One of the frustrating things about software development is that we cannot measure productivity [Martin Fowler]. This makes things difficult for management, of course, but it even makes it difficult for me as a programmer to know how productive I've been. Each Friday I look back at the week, consider what I accomplished, and it often seems as though I could have been more productive. But it's hard to know for sure; if I'd have worked smarter, or harder, or whatever, could I have "measurably" enhanced my productivity? It also makes motivation difficult at times; my boss knows that productivity is hard to measure accurately, so I could probably get away with a lot of slacking before he'd notice... So, I think I agree with Jon Galloway that a good work ethic is the best that we can hope for; maybe I should stop writing this blog entry and work on mine...