I used to run a SaaS, and I also used postcards to try to promote it! Why not use emails? I was sure that emails would get spam-collected, but physical postcards might get some attention.
I don't know if the tactic worked.
These days, if I were mailing postcards, I'd make sure to add a special QR code to them. That way, if someone went to my sales page using the QR code, I'd have an idea that the postcard had been seen by the right person. Postcards are rather expensive (both the postcard and the stamp). Who wants to keep trying that without knowing it was successful?
Hey, I'll chime in to say that I've been contracting for 10+ years. I got my first few gigs on CraigsList and Upwork. Sorry to say that neither of those look very good, right now. At least, it takes a lot more work to find gigs on those platforms than it used to.
I went rock climbing, took some hikes, lifted weights. I watched some YouTube and Netflix, read a newspaper, finished one book and started on another, worked on a side project. Went to a cafe and sat around drinking lattes and playing a mobile game (Pokemon Go). Did laundry, cooked dinners.
Mostly out of curiosity and to self reflect. This being a forum largely focused on 'work/hobby/productivty', I find everything outside that very relevant, while not being talked about as much. So I was curious what a healthy (or unhealthy?) way of spending one's free time may look like.
Perhaps to see if I'm missing out on something, or get inspiration to spend free time better. I personally wouldn't be able to answer the same question in the way that would make me feel good.
> the above rights have no particular appeal at all to people who are neither pregnant
This doesn't sound right to me. You don't have to be pregnant to be interested in keeping abortion legally accessible. You don't even have to be a woman. Keeping a fetus in your body for 9 months when you don't want it is a horror movie scenario for me, and I'm guessing most other women feel the same way. And there are surely many men who want that option available for their partners, as well.
Current focus is Java native Android, or React Native frontend; Node.js/Express.js backend, Firebase RTDB and Firestore for data storage. However, I'm equally happy with SQL or noSQL. Some iOS, MongoDB, React (for web) etc experience. 10+ years software development work experience.
I prefer to arrange fixed price contracts with 50% up front, but it's negotiable.
I like working on existing projects to fix bugs or add features. I also like developing proof-of-concept applications. If any of that sounds like something you're looking for, please email me for further discussion! fullstackdev@fullstackoasis.com
> Some days I forget to eat lunch, and I usually end up naturally coming out of it after about 7 hours
I used to be like this myself. In the last few years, alas, I realized that this behavior was unhealthy for my physical body. Just a word of caution. What your mind prefers to do is not necessarily the best for your entire self.
I only end up getting days like this a handful of times per year, due to all the meetings. Since it’s not an everyday thing, I find the boost I get from actually getting something done far outweighs having a late lunch. I can go from being in a pretty deep depression to having actual hope and some pride in my work.
The last time I had one of these days I finished every user story I had in one day. These stories had been carried over for multiple sprints, I just couldn’t get the time. I was feeling really bad about them hanging out there for so long, like a failure. Finishing them all felt great and showed me that it wasn’t me, it was the company culture causing most of my issues. I’m actually in dire need of another one of these days.
I used to hate my job. Actually, I had a couple of jobs that I hated. I had started to wonder if it was me, or just having any job.
However, I had a couple of jobs that I liked, early on. These were days when I didn't have to support myself (still living with my parents, so I saved almost all my pay). The jobs paid extremely poorly, and I wasn't doing them full time. But I liked them.
The things that I liked about those jobs were (1) I didn't have to work all day long so I had plenty of free time for other stuff. (2) I didn't have much responsibility. No reporting to people about what I did. I just did the work. It was obvious I'd done my job, and my bosses were clearly satisfied and appreciative. (3) They were not desk jobs. In one, I was working outdoors. In another, I was moving around a lot indoors. (4) Most importantly: I felt hopeful about my future. These were not dead end jobs I'd have for the rest of my life. I was making more money than I needed, and the future was open and filled with potential.
When I look back at the jobs that I hated, I see a few things. (1) No hope for the future. I felt stuck. (2) I didn't feel appreciated. Unfortunately, most of the time, money was a proxy for appreciation. I felt underpaid for what I was doing and hence not appreciated. (3) The working environment involved a toxic person in both cases; someone who was overtly or covertly hostile. (4) In one job, we had an open office plan. People would chat incessantly within earshot, and it drove me crazy. (5) In one job, I was cold all the time, even wearing a sweater in the office.
I think it's only in hindsight that I can pinpoint the specific reasons that I hated those jobs.
I wish I had some tips to make it easier to deal with. Based on my experience, I'd say identify the problems, and then hunt for a job that doesn't have those problems.
I have a friend who took a couple of different jobs, and hated them all. He just decided that all jobs suck, and stuck with the last one for a long time. That worked out for him, in one way, since he has a nice salary and retirement package. So that can work, depending on what you want.
However, I feel like life is too short to be miserable when you have a choice not to be, and it's worth hunting around for better. All jobs have some suck factor, I guess. But I know from experience that jobs don't have to involve lots of suffering (at least, for me this is true). Also, there's nothing against job hopping in the US. Seems you'll wind up with a higher salary if you time your job hops correctly (probably better not to do it in a recession). I wish I'd done that more.
"I have a friend who took a couple of different jobs, and hated them all. He just decided that all jobs suck, and stuck with the last one for a long time."
Yeah, that's basically my view - they will all have issues
I don't know if the tactic worked.
These days, if I were mailing postcards, I'd make sure to add a special QR code to them. That way, if someone went to my sales page using the QR code, I'd have an idea that the postcard had been seen by the right person. Postcards are rather expensive (both the postcard and the stamp). Who wants to keep trying that without knowing it was successful?