About this Episode

Parent Driven Development

Episode 031: Negotiating A Shorter Workweek

00:16 Welcome, Itamar Turner-Trauring

Itamar Turner-Trauring started his software career in the cutting-edge field of multimedia CD-ROMs. He currently works as a consultant helping speed up Python code and deployments, and shares his software and career mistakes every week with 3700 programmers on his Software Clown newsletter. His crowning achievement as a parent was when months of brainwashing paid off and his daughter stopped saying "my legs are tired" and started saying "my legs are getting stronger! Itmar is that author of "You Can Negotiate A 3-Day Weekend".

00:51 Working Part-Time as a Programmer and Writing a Book

"You Can Negotiate A 3-Day Weekend

03:54 Overcoming "This Isn't Normal" or "Entitlement" Feelings

Negotiation is easier at your current job. Your work ethic is already established.
Frame/approach it as a problem-solving situation.

08:05 Difficult Parts of Negotiation

Harder to do up-front at new companies.
Communication concerns.
What about emergencies?
Worries about getting work done and job commitment.

11:26 Scheduling Your Shorter Workweek

Be courteous of your team.
Plan around regularly-scheduled meetings.

14:40 Utilizing Extra Time as a Parent

17:52 Taking on Remote-Friendly Tasks + Peer Reactions

20:12 Output Value + Impact

You can be productive and work shorter hours.
The better the management, the less of an issue.
Asking yourself, "What is enough work?" can be a struggle to measure when you're not counting hours.
Honor your commitments.
Parents are excellent multitaskers!!!

28:44 Genius / Fail Moments

KWu uses a sippy cup at night so she doesn't knock it over. (#Genius)
Chris told his daughter, "You are not your homework," which was adapted from "You are not your code!" (#Genius)
Itmar's daughter's snack negotiation skills are getting more sophisticated. (#Genius/Fail)
It took less than 90 seconds for Allison's life to fall apart in her household! (#Fail)