Ask HN: Will you retire after 1000 weeks (~19 years)? Or work another 1000 week? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Will you retire after 1000 weeks (~19 years)? Or work another 1000 week?

5 pointsadeptima3 comments

I found that most Engineers can't think in weeks, and they shocked to learn that after 1000 weeks (~19 years) they will be almost 20 years older, and they might not live another 1000 weeks after or be able to perform well after the next 1000 weeks.

It's ok to contribute 10 weeks for another framework or pet project, right? However math tell if you do it 100 times 100% focused on one by one thing, you might run out of time and wont be able to cash out on your expectation.

How do you personally feel about the next 1000 weeks? Any decent timeline lifehacks?

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If you are in a position that you feel your time is being wasted on work or projects, the question is not whether you want to do it for another 1000 weeks - it is whether you want to do it at all.

You could get hit by a bus any day. You have to find a balance in your life where you are happy having lived it, even if it ends tomorrow, while also doing what you need to do to provide for yourself and your family, and enjoy life if you live to 100+ years old.

I'm well into the second 1000 weeks (22 years of programming). I don't think there are any decent timeline hacks - just do something, see if it works, and if not, roughly after 6 months I suggest you stop, and take a 6-12 months break. Then, try something else.

I've tried and failed quite a few times (10+), and my current experiment - while I think it's a successful one, time will tell.

One thing I would suggest is you read "The Mom Test" book -- I think it'll serve you well in the long run (it's about marketing, and you'll need to do that if you develop your own products).

In 1000 weeks, you can raise your offspring. That's obviously a long time if you remember about your youth.

There are many efforts to bring life long work into a compact number. https://80000hours.org/ is quite a famous one.

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