Ask HN: Can you code more than 40 hours/wk?

I think it depends on the project. I've spent the odd weekend starting on Friday night and finishing on Sunday morning (although that doesn't happen now with a wife).

Years back I started writing multi-format shellcode, which required me to learn 4 different OS and 3 different chip architectures to the point where I could get assembly running across all of them. That was an insane project that started out as get shellcode that worked on Linux and Freebsd/x86 and just ran and ran as I found more things to add in and tweak. Then I'd sleep through the whole of sunday and turn up for work on monday.

On the other hand I've worked on projects in my work time that are so mind numbingly dull that I've spent 4-6 hours a day actual programming, come home and collapsed in a heap.

It sounds to me like you're going past your wall and it's not flexible. You need to qualify and stick to your limits. The gym, diet and smoking side of things is a good idea, but not enough.

How's your sleep? I find that's the biggest factor in my day.

Don't worry, you're normal.

I've wondered the same thing a LOT. What I've discovered is that you can only push yourself so much (although it's more than many people believe), and that there are limits on how long you can spend focusing on one (type of) thing.

Also check this out: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/242985/rules_of_productivity.pdf

It's called "Laws of Producitivity: 8 Productivity Experiments You Don't Need to Repeat" and it's exactly what it says it is. Very interesting; I forget where I originally discovered it.

My advice is to keep pushing yourself, but don't sweat it if you don't improve over night.

I tend to spend ~40 hours coding and rest designing/discussions and run to clear my mind. It just wouldn't work if I code all the time.

Nah, no tracking. But maybe I should, that would be interesting.

The reason I make those claims is because I don't do much else at the moment except "work" (which for me equals fun). I don't play any video games anymore except the one I work on, and even then it's usually only once a week. I don't use facebook. Etc. Hacker News is my outlet, typically before bed (like now).

Think of it this way... there are 168 hours in a week. A "proper" amount of sleep is 8 hours a day, which is 1/3 of a day. So 168 * (2/3) = 112 waking hours. Throw in the fact that I often have trouble sleeping, or go without sleep, and... well, you get the idea.

I'm not claiming that I typically work 100 hours. This week in particular has been unique. I'm just saying, for me personally, when I'm passionate about a thing, I wind up way, way more productive by obsessing over it and pushing myself than if I try to "balance" myself.

Also, when I'm in "hardcore work" mode, I can only focus on exactly one project. There is little or no room for any other projects, such as side projects. Even doing an unrelated small bugfix has the potential to completely destroy my enthusiasm / flow.

There are downsides, of course... one example that springs to mind is: my right wrist has been hurting me. Badly, actually. I've been ignoring it, but that's stupid obviously. I think it's possibly because of the shape of my mouse. (I've heard that I should get a "splint" to prevent horizontal / vertical wrist movement.)

Also I need to take care to ensure good nutrition, which I've been slacking on. Also, Vitamin D pills + B12 pills.

I seem to binge code often. Usually that means I'll go for 2-4 months with 2-3 hours of sleep, coding until the sun comes up. Now, I'm not super-human. It takes a toll certainly. During these binges I'll crash for a good 8 hrs every week or so to catch up.

I feel surprisingly okay during these periods, but it doesn't last forever. Eventually my day time performance starts to slow and then I go back to a normal routine where I still code almost non-stop except I sleep for 4-7 hrs depending. It isn't out of necessity, it's out of enjoyment, which is probably why I can get away with it.

(obviously, I eat, shower, and do take short breaks which usually means Wikipedia, blogs, and such)

This isn't for everyone. I'm sure its very unhealthy and I have no doubt I won't be able to continue this pattern when I'm older, but it's gotten me some incredibly productive work done. It's so much easier to stay focused FOR ME if I work on something in one sitting then to break it up. Some people are more productive sleeping 8hrs a day...but I'm not one of them. It's hard to sleep that long for me and I end up feeling like I slept all day.

It's so hard not to binge when there's always something to learn!

Lastly, like most on here I grew up from a very early age sitting at my computer. Thankfully for me that means I rarely get tired of it.