Working with Agents Is Starting to Feel Like an Addiction

My work with agents is starting to feel kind of like an addiction.

A lot of days, I'm having the experience of looking up and it's hours later, I'm on the verge of being late for picking up the kids, and I haven't moved.

Not to my treadmill desk across the room where I can just as easily talk to robots, not to the kitchen, not to flip the laundry or take the dogs for a walk on a nice day.

On a relative basis - taking little breaks to do those things are not going to have a meaningful impact on what I produce.

But, there's something about having a team of diligent helpers that might need my input at any moment that has been keeping me glued to my spot or staying up too late after the kids go to bed - they get my full attention in the evenings but after that, the laptop has been coming out.

Since the beginning of the year, my main client and I have been doing an experiment to see how far a one person team can push the limits of software output working this way. Turns out, it's pretty far. I am SO much more productive than I was 18 months ago, or even 6. I'm producing the output that matches or beats what used to take multiple teams I've worked with. It's intoxicating when you love to make stuff.

But. My workout routine has suffered, my sleep has suffered, my diet has suffered. Hell, my dogs are not getting as much exercise as they should. All for probably a 5% difference in total output.

It feels like other things I've had a briefly unhealthy fixation with - mostly computer games in my teen years like Rollercoaster Tycoon and Civilization. "Just one more turn..."

Maybe it's the midwestern sensibility I have that is VERY averse to having anyone waiting on me for anything - even if they're not human in this case.

The challenge now is to find the sustainable balance. I'm trying to think through how I can intentionally shift the workflow to keep me out of babysitting things until it 100% needs my attention.

I just installed a Break time app on my mac for the first time since my venture backed startup founder days to give me some kind of pattern interrupt. I have a STOP WORKING alarm every night with plenty of time to wind down my brain before bed.

When you're an order of magnitude more productive, 5-10% on the margins shouldn't make or break anything. The individual agents can run on their own for tens of minutes or even more with the right setup. But it's hard not to join a red queen's race. If anything I'm working as hard as I ever have now that the barrier to doing more is lower.

I'm going on a 10 day family vacation this weekend, and the robots are going to have to wait. When I get back - I plan to redouble my efforts to get into a groove that doesn't neglect my health and my dogs.

Who's got other protips for working at a high level but sustainably with your team of robots?

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