Editing John Carmack (section)

===Workstyle ===
Carmack claims to have maintained a sixty-hour work week, working a 10-hour day, six days a week, throughout his career.<ref name="Fridman">{{cite podcast |host=Lex Fridman |title=#309 – John Carmack: Doom, Quake, VR, AGI, Programming, Video Games, and Rockets |website=Lexfridman.com |publisher=Lex Fridman |date=15 January 2023 |url=https://lexfridman.com/john-carmack/ |access-date=15 January 2023}}</ref> He has spoken publicly about the importance of long hours of uninterrupted focus in his work. Not only does high intensity allow him to make progress more quickly, but long hours are also critical to maintaining a focused mindset over time. Despite working such a demanding schedule, he has never experienced burnout.<ref name="Fridman"/>

Carmack is also known for taking week-long programming retreats. These retreats involve a solitary, uninterrupted period away from his normal routine often sequestered in a random city and hotel.{{sfn|Kushner|2003|pp=252}} The goal of these retreats is to allow Carmack to operate at full cognitive capacity, tackling a specific, difficult problem or learning a new skill.<ref>{{Cite tweet |last=Carmack |first=John |user=@ID_AA_Carmack |number=1218526548627804161 |date=January 18, 2020 |access-date=January 15, 2023 |link=https://twitter.com/ID_AA_Carmack/status/1218526548627804161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw |title=I was doing a remote study/think time this week, and I tried a "no screen time day" as an experiment, restricting myself to printed books and papers. It was inconclusive. I missed finding instant answers and chasing references at least a dozen times during the day. I was ...}}</ref> The solitude and physical isolation of these retreats offer the perfect environment for deep focus and reflection, making them an essential part of Carmack's creative process.

Carmack was vocal about his frustration with the bureaucratic inefficiencies he encountered during his time at Meta.<ref>{{Cite tweet |last=Carmack |first=John |user=@ID_AA_Carmack |number=1603931901491908610 |date=December 16, 2022 |access-date=January 15, 2023 |link=https://twitter.com/ID_AA_Carmack/status/1218526548627804161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw |title=I have always been pretty frustrated with how things get done at FB/Meta. Everything necessary for spectacular success is right there, but it doesn't get put together effectively.}}</ref> In his departure memo, he stated, "We have a ridiculous amount of people and resources, but we constantly self-sabotage and squander effort," he wrote. "I have never been able to kill stupid things before they cause damage, or set a direction and have a team actually stick to it."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.engadget.com/john-carmack-leaves-meta-043202664.html |title=John Carmack leaves Meta with a memo criticizing the company's efficiency |last=Moon |first=Mariella |date=December 16, 2022 |website=Engadget |publisher=Yahoo |access-date=January 15, 2023}}</ref>

Carmack subscribes to the philosophy that small, incremental steps are the fastest route to meaningful and disruptive [[innovation]].<ref name="Fridman"/> He compares this approach to the "magic of [[gradient descent]]" where small steps using local information result in the best outcomes. According to Carmack, this principle is proven by his own experience, and he has observed this in many of the smartest people in the world. He states, "Little tiny steps using local information winds up leading to all the best answers."<ref name="Fridman"/>