General > General Technical Chat
Design engineers: Can you shut off your brain during non-work hours?
TimFox:
About 30 years ago, the best technical idea I had for my job came to my head as I woke up at home on Christmas morning.
I had to wait a few days before I could reduce it to practice.
TimNJ:
--- Quote from: T3sl4co1l on June 13, 2023, 08:17:49 am ---
It's interesting to distinguish between, just what simmers in your mind because it does, versus what work wants/needs you to do (and, what work should be expecting you to do). If it's just, going to happen, or helps overall, don't worry about it; if you're expected to be on call, or staying late, or people putting big expectations on you, demanding boss(es) or clients, that sort of thing -- that's paid time, heck with that.
--- End quote ---
Yes, this is interesting, and certainly something I've thought about. In my case, work never explicitly expects me to do work after normal working hours, or anything like that. The outward attitude of our management is, more or less: "it gets done when it gets done". Digging a little deeper, even if company has that outward attitude, it can certainly still have structural/systemic issues which implicitly enforce a certain employee lifestyle.
Like many of you, my brain has worked like this for as long as I can remember. I've practically been doing engineering projects for most of my life (well before anyone was paying me for it.) My brain certainly enjoys thinking about problems and imagining solutions. And I find the conscious/subconscious interaction pretty fascinating. As many of you note, it is often the case that the best ideas come from a subconscious voice. I think you still need to stimulate your subconscious with conscious thought. (e.g. you have to consciously think of that bad first idea , before your subconscious can come in and steer you in a better direction.) But the fact that subconscious is so important to solving problems sort of implies that it has to be done in off hours...so, it's like you can't really turn off your brain or else you'll never solve anything.
Certainly I get a lot of energy from problem solving, as do most of you. I'm just trying to understand how crazy you all are, and if you try to "manage the crazy" or if you just fully embrace it? (Or, pessimistically, do you let it take over you? >:D). If you suppress it, you may kill a part of yourself in the process..yes, but on the other hand, there's a lot more to life than just solving engineering problems.
nigelwright7557:
I work for myself so generally I can work or not work as I please.
I tend to do something different outside work hours to give the brain a change.
TimNJ:
--- Quote from: EEVblog on June 13, 2023, 05:56:08 am ---
--- Quote from: TimNJ on June 13, 2023, 03:39:35 am ---I just wonder: Are there those of you out there in “intense” design lead positions who can turn your brains off when you’re not on the clock? Is that something you learned or is that just who you are?
--- End quote ---
Nope. I always see the engineerng angle in everything I see and do.
Same with video production, Mrs EEVblog hates it when I constantly yap on during reality TV shows about the production quality and issues, the maniputation through editing and the mood music etc.
--- End quote ---
Ah, I have no problem looking at the world as an engineer. That's just natural.
I am really talking about being "present" in other aspects of life. You know, I shouldn't be doing a tolerance stack-up in my head at my nephew's 2nd birthday party. That's just crazy. But sometimes that's what the brain wants to do!
mendip_discovery:
I think you are preaching to the choir with this problem.
What I do is ride motorcycles, this takes up a fair amount of conscious brain that allows me to just enjoy myself for a while. Then I am often physically tired when I got home (rides are normally more than 8 hrs on constant riding) then I sleep.
During the week I listen to an audio book as I fall asleep and set it on a time so it doesn't play all night. I find it provides enough distraction to fall off to sleep.
I still have weekends and nights where I cant rest until I finish what I was working on.
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