Rules of a Zen Programmer
grobmeier.de
Rules of a Zen Programmer
1–10 of 22 posts
Re: Rules of a Zen Programmer
#2> Was there ever a software build twice, the same way? Even if you copy software it is somehow different.
Only a German could write this. And yes, that's a compliment. (oh, and sorry about the shallow generalism, but that's ok when it's a compliment, right?)
Re: Rules of a Zen Programmer
#3> Was there ever a software build twice, the same way? Even if you copy software it is somehow different. Only a German could write this. And yes, that's a compliment. (oh, and sorry about the shallow generalism, but that's ok when it's a compliment, right?)
I don't think that argument would stand with any of my previous teachers/professors. But, I would have loved to see someone use that line back at school.
Re: Rules of a Zen Programmer
#4More and more advice on being a better programmer comes down to being a better, more focused person.
Re: Rules of a Zen Programmer
#5I don't think I'll ever forget the 7-day Zen meditation retreat when word had gotten out that I was good with computers, so instead of digging in the garden or peeling potatoes, I spent my work period scraping their old members' registry page into Excel with some Emacs macros and a Ruby script. That evening's zazen had a lot of distracting thoughts about refactoring and extensibility. Back to the practice... Just breathing... Hmm, maybe I could make a convenient web service out of it...
Re: Rules of a Zen Programmer
#6More and more advice on being a better programmer comes down to being a better, more focused person .
I recently made a switch from an advertising agency (where I was working on many different website for as many different clients) to a product company where I just work on a single aspect of a single product that has been in development for many years.
We use scrum and I find that the environment and this particular way of programming in a team has made an incredible difference in my ability to focus on a single task. What I mean to say by this, is that sometimes (and for some people) it may help to you change your surroundings if you have trouble with focus.
Re: Rules of a Zen Programmer
#7Agree with a lot of points and appreciate someone writing it down. Way back in the days, I used to be a pencil and paper type programmer; there used to be very little distractions like social networks or even an online help systems.
As a result, I still have a more comprehensive knowledge of the standard library of a language or the instruction set of a microprocessor. Today, my learning is very need based. While programming, I cherry pick the information I need based on Google searches.
This leaves me extremely dependent on externalities and am faced with too many distractions. Maybe, I need to learn to tune everything else out and focus more.
Re: Rules of a Zen Programmer
#8Agree with a lot of points and appreciate someone writing it down. Way back in the days, I used to be a pencil and paper type programmer; there used to be very little distractions like social networks or even an online help systems. As a result, I still have a more comprehensive knowledge of the standard library of a language or the instruction set of a microprocessor. Today, my learning is very need based. While pro…
I agree, I feel that the average productivity of a programmer before the dawn of social networking and Facebook was much higher than it is today.
Re: Rules of a Zen Programmer
#9Agree with a lot of points and appreciate someone writing it down. Way back in the days, I used to be a pencil and paper type programmer; there used to be very little distractions like social networks or even an online help systems. As a result, I still have a more comprehensive knowledge of the standard library of a language or the instruction set of a microprocessor. Today, my learning is very need based. While pro…
>Maybe, I need to learn to tune everything else out and focus more.
I spend every day practicing, and completely failing at this art. I've come to accept that I cannot ignore things that are going on around me. I cannot choose to focus on something.
I've only being on this planet 25 years, that's not a hell of allot of time, but in this area I can say I have experience. If you want to focus, change your environment. You cannot learn to tune something out. At least, I know I can't.
Re: Rules of a Zen Programmer
#10Agree with a lot of points and appreciate someone writing it down. Way back in the days, I used to be a pencil and paper type programmer; there used to be very little distractions like social networks or even an online help systems. As a result, I still have a more comprehensive knowledge of the standard library of a language or the instruction set of a microprocessor. Today, my learning is very need based. While pro…
>Maybe, I need to learn to tune everything else out and focus more. I spend every day practicing, and completely failing at this art. I've come to accept that I cannot ignore things that are going on around me. I cannot choose to focus on something. I've only being on this planet 25 years, that's not a hell of allot of time, but in this area I can say I have experience. If you want to focus, change your environment.…
I think learning to focus and tune certain things out is a skill like any other, that anyone can learn to a degree. Admittedly I haven't made much progress here either, but I think that with practice it becomes easier.
That said, I wholeheartedly agree with your idea about changing your environment. This is the single easiest thing I've found that helps me focus. Of course, there's always still the rest of the Internet...