Perhaps the Go language will help the distraction-junkie. Build times of seconds, even for very large projects.
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2976630/why-does-go-compi...
Are You a Zen Coder or Distraction-Junkie?
31–40 of 69 posts
Re: Are You a Zen Coder or Distraction-Junkie?
#32The last article I read before going to sleep was http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention_deficit_hyperactivity... - feeling disgusted that surely I'm that unfortunate guy, who was not diagnosed early and carried this into my adulthood.
But that this article sits on top of HN, makes me feel better - I'm not alone with (speed_of_inspirational_input > speed_of_implemented_idea).
My question is be it pomodoro or this bigger focused chunk - I've always struggled at the boundaries. Say you are not done at the end of the stipulated time for focused work - there's this one liner fix that'll only take a second - and that blows it. Ever fell into that trap?
Re: Are You a Zen Coder or Distraction-Junkie?
#33Perhaps the Go language will help the distraction-junkie. Build times of seconds, even for very large projects. http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2976630/why-does-go-compi...
Compiling's not the totality of the problem.
I switch between the two modes this article describes quite regularly.
Reflecting on it other things cause me to go into distraction mode are:
- Not sufficiently planning out boring changes (That's easy! Get stuck as I realise I've done it wrong. 1 hour later, oh, I'm reading HN, how did that happen?)
- Having to write large, but simple objects or CRUD code
- A change or bug that requires picking apart poorly written code. Refactoring helps me stay focused but that often feels like procrastination.
- Using a library I don't know well but is documented poorly
- Trying to get OAuth authentication working (every single bloody time, I hate it)
- Having to modify any existing javascript even if I wrote it, I find js so hard to re-parse. function, function, function, function, function, function. I can't pick out the flow of the code. One of the reasons I've never got on with Lisp either I think.
Re: Are You a Zen Coder or Distraction-Junkie?
#34This is the first news story I have bookmarked, ever. Mainly because I got distracted and started reading Mashable. Jokes aside, I thought I had a form of ADHD with how much distractions distracted me. It's quite comforting to know other people operate this way. I have recently, as kind of a new years resolution, aimed to be more productive. I have found myself managing my project management list more efficiently and…
Hehe, wish I read your comment before posting mine. But I tried this path (after seeing Randy Pausch's talk on time management) and soon discovered it was hurting my brain to decide how should I assign the correct priority value to a task. How do I decide if this homework should be assigned 4 or 5 and the other 6 - Should I try to just make it a function of time due and difficulty(?) or Should I write a naive bayes classifier that'll look into the words and assign the for me (obviously based on some training from my daily input). Then I got started hacking scripts to manage it, realized I wanted to access them through my phone so that I can update it from anywhere.. ok since this is just text based, I'll keep ssh open in my router (umm, yeah its a security issues) ... but I also need to integrate it up with google calendar and task list ...
EPIC fail. This year only laundry lists in phone.
Re: Are You a Zen Coder or Distraction-Junkie?
#35"Divide your time into 60 – 120 minutes blocks of work. Focus 100% percent in these blocks of time. Then take a 20-30 minute break and do something else entirely." This might be usable advice for someone who works at home on his own business, but for those of us who work in office environments, there are sources of distraction that are much more difficult to control than the urge to read news: meetings, your boss wal…
I have a specific ritual for getting into the zone and one for getting out of the zone. My ritual for getting into a focused state is something like:
Move back from the computer, touch my index fingers to my thumbs, close my eyes, count down from 10, and say out loud (or write) "I am now working on (project)". It takes ~30 seconds and it works pretty well for me.
Re: Are You a Zen Coder or Distraction-Junkie?
#36Great article. BTW does somebody here know great timer app for Mac or Linux? I'm trying this "60 work / 30 rest" pattern, but sometimes problem is so interesting and I just can't keep track of the time:)
Re: Are You a Zen Coder or Distraction-Junkie?
#37i found the Pomodoro technique helpful
http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/
and if you're honest with yourself, it gives a useful measure at the end of the day of how much time was spent on uninterrupted work.
Re: Are You a Zen Coder or Distraction-Junkie?
#38That time is ridiculously tiny compared to the rest of your workday
The project I was working on a few months ago took 40 minutes to build on an i7 with 8 GB of RAM.
Re: Are You a Zen Coder or Distraction-Junkie?
#39"Divide your time into 60 – 120 minutes blocks of work. Focus 100% percent in these blocks of time. Then take a 20-30 minute break and do something else entirely." This might be usable advice for someone who works at home on his own business, but for those of us who work in office environments, there are sources of distraction that are much more difficult to control than the urge to read news: meetings, your boss wal…
In a larger office, you are usually not paid for being productive. Responding quickly to mails from your boss is probably more effective than focused coding. So don't worry that much. For the occasional productivity burst: schedule yourself a fake meeting, pick a lonesome place and your laptop, disconnect from instant messengers etc.
This is a great point. In most larger office settings, you are expected to wear many hats and respond quickly to issues that arise throughout the day.
When I need to really focus on something, I leave my cubicle and sneak away with a laptop to an empty conference room. This is the only way for me to work uninterrupted.
Re: Are You a Zen Coder or Distraction-Junkie?
#40This is the first news story I have bookmarked, ever. Mainly because I got distracted and started reading Mashable. Jokes aside, I thought I had a form of ADHD with how much distractions distracted me. It's quite comforting to know other people operate this way. I have recently, as kind of a new years resolution, aimed to be more productive. I have found myself managing my project management list more efficiently and…
> I thought I had a form of ADHD with how much distractions distracted me. It's quite comforting to know other people operate this way.
It's not just that "other people operate this way" -- this is in part a side-effect of the increasingly powerful behavior techniques that are conditioning people to behave this way (see Stanford's "Behavior Design" http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3454469).