I received a recommendation to listen to this podcast episode from my brother. An interesting analysis of efficiency. As a tech worker it hit home. It covers origins of the definition of efficiency to how it’s used today. Efficiency by definition is the effectiveness of creating the output versus the input. Not everything can or should be measured and prioritized for efficiency but it’s become the end goal for many things. The podcast explains that efficiency describes how well you control a system but not the what you are working towards. The most efficient system isn’t always the best.
This podcast was a call to slowing down and being a little inefficient. Not everything can be analyzed measured but are still valuable. When applying this to programming I think about taking time to unwind, think, and prioritize. Measuring productivity in lines of code is universally shamed and spending hours debugging an issue can also be ineffective. Sometimes the best option is to be (in)efficient and step away. When you come back refreshed you may be more efficient, and if not you took a break to enjoy life.
If this interests you check out the podcast here: (in)Efficiency