Programmer interrupted: The cost of interruption and context switching (2022) • Hacker News Board

Re: Programmer interrupted: The cost of interruption and context switching (2022)

#111

Post by ashton314 » Thu, Apr 06, 2023, 4:05 AM UTC

wpietri wrote: post #97

asdff wrote: post #9

If I know I am going to have my day broken into sub 1hr chunks thanks to meetings and such, I pretty much write off the day entirely. It takes time to get into the flow state, some studies cite over 20 minutes, and once you are in it you want to stay in it for like four hours. No emails to follow up with, no slack, no zooms, no one tapping your shoulder, no conversations about the weekend distracting you on the perip…

> no slack, no zooms, no one tapping your shoulder, no conversations about the weekend distracting you on the periphery My teen jobs were in stores, restaurants, and manufacturing. In those contexts, everybody understands that when you're working, you're actually working. Even managers understand that even small discussions need to be fit neatly into the flow of the work, and actual meetings require careful planning…

> And sure, why don't you put me next to the salespeople making calls all day.

I’ve worked next to people with zero volume control and who like to take calls on speakerphone.

I decided there and then that cubicles has material benefits over open offices.

Re: Programmer interrupted: The cost of interruption and context switching (2022)

#112

Post by chinabot » Thu, Apr 06, 2023, 4:09 AM UTC

wruza wrote: post #104

Not that I like to be interrupted, but if it’s inevitable, here is my method. I’m using it when interruptions are planned, when a task is complex by itself, at refactorings and on bad/lazy days. Log all your key thoughts, realizations, decisions and taken steps on paper. It shouldn’t be long or long-term clear, only clear to today’s you. Gibberish to a bystander. Text, bullets, arrows, acronyms, verbs, marks, anythin…

Here's my method, tell anyone who interrupts you to "FUCK OFF" because your busy.

Re: Programmer interrupted: The cost of interruption and context switching (2022)

#113

Post by butlerm » Thu, Apr 06, 2023, 4:20 AM UTC

TylerE wrote: post #58

commandlinefan wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> All it did was change the nature of the job It also created SQL injection vulnerabilities, so there's that.

No, that’s something bad programming languages did. SQL is purely declarative.

INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE sound quite imperative to me. Not to mention DROP TABLE.

Re: Programmer interrupted: The cost of interruption and context switching (2022)

#114

Post by metalrain » Thu, Apr 06, 2023, 4:22 AM UTC

I feel like this cost is not as big as some say.

Surely it takes time to collect your thoughts after conversation, but in my experience that is like 1-5 minutes. It is usually worth it.

I really think there should be more communication at work, not less.

Re: Programmer interrupted: The cost of interruption and context switching (2022)

#115

Post by wolfium3 » Thu, Apr 06, 2023, 4:23 AM UTC

metalrain wrote: post #114

I feel like this cost is not as big as some say. Surely it takes time to collect your thoughts after conversation, but in my experience that is like 1-5 minutes. It is usually worth it. I really think there should be more communication at work, not less.

Depends on person to person. For me it's on the order of ~20-30 minutes.

Re: Programmer interrupted: The cost of interruption and context switching (2022)

#116

Post by financypants » Thu, Apr 06, 2023, 4:36 AM UTC

The book “the myth of multitasking” is maybe worth a read, althought it’s a bit repetitive . It hammers home the point this article is trying to make where task switching costs are high and productivity nosedives with interruptions, and there really is no such thing as “multitasking,” but instead, just switching tasks quickly.

Re: Programmer interrupted: The cost of interruption and context switching (2022)

#117

Post by firatsarlar » Thu, Apr 06, 2023, 4:55 AM UTC

Why did we ask ? Say I'm a programmer and looking at screen one hour, is it a crime ? Time management ? Resource management ? Do I have to sit that desk and be productive, and compete my friends? Is the context we perceive, all about resources, material ? Where is my mind ? I'm here, writing these, but where is my mind, where is my will, am I the person who I want to be ? Why I'm not best programmer of the world ? Is it about multi tasking, or will to be on that desk, or will to be in that person, me, myself, you, they ? Am I really here ? I would ask myself - I feel lucky - do I want to be on this desk ? I would ask my supervisor, I need to go out, I cant be here now ? Do we really love coding, or current state of business consume our love ? I left my job 20 years a go. I feel regret whenever I need some resources - say money, credibility, being a man, ... - But I still love coding. And I'm almost completely there when I code, "multi tasking", it just a thought since we started to see our brain like PUs. We are constantly multitasking, I can not name it like that but it is as it is. Our brain is not a PU.

Re: Programmer interrupted: The cost of interruption and context switching (2022)

#118

Post by thatoneguytoo » Thu, Apr 06, 2023, 5:01 AM UTC

asdff wrote: post #9

If I know I am going to have my day broken into sub 1hr chunks thanks to meetings and such, I pretty much write off the day entirely. It takes time to get into the flow state, some studies cite over 20 minutes, and once you are in it you want to stay in it for like four hours. No emails to follow up with, no slack, no zooms, no one tapping your shoulder, no conversations about the weekend distracting you on the perip…

This is exactly the way trydeepwork.com works. You should give it a shot :)

Re: Programmer interrupted: The cost of interruption and context switching (2022)

#119

Post by theshrike79 » Thu, Apr 06, 2023, 5:02 AM UTC

metalrain wrote: post #114

I feel like this cost is not as big as some say. Surely it takes time to collect your thoughts after conversation, but in my experience that is like 1-5 minutes. It is usually worth it. I really think there should be more communication at work, not less.

You really should quit your day job and start selling courses on focus if you really can drop down to a flow state in under 5 minutes and on purpose.

Re: Programmer interrupted: The cost of interruption and context switching (2022)

#120

Post by theshrike79 » Thu, Apr 06, 2023, 5:05 AM UTC

dmcq2 wrote: post #13

At a job I had they wanted me to install an instant messaging app on my compute! I refused point blank. I said they could email me and I'd look at he email every so often. If it was really important they could get up and walk to see me. If it wasn't important enough for others to walk then it definitely wasn't important enough to interrupt me. Before that I was at a place where they had tannoys. I moved the tannoys a…

"Instant messaging" is just as disruptive as email if you have notifications turned on. There is zero difference between your email program going ding ding ding on every incoming email vs slack/teams/whatever doing the same.

My current company has _all_ of their communication on Slack, the only emails I get are meeting invitations and status emails from automated systems that haven't been integrated to Slack yet.

I can easily click to pause notifications on Slack if I don't want to get interrupted - or I can just close it and read the backlog when I have time to focus on it.