That reading social media (including hacker news) and news is mostly addiction and is a huge waste of time because it has little relevance to your life. The mechanism is similar to gambling where most of the stuff you do find on these sites is irrelevant but once in a blue moon there's something interesting and it makes you keep coming back for more!
I do feel like I waste time with many HN stories, so I’ve been trying to be selective and only reading stories I feel I could learn something that provides direct value either to me or my current project. This is easier said than done because I’m infinitely curious and people here are good at crafting headlines.
That's the point man! Don't be naive. The company is not your friend it pays you as little as possible. There's no incentive for a company to pay you more than it needs to.
Once my boss bragged to me about paying one of our European contractors "Chinese slave wages." That took the wind out of my sails at that job and my boss became an enemy. I didn't last long at that company after hearing that.
One I forgot but also in one of the other comments: take your time doing tasks and always look busy. Never rush to complete projects unless doing so gets you political points. Keeping a slow pace of work while looking like working a lot is key. Make many small commits and push them up either all at the end of the day or periodically throughout. Prepare work for a few days ahead if possible and push it up incrementally. Know how to do the minimum to not get fired while still looking very productive. Milk it for all it's worth.
Note, most jobs don't start this way but many end up this way, mainly because your employer doesn't value you. They don't give you proper raises or other compensation to show appreciation. When you can't increase your total compensation, increase your hourly compensation with the above tactic till your per hour rate skyrockets. Best achieved while working remotely. It's also important to not be loyal and always remember that the extra effort will never be rewarded. That said, there are rare, occasional exceptions. Very rare.
Finally, remember, it's hard to get fired at most places. You really have to push your bosses to do it, especially once you've been there for awhile. Take advantage of that. This is all a game, so play it. And speaking of games, have fun whenever you can doing non-work stuff. Or start a business on the side if that's your thing with all the extra time.
