gets your best attention. I figured out some years ago that you need to know what works best for you in terms of devoting time. for me, a 4 hours at a time is best for longer projects and a minimum of 2 hours for shorter ones.
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Amazing content! Valuable lessons here that worth take note and read them every day. I just want to add one thing: take care of your health, and exercise. After leaving my sedentary life behind, I can easily spend 4-6 hours of focus a day without feeling exhausted.
Number #3 is brilliant. I used to fill my schedule all the time and didn't really know how to rest. Resting is crucial, it's where new ideas come to mind. I can always get back to work if I'm bored, but it's difficult the other way round.
Yep Gold this one. I would add to stop looking for Validation via meetings do good work, deliver, focus on family/hobbies don't let work cross over ever.
Having kids is what really made get organized and focused. Before them, I had so much time I just wasted most of it. Now that I have so little time, I have to not waste it. I get more done on my side projects than before, while having time for my 3 kids, job, etc.
I haven’t been able to turn this corner yet. Having kids made it crystal clear how much time I wasted in the past (pass). I’m good at prioritization (pass) but not at forcing those side project up the stack (fail). That free time ends up so close to exhaustion I often end up doing the least demanding thing at that moment. Thoughts?
I’m the opposite. Super productive before kids, now I get nothing done because they require so much attention and constantly take me away from the productive things I needed to do.
Focus for 2-4 hours every day on your most important thing. Block your time. Context switching kills your focus. 1:26 "The key to head-turning amounts of achievement is by chipping away at big things that take focus, over long periods of time" Do one thing at a time. If you do have competing priorities, move them to different days. 3:07 "Your job is to, every day, do one thing, really well" De-clutter your calendar of meetings, and keep it that way: simply skip all meetings for one week, and never come back to skipped meetings that led to nothing bad happening. "A promotion isn't a reward for doing a really good job. A promotion is recognition that you can handle more scope."
I think the tip to not change emotion, meaning staying in the room instead of going out, and no use of social media is very valueable. Definetly something I'm going to implement for sure.
This is a shockingly relevant video. Maybe it's presumptuous of me, but I'd like to think I'm just a few steps behind. I'm a Data Scientist at Lyft (L5), have a (smaller) TH-cam channel, and about to get married and have kids! Interestingly enough, your main tip (2-4 hours of uninterrupted work) is something I've been practicing in a fashion. I call it the "Concentration Record" (inspirationally named to set personal records), where I focus for as long as I can with one ten minute break. These are certainly my most productive chunks of the day and I recommend them frequently. Excellent guidance. Subscribed!
gosh... starting at 5:20 is such a gem that we should all incorporate and I've tried to explain to managers & PM so many times! Unless it's a client meeting, a review of my work, or session to collaborate on something, most meetings can be handled in a single email filtered through the PM. **I think this applies to senior level & up....younger & newer staff should be absorbing as much as possible and attending everything so they can report to us and be just as jaded & cynical by the time they reach 40. :)
How would juniors absorb stuff, when seniors don't show up to the meetings and content with an Email? They rather brew in their own incompetence this way. This approach, however, works well when there is a strong connection between juniors and their direct supervisor, like we have in Academia with student assistants and doctorates.
Brilliant!!! I am going to listen to this on repeat until it’s a thing. Loved it. Not a heavy lift. Promotion means you can take more scope. Avoiding a context switch. Legendary advice. I’ll see what other gems you’ve got once I’ve implemented a couple things. 😅 thanks 🙏
I am so looking forward to having the opportunity to learn more from you! Your content is amazing, thank you so much for sharing it! No wonder your channel is growing fast: this is in-demand material presented nicely and professionally, without unnecessary fuss, disrespect or lack of humility. Impressive! Please keep it coming, you are making a big difference!
I’m not even in tech, nor am I an engineer but this information was helpful . I love the mental frameworks & systems used by actual Engineers. Would love to give it a try someday
There's also the idea of productivity in terms of entertainment for mental health so that you don't burn out. The hardest thing for me is finding ways to get rid of some of the things I like since there are so many and finding the most efficient way to learn what I need to move forward since technical ability is what's holding me back. Some advice I've seen is "just build something", but that only works if you know how to build and how to architect and understand the technology you are using. In my opinion, it isn't very useful to just build something that works if you end up doing it in a way that isn't the industry standard. In that scenario, it just feels like a waste of time. Building small things is okay from tutorials, but that also doesn't really teach industry standards or how to architect your own project. Now it's about reading a book on design patterns and trying to implement those. I've also tried to break things up into different days, but then it's easy on Wednesday to forget what I learned on Monday. The current schedule is to read for an hour, then do some leetcode questions for an hour, then tutorials for two hours, but that's not sustainable with a full time job. It's all a bit overwhelming.
You should use the advice from this video. Do less in one day. Have a leetcode day, a tutorial day, and a reading day. I break my days into 3 things, home productivity which is chores or learning things, work productivity, and fun/relaxation. For each of these blocks i try to do only one or maybe 2 things per day and i find it is way more effective, time efficient, and less stressful. So for example a day could be like this where i may clean a room or 2 of my apartment, work on one of my sprint tasks for 2-4hrs, and then play a video game for an hour or more.
@@NYgasman8 Yeah, I was mentioning that splitting my learning into different days makes it hard for me to remember what I learned. If I go over one concept on Monday, then a different one on Tuesday, I probably will have forgotten the Monday lesson mostly by Wednesday
That works for a developers schedule, but not that well for other jobs. There's this interesting article by some VC guy out there called "developers schedule, managers schedule" or something like that. I do PM and have the exact problem described in the video - the problem though, is that my day is already broken down into many different meetings that I can't just opt out of, so I need to tick off all my prios during the short times in between, and can't actually even get into that focus time...
i'm thankful that your video came up on my feed. i'm on a break right now from work due to the same exact things that you mentioned in your video, constant context switching and trying to do too much. and the 'promotion is recognition that you can handle more scope' is a revelation for me. it seems obvious after you say it but it is so true and it never occured to me before!
Listening along as I hear you describe exactly how in think and what I’m doing at this moment. Doing work as a “heavy lift” and I stay up way later than I should to meet a deadline. 😩
That 8-10 slot is so important. I used to think “hey flexible work time, start anywhen between 7 and 10, I’m gonna stay in bed as long as I can”. Starting at 7:30 means I get 2.5 hours before daily standup, I get almost zero interference from anyone, I am so fresh and energetic (and I used to be so tired every morning), and I can clock out at 15:30 and still get so much done at home - chores, making music etc.
For creative types, you have to learn how to ride your own wave of productivity and make the most of it. So for example, I tend to be most creative around 10-12, so I’ll focus on the most creative project then. I dip around 4pm, so I’ll bang out the more mechanical type of tasks. Love this approach though!
I'd say the decluttering thing may work if you have a certain status but I've seen someone get fired from (for one) not attending certain "ceremonial" meetings.
Yep, you'll also get in a hell out of trouble if the meeting is organized by your boss or another senior figure. And lying about the health status of family members won't make things better.
The second half of this video is really empowering and inspiring stuff. Hard to make these decisions like skipping meetings for fear of what others may think of you, but attending meetings is not your priority.
Great advice, especially your statement about promotion is not a reward but a recognition of capable handling more scope. That's a big shift in mindset!
Very simple but hugely important. I've operated off these principles and been very successful but haven't organized them as well as you articulated. Thank you!
I really like you man, your videos seem so genuine compared to other "software" youtubers that are more about the "look at me, I'm so chill, look at my TC" type of content. Found your videos a couple weeks ago and subscribed right away. Thanks for putting out quality content!
Good advice, but the skipping meetings thing could use a tweak. Speaking as a tech mgr, if you have a good relationship with your own manager (try to!) and you want to try and clear out your schedule, they can cover for you, give you feedback on the more useful meetings and also help coordinate across the team if only one person from the team is really needed. You can also decline or respond tentative to individual meetings that week which would be a big improvement over just not showing up. Just missing all your meetings for a week without any coordination strikes me as a pretty junior move. If the meeting isn't impacted by you not showing up chances are good that it wont be rescheduled if you cant make it, and you wont get specific action items coming from it.
This is so true. I started doing the bare minimum to get the thing off my checklist and its significant less burn for the same work. No one measures code debt so I'm no longer fixing it
Thanks really needed to hear this. Been realizing it but needed some validation that the approach is correct. The ball juggling analogy really hit home.
This is relating pretty well to a book that I just finished, "Essentialism", and another that I am currently reading, "Effortless", both by the same author Greg McKeown. He makes a point in one of them that we used to just use the word priority, and only recently have we morphed it into priorities... but really you can only have one priority at a time. edit: Oh I should mention he makes that point but also gives credit to James Clear of 'Atomic Habits' for originally bringing it up.
Thank you for this video. As I work to advance my career, and start looking for more of what I want out of my career, I am also starting to focus on how to improve *how* I work. I'm going to take this advice as I keep moving through my career.
I block out 2.5 hours a day on outlook to do “head down” work. The rest of the day can be whatever other people want me to do, but the 2.5 hours are when I get my one or two things done.
I was excited to start this day, blocked off some time for my main task…annddd as per usual, someone hits me up with something completely unrelated that I have to now shift focus to. I’m a relatively low level admin working at a company where everything is a complete shit show and fires cause other fires. I would LOVE to structure my day like this but I just can’t. Like you said, everything is a high priority. I have a ton of work to do and two other (admittedly still new but not inexperienced) admins who are always asking for work on standup. I think I’m finally realizing how much of a cluster this company has become.
Promotion is recognizing that you can handle more responsibilities was really a nice shift on how I used to see it, thanks! Btw it'd be cool if you could make a video on how to search for worldwide remote positions for SDE, most of what I found they require to live in a city where they have an office
How about handling all the consistent little things? I've been doing 1 thing per day, and that works pretty well generally, but then the little consistent things really suffer / the things that are hard to do in one go. i.e. Sales calls, pitches, sending emails, etc. and especially work that keeps getting changed requirements by superiors (i.e. I think I finished on Monday, but then they ask for new things on Tuesday, pushing everything because now I need to dedicate another day to that one thing)
Watching this for the second time - I don't understand the examples you use for the priorities - but I'm getting the main ideas out to tweak for my situation ...Thanks Mr. Whin! x
Dear Steve, can you make a video for new-hire L4 SDEs at Amazon? Specifically on how to "survive" your first 1-2 years and approach the culture. Thank you.
Uncle Steve please please do more productivity videos - I love this one - I've watched now several times and made notes - I really need help with time management and I'd love so much to hear more from you about it - I'm a secondary school music teacher in Ireland. I have so many other things I want to do - affiliate marketing, other ideas like that, hobbies such as woodworking - and I've a little girl and 3 dogs - I'm doing ok but I find it hard to juggle all. This video really helped and i'm going to apply your principles - maybe that's all I need lol - but I'd just love so much to hear more advice from you... subscribing now! Gill x
Thanks for the great advice Mr. Nguyen. Working from home is a great perk as a SDE, especially if you have children. Suddenly you can see your child more and help out with child care at home You mentioned you have a child and two dogs...how did you time manage between preparing meals, walking the dog, and other childcare duties while working from home? I feel like it's a double edged sword in terms of my work as a SDE because of all the context switching that happens outside of my work station.
Some wifes, such as mine, choose to take a break from their day careers to invest their time into rearing the next generation. This is more fulfilling than corporate software product milestones! My wife also runs our party rental side business which is taking off. She the brains of business and we have a few part time employees. Lots of creativity and it’s a great thing for the kids to see (how to build and run a small business, that is) When the children are old enough, my wife will go back to work as an engineer and be way better at managing hectic issues than her male peers since kids are the most rewarding and challenging project in life 😁
Good work tips, but how I'm honestly interested in how you schedule in video games and other solo hobbies in your off work hours while still having time for your family. Got a follow-up vid in the works?
This is sound advice. I'm suffering from 'having too much to do and yet feeling like I got nothing done at the end of the day' syndrome. I'm going to try to do better. btw I was pleasantly surprised by the cricket reference 🏏😄
A lot of this makes sense but also from a high level perspective and possible culture difference. If I decided to quit going to meetings for a week my company would likely decide not to ever pay me again. I think it is good to find your own balance but I think the only take away is don’t procrastinate or tell your supervisor you are light and can take on more.
Top Google Hit: Contiguous describes two or more things that physically abut each other, continuous describes a span of time that is uninterrupted or a pattern or sequence that is uninterrupted, or something that doesn't end.
Playing League of Legends with a controller makes you a terrible player.
I literally had to do a double take on that LOL.
I enjoy watching all your videos! Great content!! I am starting at Amazon tomorrow... super stoked, and hopefully I get to cross paths with you! :)
Playing lol already make you a terrible player by nature hahaha, what a broken game.
That was definitely a funny easter egg that made me pause the video 😂
Tell that to Boxbox
AOE4 with controller
25 year career programmer here. That uninterrupted time is absolutely key. Arrange at least a part of your life and physical space to allow for it.
I hate how this is so true
"Focus completely for 2-4 hours every day, and you will always be a high performer" Wrote that quote down and stuck it to the wall above my desk. Thanks, Uncle Steve.
1. Focus completely for 2-4 hours everyday on your highest priority thing.
- remove things that take away your time
- do a little everyday, not everything in one go as that will be unhealthy
- tip: wake up early in the morning for these extra hours to focus and relax
- avoid excessive contents like social media
2. Do one thing at a time
- Put your focus on one one thing at a time
- too much priority = bad performance for each and every task
- break it up if there is too many tasks or priorities (easy schedule example- one day at a time)
3. Declutter your schedule
- when u free up time, don’t pack more things in
- if the important meeting/ task was not as important as u think, u may let it go( remove it from yr schedule)
Extra:
1) Don’t pack too much into your schedule, be okay with not doing other stuff bc you’re putting your focus into what rly makes an impact
2) A promotion is a recognition that you can handle more scope
Love it
Great advice Steve. Early in my career I focused too much on my input and didn't have the awareness of what was important. Now, as a staff engineer, I know what's important and am way more productive with less time invested.
*Mr. Huynh
I’m slowly also realizing this as a mid level developer, at times I’m too focused on solving every technical issue thrown at me but tend to miss the bigger picture in doing so, thus missing out on bigger opportunists to showcase my work or prioritize what actually brings value to the table.
What's a staff engineer?
@David, can you explain what you mean by knowing what's important? How can I "figure out" what's important? As a junior dev nearing promotion, I think I end up putting a lot of energy into things that get zero visibility and I'm worried about burnout.
@@28goldenboy It's a level above senior engineer but below principal engineer
I feel like you are becoming the new Techlead, only with much better content
I think it's an insult to even compare him with Techlead. Techlead is literally insane.
@@Assassin8anos Techlead started with some pretty good content and it has been a long time since I saw his videos. So i've just peeked on his channel again and I can't agree with you more.
@@otmaneelansary2142 many youtube channels were really great at the beginning, but the quality of their content goes downhill over the years. Not sure why but maybe they changed the view of their life after they started being a content creator. Lol
@@otmaneelansary2142 Agree, early contents were good, but shit happened.
@@yichengfeng77 it’s the curse of the yt algorithm telling the creators to dumb down their videos with unnecessary shocking facial expressions on thumbnails and maximizing clicks and viewer retention for ads
I'm listening to this at the beginning of every day for two weeks now. I have really boring tasks lately and this helps me focus and stay motivated till I get something better.
I've been watching alot of your videos and lemme tell you, I've just become more confident in how you approach this field.
With no CS degree to L7 engineer? That's incredibly impressive.
Thanks for your time
Mr. Steve making a cricket reference is just him meeting his "customer obsession" requirement off the clock.
Man knows his target audience.
This ^
my man
Lol
Greet video! Completely on the same page as you Steve. Focusing on one thing at a time rather than scattering focus on multiple things gets your best attention. I figured out some years ago that you need to know what works best for you in terms of devoting time. for me, a 4 hours at a time is best for longer projects and a minimum of 2 hours for shorter ones.
Amazing content!
Valuable lessons here that worth take note and read them every day.
I just want to add one thing: take care of your health, and exercise. After leaving my sedentary life behind, I can easily spend 4-6 hours of focus a day without feeling exhausted.
I appreciate your comment, that's inspiring.
Number #3 is brilliant. I used to fill my schedule all the time and didn't really know how to rest. Resting is crucial, it's where new ideas come to mind. I can always get back to work if I'm bored, but it's difficult the other way round.
Yep Gold this one. I would add to stop looking for Validation via meetings do good work, deliver, focus on family/hobbies don't let work cross over ever.
This deserves more views. I’m pretty sure this video should have millions of views
Having kids is what really made get organized and focused. Before them, I had so much time I just wasted most of it. Now that I have so little time, I have to not waste it. I get more done on my side projects than before, while having time for my 3 kids, job, etc.
Same!
I haven’t been able to turn this corner yet. Having kids made it crystal clear how much time I wasted in the past (pass). I’m good at prioritization (pass) but not at forcing those side project up the stack (fail). That free time ends up so close to exhaustion I often end up doing the least demanding thing at that moment. Thoughts?
I’m the opposite. Super productive before kids, now I get nothing done because they require so much attention and constantly take me away from the productive things I needed to do.
Thank you Steve!
It's rare to find 7 straight minutes of meaningful advice on TH-cam.
Big thumbs up for paternity leave. This is why I'll listen to your advice
Focus for 2-4 hours every day on your most important thing. Block your time. Context switching kills your focus.
1:26 "The key to head-turning amounts of achievement is by chipping away at big things that take focus, over long periods of time"
Do one thing at a time. If you do have competing priorities, move them to different days.
3:07 "Your job is to, every day, do one thing, really well"
De-clutter your calendar of meetings, and keep it that way: simply skip all meetings for one week, and never come back to skipped meetings that led to nothing bad happening.
"A promotion isn't a reward for doing a really good job. A promotion is recognition that you can handle more scope."
I wonder if this is the answer to "How do you manage competing priorities" interview question 🫢
Do this as a PM
thanks
I think the tip to not change emotion, meaning staying in the room instead of going out, and no use of social media is very valueable. Definetly something I'm going to implement for sure.
I like the heavy lift analogy… How people perceive what’s heavy is attitude and perception
This is a shockingly relevant video. Maybe it's presumptuous of me, but I'd like to think I'm just a few steps behind. I'm a Data Scientist at Lyft (L5), have a (smaller) TH-cam channel, and about to get married and have kids! Interestingly enough, your main tip (2-4 hours of uninterrupted work) is something I've been practicing in a fashion. I call it the "Concentration Record" (inspirationally named to set personal records), where I focus for as long as I can with one ten minute break. These are certainly my most productive chunks of the day and I recommend them frequently.
Excellent guidance. Subscribed!
The format of your channel reminds me of 3blue1brown
Subscribed!
gosh... starting at 5:20 is such a gem that we should all incorporate and I've tried to explain to managers & PM so many times! Unless it's a client meeting, a review of my work, or session to collaborate on something, most meetings can be handled in a single email filtered through the PM.
**I think this applies to senior level & up....younger & newer staff should be absorbing as much as possible and attending everything so they can report to us and be just as jaded & cynical by the time they reach 40. :)
How would juniors absorb stuff, when seniors don't show up to the meetings and content with an Email? They rather brew in their own incompetence this way.
This approach, however, works well when there is a strong connection between juniors and their direct supervisor, like we have in Academia with student assistants and doctorates.
Brilliant!!! I am going to listen to this on repeat until it’s a thing. Loved it. Not a heavy lift. Promotion means you can take more scope. Avoiding a context switch. Legendary advice. I’ll see what other gems you’ve got once I’ve implemented a couple things. 😅 thanks 🙏
I am so looking forward to having the opportunity to learn more from you! Your content is amazing, thank you so much for sharing it! No wonder your channel is growing fast: this is in-demand material presented nicely and professionally, without unnecessary fuss, disrespect or lack of humility. Impressive! Please keep it coming, you are making a big difference!
A good book for this topic is "The One Thing", really helps with productivity and managing your workloads - highly recommended.
I’m not even in tech, nor am I an engineer but this information was helpful . I love the mental frameworks & systems used by actual Engineers. Would love to give it a try someday
There's also the idea of productivity in terms of entertainment for mental health so that you don't burn out. The hardest thing for me is finding ways to get rid of some of the things I like since there are so many and finding the most efficient way to learn what I need to move forward since technical ability is what's holding me back. Some advice I've seen is "just build something", but that only works if you know how to build and how to architect and understand the technology you are using. In my opinion, it isn't very useful to just build something that works if you end up doing it in a way that isn't the industry standard. In that scenario, it just feels like a waste of time. Building small things is okay from tutorials, but that also doesn't really teach industry standards or how to architect your own project. Now it's about reading a book on design patterns and trying to implement those. I've also tried to break things up into different days, but then it's easy on Wednesday to forget what I learned on Monday. The current schedule is to read for an hour, then do some leetcode questions for an hour, then tutorials for two hours, but that's not sustainable with a full time job. It's all a bit overwhelming.
You should use the advice from this video. Do less in one day. Have a leetcode day, a tutorial day, and a reading day.
I break my days into 3 things, home productivity which is chores or learning things, work productivity, and fun/relaxation. For each of these blocks i try to do only one or maybe 2 things per day and i find it is way more effective, time efficient, and less stressful. So for example a day could be like this where i may clean a room or 2 of my apartment, work on one of my sprint tasks for 2-4hrs, and then play a video game for an hour or more.
@@NYgasman8 Yeah, I was mentioning that splitting my learning into different days makes it hard for me to remember what I learned. If I go over one concept on Monday, then a different one on Tuesday, I probably will have forgotten the Monday lesson mostly by Wednesday
That works for a developers schedule, but not that well for other jobs. There's this interesting article by some VC guy out there called "developers schedule, managers schedule" or something like that. I do PM and have the exact problem described in the video - the problem though, is that my day is already broken down into many different meetings that I can't just opt out of, so I need to tick off all my prios during the short times in between, and can't actually even get into that focus time...
i'm thankful that your video came up on my feed. i'm on a break right now from work due to the same exact things that you mentioned in your video, constant context switching and trying to do too much.
and the 'promotion is recognition that you can handle more scope' is a revelation for me. it seems obvious after you say it but it is so true and it never occured to me before!
Excellent advice. Not showing up for meetings is unbelievably freeing.
Probably the best channel I've seen in a while.
As a senior dev I agree with these points. focused hours is definitely a must ❤.
Thank you Mr. Huynh. 2-4 hours of focus everyday is life changing advice.
If there's one trait I see in successful founders more than any others it's focus. Great video
Loved it .
Many a times we tend to waste time over meeting/ activities, because we need to make our micro managers think good about us.
Thanks!
Listening along as I hear you describe exactly how in think and what I’m doing at this moment. Doing work as a “heavy lift” and I stay up way later than I should to meet a deadline. 😩
Thank you, uncle Steve! Very thought-provoking video packed into 7 minutes.
im an incoming L4 SDE @ amazon and your channel has been super helpful. love the content, please keep it coming!
I love how you’ve articulated everything, the analogies were absolute gold too. Great video dude🤌🏾
Why did you play league with a controller? 🤔
Only way to make it fun I guess 🤷♂️
He doesn't, i bet ya
Prob just stock video
Ah finally thank you for answering my question. Atleast part of it. Thank you.
This video has everything! Jokes, juggling, cricket and life changing advise. Keep'em coming SDog I mean Mr. Huynh. Thank you!
That 8-10 slot is so important. I used to think “hey flexible work time, start anywhen between 7 and 10, I’m gonna stay in bed as long as I can”.
Starting at 7:30 means I get 2.5 hours before daily standup, I get almost zero interference from anyone, I am so fresh and energetic (and I used to be so tired every morning), and I can clock out at 15:30 and still get so much done at home - chores, making music etc.
What’s daily standup?
@@JEBavido en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand-up_meeting
@@magicmulder thanks!!
For creative types, you have to learn how to ride your own wave of productivity and make the most of it. So for example, I tend to be most creative around 10-12, so I’ll focus on the most creative project then. I dip around 4pm, so I’ll bang out the more mechanical type of tasks.
Love this approach though!
I'd say the decluttering thing may work if you have a certain status but I've seen someone get fired from (for one) not attending certain "ceremonial" meetings.
Yep, you'll also get in a hell out of trouble if the meeting is organized by your boss or another senior figure. And lying about the health status of family members won't make things better.
The second half of this video is really empowering and inspiring stuff. Hard to make these decisions like skipping meetings for fear of what others may think of you, but attending meetings is not your priority.
Great advice, especially your statement about promotion is not a reward but a recognition of capable handling more scope. That's a big shift in mindset!
Very simple but hugely important. I've operated off these principles and been very successful but haven't organized them as well as you articulated. Thank you!
I really like you man, your videos seem so genuine compared to other "software" youtubers that are more about the "look at me, I'm so chill, look at my TC" type of content. Found your videos a couple weeks ago and subscribed right away. Thanks for putting out quality content!
Great advice from someone high up in the ladder. Bottom line, the key to pressing onward without burning out is learning to pace yourself.
Mr. Huynh, I promise to take the advice in this video to heart.
Subscribed. You got me at context switching. Deep Learning - Cal Newport. Great stuff, spot on. Thank you.
Great advice. Slowing down and focusing on the important things. If you want to go fast, go slow.
This video is an instant reason to subscribe for me. The advice is succinct, clear and actionable. Thanks Steve!
Wow! Those are some really good tips.
Thank you 😊
Good advice, but the skipping meetings thing could use a tweak.
Speaking as a tech mgr, if you have a good relationship with your own manager (try to!) and you want to try and clear out your schedule, they can cover for you, give you feedback on the more useful meetings and also help coordinate across the team if only one person from the team is really needed. You can also decline or respond tentative to individual meetings that week which would be a big improvement over just not showing up. Just missing all your meetings for a week without any coordination strikes me as a pretty junior move.
If the meeting isn't impacted by you not showing up chances are good that it wont be rescheduled if you cant make it, and you wont get specific action items coming from it.
This is so true. I started doing the bare minimum to get the thing off my checklist and its significant less burn for the same work. No one measures code debt so I'm no longer fixing it
Great advice from someone who is really busy, but still making time for there important stuff. Thank you for this video 👏🏼
Dude thank you so much for this content. There’s not a lot of content for non newbies.
Thanks really needed to hear this. Been realizing it but needed some validation that the approach is correct. The ball juggling analogy really hit home.
Your humor is improving, love to see it!
This is relating pretty well to a book that I just finished, "Essentialism", and another that I am currently reading, "Effortless", both by the same author Greg McKeown. He makes a point in one of them that we used to just use the word priority, and only recently have we morphed it into priorities... but really you can only have one priority at a time.
edit: Oh I should mention he makes that point but also gives credit to James Clear of 'Atomic Habits' for originally bringing it up.
Essentialism is great
as soon as i heard "heres my mental model" i knew it was going to be a good one!
Thank you for this video. As I work to advance my career, and start looking for more of what I want out of my career, I am also starting to focus on how to improve *how* I work. I'm going to take this advice as I keep moving through my career.
I block out 2.5 hours a day on outlook to do “head down” work. The rest of the day can be whatever other people want me to do, but the 2.5 hours are when I get my one or two things done.
I was excited to start this day, blocked off some time for my main task…annddd as per usual, someone hits me up with something completely unrelated that I have to now shift focus to.
I’m a relatively low level admin working at a company where everything is a complete shit show and fires cause other fires. I would LOVE to structure my day like this but I just can’t. Like you said, everything is a high priority. I have a ton of work to do and two other (admittedly still new but not inexperienced) admins who are always asking for work on standup.
I think I’m finally realizing how much of a cluster this company has become.
Thank you so much for the great content you have on your channel. It is a huge blessing and I am learning a lot. Happy Monday!
Promotion is recognizing that you can handle more responsibilities was really a nice shift on how I used to see it, thanks! Btw it'd be cool if you could make a video on how to search for worldwide remote positions for SDE, most of what I found they require to live in a city where they have an office
Would love it if you continue this series...the best thing i ever saw on TH-cam❤️
Man never stop doing videos. You really know how to help 👍
This is great practical advice! I like that this is achievable for most people, and isn’t daunting.
Thanks for including the cricket reference. That was so good !!!
Apart form this excellent video for a aspiring senior engineer like me!!
Thanx man , I do come from Mitch channel & found this channel is hidden Gems
How about handling all the consistent little things? I've been doing 1 thing per day, and that works pretty well generally, but then the little consistent things really suffer / the things that are hard to do in one go. i.e. Sales calls, pitches, sending emails, etc. and especially work that keeps getting changed requirements by superiors (i.e. I think I finished on Monday, but then they ask for new things on Tuesday, pushing everything because now I need to dedicate another day to that one thing)
Watching this for the second time - I don't understand the examples you use for the priorities - but I'm getting the main ideas out to tweak for my situation ...Thanks Mr. Whin! x
It's my first day of soft School, and I can tell I'm going to like my teacher!
Lots of good advice. I am a mechanical engineer and I think your advice carries over to many jobs. Prioritizing is very important.
Dear Steve, can you make a video for new-hire L4 SDEs at Amazon? Specifically on how to "survive" your first 1-2 years and approach the culture. Thank you.
Being a newbie Product Manager/Project Manager this really helped me getting my time management on point
YEEEEEEEEES!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉 Let’s go PTYA squad! Killin it my dude!
Thank you for your insight. Really practical ways to increase productivity and efficiency.
Uncle Steve please please do more productivity videos - I love this one - I've watched now several times and made notes - I really need help with time management and I'd love so much to hear more from you about it - I'm a secondary school music teacher in Ireland. I have so many other things I want to do - affiliate marketing, other ideas like that, hobbies such as woodworking - and I've a little girl and 3 dogs - I'm doing ok but I find it hard to juggle all. This video really helped and i'm going to apply your principles - maybe that's all I need lol - but I'd just love so much to hear more advice from you... subscribing now! Gill x
Thanks for the great advice Mr. Nguyen. Working from home is a great perk as a SDE, especially if you have children. Suddenly you can see your child more and help out with child care at home You mentioned you have a child and two dogs...how did you time manage between preparing meals, walking the dog, and other childcare duties while working from home? I feel like it's a double edged sword in terms of my work as a SDE because of all the context switching that happens outside of my work station.
Some wifes, such as mine, choose to take a break from their day careers to invest their time into rearing the next generation. This is more fulfilling than corporate software product milestones!
My wife also runs our party rental side business which is taking off. She the brains of business and we have a few part time employees. Lots of creativity and it’s a great thing for the kids to see (how to build and run a small business, that is)
When the children are old enough, my wife will go back to work as an engineer and be way better at managing hectic issues than her male peers since kids are the most rewarding and challenging project in life 😁
@@CallSaul489 no one asked you about that. dont be ridiculous.
@@valdanoobieyisi1048 It seems like you are angry.
Context Switch...!!! EXACTLY...!! 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼
It kills productivity.
I heard “mental model” and “context switch” and was like daaaamn this really do be the software engineer vocab lmaooo
You just gave some major keys in time management and self discipline thank you
Good work tips, but how I'm honestly interested in how you schedule in video games and other solo hobbies in your off work hours while still having time for your family. Got a follow-up vid in the works?
THIS!!! is the video that I needed!
This is sound advice. I'm suffering from 'having too much to do and yet feeling like I got nothing done at the end of the day' syndrome. I'm going to try to do better.
btw I was pleasantly surprised by the cricket reference 🏏😄
This is such a good video! Well-written, succinct. Really liked it.
I’m starting my full-time job from October. This advice is gold ❤️🔥
A lot of this makes sense but also from a high level perspective and possible culture difference. If I decided to quit going to meetings for a week my company would likely decide not to ever pay me again. I think it is good to find your own balance but I think the only take away is don’t procrastinate or tell your supervisor you are light and can take on more.
Yo Steve! Awesome tips and keep it up. Awesome that this video was recommended to me. Subscribed!
The B roll shot with all the puzzle pieces looks like a good topic for a video
Excellent vid as always, Uncle Steve.
I was more interested in how you manage your personal life (toddler, dogs, gaming, golf, chores) outside of office hours.
"I will answer at my office time" that was funny 😁
Top Google Hit: Contiguous describes two or more things that physically abut each other, continuous describes a span of time that is uninterrupted or a pattern or sequence that is uninterrupted, or something that doesn't end.