Top all-time · #756
Penelope Trunk
Personal blog · blog.penelopetrunk.comcareerproductivity
Penelope Trunk's personal blog at blog.penelopetrunk.com covers career and productivity. Since 2007, 84 different Hacker News readers have linked it 139 times, most often “Time management tricks I learned from years of hating Tim Ferris (of the 4 hour work week)”. It is still writing: the last post was on 2026-09-27, and you can follow it by feed.
Sometimes recommended · 13 of 40 sampled comments recommend it, 4 are critical?
Why HN links it
HN readers link Penelope Trunk's blog as a counterpoint to Tim Ferriss and for career and money advice. Some call her a go-to; others say she chases controversy for page views.
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 40 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
Advice at the intersection of work and life
Most-linked posts?
- Time management tricks I learned from years of hating Tim Ferris (of the 4 hour work week)5 people · 9 mentions · first linked 2009-01-09
- Don't try to dodge the recession with grad school3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2009-02-03
- Why I regret getting straight A's in college3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2008-04-16
- 8 Blogs I read when I'm stressed about funding my company2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2009-01-29
- "Voices of the defenders of grad school. And me crushing them."2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2011-09-04
- /2011/08/16/blueprint-for-a-womans-life/2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2011-12-11
- Should you go to graduate school in a recession?2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2009-03-03
- 5 Reasons to stop trying to be happy2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2010-12-01
- How to get good ideas for startups2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2010-08-05
- Is your life happy or interesting?2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2010-02-17
What Hacker News says?
> But from about 9 months you could both work say 3 days a week if you wanted. TERRIBLE advice. In all things gender and money, Penelope Trunk is a goto: http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2013/01/07/how-to-pick-a-husba... > Don’t tell me that you want your husband to work part-time, because aiming for the impossible 50/50 split leads to divorce. First, because it’s the road to eternal poverty; part-time jobs are low pay…
Comment linking /2013/01/07/how-to-pick-a-husband-if-you-want-to-have-kids/
on “Study Finds No Gender Gap in Tech Salaries”Submitted Time management tricks I learned from years of hating Tim Ferris (of the 4 hour work week) as a story · 146 points
HN discussionMy GF is in med school, so I now know why it's vastly smarter to go into nursing than medicine, why so many doctors are unhappy, and why Penelope Trunk is right when she says that medical and law school force you to overinvest: http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/02/03/dont-try-to-dodge-t... . In addition, I know that you don't want residents making major care decisions on their own.
Comment linking /2009/02/03/dont-try-to-dodge-the-recession-with-grad-school/
on “"My husband is a programmer; I have no idea what that means."”Submitted Time management trips I learned from years of hating Tim Ferriss (2009) as a story · 82 points
HN discussionThe article is also missing something vital: medicine shuts down so many options. By the time you're down, you're so indebted that residency is the only thing that makes sense. Penelope Trunk gets this: http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2011/08/30/the-best-alternativ... , but few others do. I'm dating a newly minted resident, and she's inspired me to start my own essay and why not to be a doctor. Her, and a lot of the f…
Comment linking /2011/08/30/the-best-alternative-to-grad-school/
on “Why you should not go to medical school”Submitted Things to consider before launching a startup (or) Sometimes it's not so fun as a story · 46 points
HN discussionhttp://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2008/04/08/plastic-surgery-is-... I'll just leave that there. (Not saying I agree with it completely -- but she partly has a point)
Comment linking /2008/04/08/plastic-surgery-is-the-next-must-have-career-tool-maybe/
on “Don't dumb girls down”Submitted Why I regret getting straight A's in college as a story · 25 points
HN discussionHere's my fave commentary on the Ferriss snake-oil schtick: http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/01/08/5-time-management-t...
Comment linking /2009/01/08/5-time-management-tricks-i-learned-from-years-of-hating-tim-ferriss/
on “The 4-Hour Dentist”Submitted What it's like to have sex with someone with Asperger's as a story · 16 points
HN discussionYou're welcome. That looks like a nice resource and I've bookmarked it. I think it'll help going forward as I figure out how to build an income remotely from a variety of sources. Thanks :) With regard to your last statement, here's a (very) vaguely related post from Penelope Trunk who also writes about aspberger's and life. http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2011/12/01/living-up-to-your-p...
Comment linking /2011/12/01/living-up-to-your-potential/
on “Superior IQs associated with mental and physical disorders, research suggests”Submitted Brazen Careerist: Answering the toughest interview question as a story · 15 points
HN discussionAnecdotes are hardly evidence, but here are some articles that I've found agree with my experiences and the experiences of others I know. http://philip.greenspun.com/careers/women-in-science http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2008/06/18/seven-reasons-why-g...
Comment linking /2008/06/18/seven-reasons-why-graduate-school-is-outdated/
on “I own you, and you're easily replaceable.”Submitted Why I regret getting straight A's in college as a story · 14 points
HN discussionAssociation with Tim Ferriss would not be a point in his favour IMO. http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/01/08/5-time-management-t...
Comment linking /2009/01/08/5-time-management-tricks-i-learned-from-years-of-hating-tim-ferriss/
on “Why 'Passive Income' Is A Dangerous Fantasy (2011)”Submitted What it's like to have sex with someone with Asperger's as a story · 13 points
HN discussionMy theory is this post, along with this woman's online identity, is an elaborate troll on feminism. Let's explore. "Here is a Blueprint for a Woman’s Life which I published. It is full of recommendations for how to make choices based on what we know women really want for themselves. It does not involve getting VC funding." Hmm. It's kind of weird for anybody to pretend they can tell anyone else how to live their lif…
Comment linking /2011/08/16/blueprint-for-a-womans-life/
on “Stop Telling Women To Do Startups”Submitted Don't try to dodge the recession with grad school as a story · 13 points
HN discussionPenelope is known for throwing out controversial memes and running with the ones that get attention. This idea got her some pageviews last year and she's been rewriting the same article over and over again ever since: http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/09/women-startups-childre/ http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505143_162-47140168/are-startups... http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2011/08/16/blueprint-for-a-wom... http://venturebe…
Comment linking /2011/08/16/blueprint-for-a-womans-life/
on “Stop Telling Women To Do Startups”Submitted When to leave grad school off your resume (2012) as a story · 12 points
HN discussionI'm not sure why people still take Penelope Trunk seriously. http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2011/08/16/blueprint-for-a-wom... This should be enough to convince you that she is full of shit. She doesn't practice what she preaches and holds very strongly to the status quo. She actively discourages women from entering the startup world, so no wonder she is annoyed that some people are trying to encourage women. http://b…
Comment linking /2011/03/05/the-workplace-should-be-segregated-maybe/
on “Stop Telling Women To Do Startups”Submitted Secrets to smart decisions when you graduate from college as a story · 10 points
HN discussionA classic of this genre from 2011: https://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2011/08/29/voices-of-the-defe...
Comment linking /2011/08/29/voices-of-the-defenders-of-grad-school-and-me-crushing-them/
on “We Need a Yelp for Doctoral Programs”Submitted Twentysomething: Why I regret getting straight A’s in college as a story · 9 points
HN discussionApparently you only needed $40,000 to be happy in 2004. http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2004/08/01/you-only-need-40000...
Comment linking /2004/08/01/you-only-need-40000-to-be-happy/
on “Happiness is earning $60,000/year”Submitted Why I regret getting straight A’s in college (2007) as a story · 8 points
HN discussionIf you liked this one, try the one about career women and oral sex: http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/01/06/high-income-women-g...
Comment linking /2009/01/06/high-income-women-get-more-oral-sex-maybe/
on “Time management tricks I learned from years of hating Tim Ferris (of the 4 hour work week)”Submitted "Self-discipline is the key to happiness" as a story · 8 points
HN discussionTo see why women focus on children I'd recommend this article by the same author: http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2006/06/01/get-married-first-t...
Comment linking /2006/06/01/get-married-first-then-focus-on-career/
on “Women Don't Want To Run Startups Because They'd Rather Have Children”Submitted Should you go to graduate school in a recession? as a story · 8 points
HN discussion
