DEV Community

Cover image for Productivity: Are you a fox 🦊 or a hedgehog 🦔?

Productivity: Are you a fox 🦊 or a hedgehog 🦔?

Raksha Kannusami on August 11, 2020

Disclaimer: This is a short story that I came across that really intrigued me and want to share it with you all. By the end of this arti...
Collapse
 
stereoplegic profile image
Mike Bybee • Edited

I thought foxes were great until they started screaming (they use echolocation) all night outside my window (I live in a forest). Imagine a pug or other small, vocal dog, but constantly screaming at the top of its lungs. It's one of the most awful sounds you will ever hear.

Now, I think foxes suck.

Collapse
 
ashleyjsheridan profile image
Ashley Sheridan

I think you're confusing foxes with Flying Foxes (a type of bat). Foxes have a special membrane in their eye to enable them to see in incredibly low-light environments.

Typically when you hear foxes making their awful noise it's them just having sex (which is incredibly rough and usually forced). Sometimes though they're just calling to each other.

Collapse
 
rakshakannu profile image
Raksha Kannusami

Wow. I didn't know that!

Collapse
 
shivenigma profile image
Vignesh M

They still wander around sometimes in our farms and the nearby forest. They are terrifying if you're alone and they are in numbers.

Collapse
 
ferricoxide profile image
Thomas H Jones II

Sometimes, your job is to be the pathfinder – where you have to be the one to tackle a very diverse and ever-evolving set of problems, simplifying and breaking them down into manageable chunks so that others can then take on a subset of those problems and deal with them in the longer term.

Collapse
 
rakshakannu profile image
Raksha Kannusami

Yes that's a great point to be noted!

Collapse
 
spiritupbro profile image
spiritupbro

im hedgehog coz i love sonic

Collapse
 
rakshakannu profile image
Raksha Kannusami

Awesome!

Collapse
 
shaijut profile image
Shaiju T

Nice 😄, Can we interpret take-backs like below ?

Don't try to do a lot of things at once. - Don't try to learn all new shiny technology at once.
Don't get distracted. - Don't try to get distracted with new technology , learn basic first.
Be the master of one, rather than a jack of all trades. - Master one programming language rather than learning all with little knowledge.
Don't compare yourself. - Don't compare other developers skills with yours.

Collapse
 
rakshakannu profile image
Raksha Kannusami

Yes, that's exactly what I wanted to convey. Thanks for this shaijut! 🙌

Collapse
 
rad_val_ profile image
Valentin Radu

As a fox (not necessarily smart 😅, but certainly versatile and lacking focus and stability in my career), I can see the value of being a hedgehog.
But I just can't. There are so many things to explore and learn.

I mean, true, it's much easier to be successful at high scale if you're a hedgehog:

  1. Pick a niche, as small as possible, while still relevant
  2. Put all your time in it, be among the best in your city/country/continent/world at it
  3. Profit

But then again, how about the rest: the wonderful and curious things you'll never get to experience? Wouldn't make me feel accomplished.

Collapse
 
codemouse92 profile image
Jason C. McDonald

Very good fable, there, and good takeaways largely.

Only thing I disagree with:

Be the master of one, rather than a jack of all trades.

There is nothing wrong with being a 'jack of all trades', as long as there are one or two things you actually put in the time to become a master of. It's possible to do both; I do it, and it has enabled me to contribute unique skills and abilities to different teams and situations. I'm not just a master of programming and nothing else: I'm an author, a public speaker, a musician, a computer technician, an amateur chef, and an organizer. I've done illusionism, video editing, and teaching. I'm a jack of all trades, or at least of many, but those strengths lend themselves to whatever I'm doing.

I believe the trendy name for that is "T-shaped". ;)

Collapse
 
schnubb profile image
Schnubb

Do you think it could be possible to keep a balance between both?
Understanding the hole complexity of the world, while diving into the unknown but learn and adopt it. Simplify if needed? Taking tiny hedgehog steps is fine, but exploring the world is great, too!

Collapse
 
rakshakannu profile image
Raksha Kannusami

Yes, definitely. It's a great idea to have a balance between the two. We need to make sure that we don't get distracted with too many things at a time, leading to confusion. Else, it's great to explore new things!

Collapse
 
tacomanick profile image
Nick Shattuck

Hedgehog for me. Not only do I enjoy stuffing my face with yum yums, I prefer to take things day by day. Otherwise I am far too scatterbrained to efficiently do anything.

Collapse
 
rakshakannu profile image
Raksha Kannusami

That's awesome!

Collapse
 
akhilarjun profile image
Akhil Arjun

Loved the ending punch line🕺👾

Collapse
 
rakshakannu profile image
Raksha Kannusami

Thank you. Glad you liked it.

Collapse
 
devimposter1 profile image
devimposter

I'm a fox and can't stop learning and trying new things... On the other hand I have to also be an actual jack of all trades at my job doing full stack development as well as devops so I don't have a choice. I like foxes but to say hedgehogs are not interesting? They are super cool little creatures :)

Collapse
 
yash_tripathi18 profile image
Yash Tripathi

Hedgehog

Collapse
 
rakshakannu profile image
Raksha Kannusami

Awesome!

Collapse
 
donnaken15 profile image
Wesley

I'm a mix
Sometimes I will be the hedgehog and get lazy not doing my things and not fast enough, but when I can get in the mood in a sort of mental way (other than the fact I'm doing it anyway), I can power through some stuff like a fox

Collapse
 
ashishshetty profile image
AlphaSierra • Edited

Well apparently I am a crocodile...😂
dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/...

Collapse
 
imjoseangel profile image
Jose Angel Munoz

Love this. Thanks!

Collapse
 
pnehrer profile image
Peter Nehrer

Nice parable! I think humans should learn from both. One thought that lingers -- the fox only needs to succeed once, but the hedgehog must succeed every time! :-)

Collapse
 
rakshakannu profile image
Raksha Kannusami

True!

Collapse
 
androminor profile image
Varun Singh

So clever story. really made me think for a moment and i found i am a fox but later on i felt i should be a hedgehog. it is simple. so now i am down to practice. thanks raksha!

Collapse
 
elinakukalo profile image
Elina Kukalo

Hedgehogs rule!