Bill Gates and his work routine. How did he pull this off?

[Heilige]

Bill Gates and Paul Allen would program until 6 -7pm. After that they would go see a movie and eat dinner. Following that they would write/cut code until 3 -4 am.

How were they able to keep up such an exhausting pace without burning out/losing interest/getting sick from lack of sleep?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Xhas1dXoNw


Doing what they did would still have to be mentally strenuous/exhausting even if they enjoyed it. Also, the lack of sleep they must have gotten should have created potential health issues.

Does anyone think the human body is mean to be put under that type of mental strain day after day?

[falc39]

The mind is a lot more adaptable than most people think. It's just hard to break old habits and you have to put in the time to create new habits which will take some effort. But the key is understanding that often the limitation is mental. The notion of "hard work" is relative. If you want to be the best you have to do what others aren't willing to do.

[Heilige]

The mind is a lot more adaptable than most people think. It's just hard to break old habits and you have to put in the time to create new habits which will take some effort. But the key is understanding that often the limitation is mental. The notion of "hard work" is relative. If you want to be the best you have to do what others aren't willing to do.



What about lack of sleep? sleeping only 3-4 hours a day how can that not fukk your cognitive abilities up and other health problems down the road?

[Akrazotile]

What about lack of sleep? sleeping only 3-4 hours a day how can that not fukk your cognitive abilities up and other health problems down the road?


The specifics of the story might be a lil bit apocryphal ya know.

I'm sure they worked hard. I doubt they were sleeping 3-4 hours a night on a regular basis.

[fiddy]

A: Drugs
or
B: Hes lying

[falc39]

What about lack of sleep? sleeping only 3-4 hours a day how can that not fukk your cognitive abilities up and other health problems down the road?

There are probably drawbacks, and yeah it's prob not everyday of the year. But some people want it bad enough that they are willing to do that. I recall reading about a lot of successful people having crazy sleep schedules. I remember also reading about a small percent of people actually need very little sleep naturally. There's a word for that condition, can't remember. Not sure how true it is either.

I actually know a former tech CEO who claims something similar, sleeping 3 to 4 hours a night. I have no way of verifying but it seems like it is seen at times as a badge of honor or source of pride in the tech community.

[Akrazotile]

There are probably drawbacks, and yeah it's prob not everyday of the year. But some people want it bad enough that they are willing to do that. I recall reading about a lot of successful people having crazy sleep schedules. I remember also reading about a small percent of people actually need very little sleep naturally. There's a word for that condition, can't remember. Not sure how true it is either.

I actually know a former tech CEO who claims something similar, sleeping 3 to 4 hours a night. I have no way of verifying but it seems like it is seen at times as a badge of honor or source of pride in the tech community.


A lot of people def sleep less and less as they get older. To me it seems crazy that guys in their late teens and early 20s could get by like that. Especially what are the odds theyd both have that capacity?

I dont doubt it can be done for stretches or that some people out there just are that way... But I also tend to believe this story is prob at least slightly exaggerated.

[KyrieTheFuture]

The most unbelievable part is that they saw a movie every day. Obviously not a true indication of the daily schedule but I bet they still coded 14 hours a day. I have buddies who do that now

[~primetime~]

I work in the video game industry, and I want to say this is -somewhat- common with programmers. I know lots of programmers that pull all-nighters coding on a regular. You could go into most large game studios at the wee hours of the night and find someone up coding after having worked an 8 hour day. Many are young without a family to tend to.

Now that said, people still have to sleep...I don't think any human could last long on 4 hours every night. Could maybe do that 2-3 nights in a row, then you'll crash hard and sleep like 14 hours straight.

[Bless Mathews]

I buy it 100%

Y'all just don't realize that people like Paul Allen and bill gates are abnormal human beings.

You don't do what they do and are normal.

Just like professional athletes. Abnormal human beings.

Them two even more so. Abnormal smarts, dedication etc.

My homie works for mr Allen.

(He uses apple and pro tools in all of his studios)

He is one strange strange dude.

Average people don't do what they do.

Period.

[Nick Young]

The specifics of the story might be a lil bit apocryphal ya know.

I'm sure they worked hard. I doubt they were sleeping 3-4 hours a night on a regular basis.
When I was studying architecture for 2 years this was considered normal.

We'd often go 2-3 days at a time with no sleep working in the library and then have to give presentations in the morning. It was the same for the engineering students. Other kids doing majors like English or Psych would complain to me about how hard they had to work in their course and I would just roll my eyes.


There is a difference between what average people think is hard work, and actual hard work.

You just get used to it after a few weeks. People can train themselves to not sleep 7 hours and still have high functioning cognitive ability.

Hyper successful people like the Rock have this kind of schedule, they wake up at 4 in the morning, work out for 2 hours in the gym, go for a run, do all their business shit, stay up late partying and then do it all over the next day.

[FillJackson]

And what time did they start their days? It doesn't say that.

Coding is one of those things where when you are focused on it hours can fly by.

[HenryGarfunkle]

I buy it 100%

Y'all just don't realize that people like Paul Allen and bill gates are abnormal human beings.

You don't do what they do and are normal.

Just like professional athletes. Abnormal human beings.

Them two even more so. Abnormal smarts, dedication etc.

My homie works for mr Allen.

(He uses apple and pro tools in all of his studios)

He is one strange strange dude.

Average people don't do what they do.

Period.
/thread

[Im Still Ballin]

I buy it 100%

Y'all just don't realize that people like Paul Allen and bill gates are abnormal human beings.

You don't do what they do and are normal.

Just like professional athletes. Abnormal human beings.

Them two even more so. Abnormal smarts, dedication etc.

My homie works for mr Allen.

(He uses apple and pro tools in all of his studios)

He is one strange strange dude.

Average people don't do what they do.

Period.
Agreed

It's a hunger to succeed... Takes a special individual

[Kvnzhangyay]

Sounds like my every-day routine when i was an analyst

Trust me, it's possible, but it's HARD

[SpaceJam]

If that impresses you, y'all haven't seen pauk's work schedule

[BasedTom]

If that impresses you, y'all haven't seen pauk's work schedule
dat jordan flop compilation must be a veritable masterpiece then, if that's the case

[iamgine]

I know a security guard who stands all day long doing nothing.

No sitting down, no leaning, no talking to anyone. Just standing at the same place 10 hours a day 6 days a week.

Bill Gates ain't got nothing on this guy. Hardest job in the world.

[kNIOKAS]

The mind is a lot more adaptable than most people think. It's just hard to break old habits and you have to put in the time to create new habits which will take some effort. But the key is understanding that often the limitation is mental. The notion of "hard work" is relative. If you want to be the best you have to do what others aren't willing to do.
:applause:

I know a security guard who stands all day long doing nothing.

No sitting down, no leaning, no talking to anyone. Just standing at the same place 10 hours a day 6 days a week.

Bill Gates ain't got nothing on this guy. Hardest job in the world.
:cheers:

[sixerfan82]

I'm not sure what the question is here...

Is it having passion for a goal or is the ability to sit in front of a computer for 12-16 hours a day?

Just like anything else, if you find something you truly enjoy, it's not work. I often find myself more interested in solving a problem than eating lunch. My body runs off adrenaline because the idea of solving a complex problem is more interesting to me than deciding between a pizza or a burger.

In general though, some people are very passionate about what they do and are willing to work hard for it. It's no different than training hard in a gym for 12 hours or studying for a final exam.

[ILLsmak]

I think the rare part is finding someone that shares your drive, is as good (or close) as you, and can spend hours upon hours each day with you doing it... as well as the end result which is monies. That is a dream for anyone.

It's like if Larry Bird and Jordan lived together, they would be balling for 10 hours a day I bet.

That thing isn't possible to do without having another person to push you, I think. Unless you are totally insane, but then you can argue there is still something pushing you...

but I bet they were getting up at like 10-11am.

Still.

-Smak

[ALBballer]

Some Exaggeration plus a good work ethic and doing something you enjoy and its more than possible but not over a long sustainable amount of time.

[Bandito]

This is totally believable. I tend to just pound that keyboard when trying to-do software for hours.