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Ask HN: I'm experiencing pair programming exhaustion, how best to cope with it?

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Re: Ask HN: I'm experiencing pair programming exhaustion, how best to cope with it?

#4
post #3

What is your experience?

The company I work for is completely committed to pair programming, which means everyone does it a 100% of the time. It is fine to help you ramp up when you just joined, but after 4 months of non-stop pairing, it seems like it's just too much.

Re: Ask HN: I'm experiencing pair programming exhaustion, how best to cope with it?

#5
post #4
post #3

What is your experience?

The company I work for is completely committed to pair programming, which means everyone does it a 100% of the time. It is fine to help you ramp up when you just joined, but after 4 months of non-stop pairing, it seems like it's just too much.

That’s ridiculous. Pairing 100% would seriously hamper productivity. You need time to withdraw into your mind and think through solutions.

This is why code reviews were invented.

Re: Ask HN: I'm experiencing pair programming exhaustion, how best to cope with it?

#6
post #4
post #3

What is your experience?

The company I work for is completely committed to pair programming, which means everyone does it a 100% of the time. It is fine to help you ramp up when you just joined, but after 4 months of non-stop pairing, it seems like it's just too much.

This is such an interesting approach. I’ve read about this at Pivotal, and it’s interesting to see how it’s described on their blog vs Glassdoor. I greatly enjoy working with another engineer to solve an especially tricky problem, but only pair programming seems like it would be exhausting.

What do you like and dislike about it?

Re: Ask HN: I'm experiencing pair programming exhaustion, how best to cope with it?

#7
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The company I work for is completely committed to pair programming, which means everyone does it a 100% of the time. It is fine to help you ramp up when you just joined, but after 4 months of non-stop pairing, it seems like it's just too much.

That’s ridiculous. Pairing 100% would seriously hamper productivity. You need time to withdraw into your mind and think through solutions. This is why code reviews were invented.

What could make code reviews more effective? Doing them all the time! /s

Re: Ask HN: I'm experiencing pair programming exhaustion, how best to cope with it?

#8
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The company I work for is completely committed to pair programming, which means everyone does it a 100% of the time. It is fine to help you ramp up when you just joined, but after 4 months of non-stop pairing, it seems like it's just too much.

That’s ridiculous. Pairing 100% would seriously hamper productivity. You need time to withdraw into your mind and think through solutions. This is why code reviews were invented.

Highly recommended:

https://www.gerritcodereview.com/

Re: Ask HN: I'm experiencing pair programming exhaustion, how best to cope with it?

#9
post #4
post #3

What is your experience?

The company I work for is completely committed to pair programming, which means everyone does it a 100% of the time. It is fine to help you ramp up when you just joined, but after 4 months of non-stop pairing, it seems like it's just too much.

Is it exhaustion that can be handled by a week’s vacation? If yes, that might be a starting point. Otherwise, if the company if completely committed, it’s probably time to look for a new job.

I couldn’t handle four months...

Re: Ask HN: I'm experiencing pair programming exhaustion, how best to cope with it?

#10
post #6
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The company I work for is completely committed to pair programming, which means everyone does it a 100% of the time. It is fine to help you ramp up when you just joined, but after 4 months of non-stop pairing, it seems like it's just too much.

This is such an interesting approach. I’ve read about this at Pivotal, and it’s interesting to see how it’s described on their blog vs Glassdoor. I greatly enjoy working with another engineer to solve an especially tricky problem, but only pair programming seems like it would be exhausting. What do you like and dislike about it?

I dislike someone sitting next to me telling me what they think I should type for 6-8 hours a day.
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