Robots.txt; Deadlines; Goal paradox
Issue #364
š”Think
Hey everyone,
It seems that āIām feeling burned outā is becoming more and more of a common response when people in my (tech) circles describe how they are feeling.
Iāve been trying to figure out why it feels more common for a while. Maybe we have the language to describe it now? Maybe workplace pressures have increased? Maybe the state of the world is weighing on us?
An alternative view is that now we all work from home a lot more, with a positively distraction-free environment, weāre able to fully understand the futility of a lot of what we do at work.
Is it the case that software makers are realising that meetings are generally a waste of time, endless iterations of pixel-pushing have no significant impact on your self worth, and sitting in one spot for 10 hours a day truly is a terrible experience?
Was the office distraction enough to keep these feelings at bay?
Let me know what you think,
Luis
š· Look
š Read
ā¶ The text file that runs the internet
This article is a jump into the world of robots.txt. If youāre not aware, this little file lives on basically every website, and is a set of instructions for crawlers, created as a concept by those that pioneered the internet. The challenge now though is that big, shiny, wonderful AI is coming in and wreaking havoc with this as well. Why is this important? This teeny file was a handshake amongst internet creators and consumers, but tech now is all consume with no such niceties.
ā· How to talk about deadlines
This is a bit more work-y than the usual articles I share, but I loved it. Itās a practical look at deadlines, how much they suck, and what we can do to make them better. There is advice both for individual contributors and managers, with examples of how to course correct if things arenāt so smooth on your team.
āø The paradox of goals
Are you a goal setter? Or a āletās see what happens?ā type? This article presents a term I havenāt heard of before ā the āarrival fallacyā ā which describes how even when we hit our goals, weāre not guaranteed to be satisfied. That 5k you just ran will probably just make you want to do it again, faster. They also introduce the idea to change from linear goals to cyclical ones š¤
ā
Bonus round
The evolution of flight in nature
New episode of my podcast Design & Whine is out, about design process
š§ Listen
What are we going to do about all these cats?
Weirdest podcast title ever? Yes. Fascinating episode? Also yes. This is a bizarre but entertaining discussion on how cats are apparently now being treated as invasive species. Itās mostly because bird populations are in serious decline, which is a bit cause for concern. Itās a great listen, honestly.
Listen to this podcast (51 minutes)
Spotify ā Apple
Have a great week,
@disco_lu