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andaitoday at 2:10 PM3 repliesview on HN

> Maybe the most obvious con: a tada list forces you to have an accomplishment each day so you can write it down, and this added stress to my day.

Maybe it makes more sense to have a box per week instead of per day. Or even per month!

At least in my own life I've noticed that focusing on daily output tends to be demoralizing, whereas if I look back over the months I am often amazed by what has come out of me.


Replies

ardeavertoday at 4:12 PM

I can also imagine that you might need to change your definition of what an accomplishment is. I tend to think of it as something that has a measurable output, but difficult-to-measure progress towards an outcome is also something (despite what product managers might think)

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IshKebabtoday at 5:41 PM

> have a box per week

Sounds like the weekly report most of my bosses have demanded.

sublineartoday at 3:30 PM

I think weekly or bi-weekly is best since you're aligning yourself with the time scale that most workplaces tend to operate on.

I've actually had good conversations with nervous junior devs to help them see the value of their contributions this way. There's a lot less reason to stress out if you're working steadily and see that things are going according to plan.

I know devs can be focused on the literal tasks at hand, but the "10k ft view" is not just a cheesy thing people say and it should not be ignored. It gives perspective.