11–20 of 55 posts
I actually get more done at home anyway since I have my perfect setup, good music and no interruptions. Anyway, count yourself lucky that you're actually very productive already.
I think it is unreasonable to expect > 40hrs of pure programming productivity a week -- the body/mind needs time to recover.
You should still keep up the gym, diet and smoking improvements as they will continue to benefit you as you age (we all age, dont ignore it!)
I have been slammed with work for the last 6 mo, picked up two other guys and am still slammed. I literally code 12-16 hours a day and have a side project that has just been languishing on the back burner for months. It is definitely not a case of want to but I have too, I pulled a 116hr week one week of literally non-stop code. I freelance and not pulling those hours means that I loose the contracts that I have. It…
In the 24 or 48hr competitions (rails rumble, node ko, tc disrupt,) the most frequent winners are those that still get sleep. I think it is unreasonable to expect > 40hrs of pure programming productivity a week -- the body/mind needs time to recover. You should still keep up the gym, diet and smoking improvements as they will continue to benefit you as you age (we all age, dont ignore it!)
I sincerely hope so, and I question the hygiene/health of anyone who spends 16 hours a day > 1 day a week in front of a computer. I certainly have done 16 hour stretches of coding, but I don't think anyone can sustain that for more than a day or two and still be sane. (I think you turn into rms, which can be seen as good or bad).
The message that I would like to give you is that of quality over quantity.
First off, you don't have to be at a computer to be solving your coding problems, keep a notebook, keep them in your head, write down answers as they come. Relaxing you think about a problem probably doesn't count against your concentration hours.
Secondly, if you are banging your head against a problem, it is probably time to take a break or get help with it... There are diminishing returns from struggling with a problem.
I don't doubt that you can spend more than 40 hours a week coding, but that seems like a shitty quality of life. Wouldn't you rather see the sun occasionally?
Wouldn't it be better for you to just work within the 40 hours, optimizing your use of them? Maybe find a way to get stuff done at work more efficiently, so you can spend more of your quota coding your side project?
It might also help to not try so hard when you are 'concentrating'. Let me explain:
I feel like if you are trying really hard, it takes more out of you mentally than if you are approaching it from a mentality of playing. Having more fun will definitely stretch your endurance for these things.
My mantra is to 'work' as little as possible to achieve my goals. So I like to turn 'work' things into puzzles/games. 'Work' is psychologically un-fun.
"Are the 16 hour/day guys the exception?" I sincerely hope so, and I question the hygiene/health of anyone who spends 16 hours a day > 1 day a week in front of a computer. I certainly have done 16 hour stretches of coding, but I don't think anyone can sustain that for more than a day or two and still be sane. (I think you turn into rms, which can be seen as good or bad). The message that I would like to give you is t…
May I throw in my two cents?
For me personally, and because I am 22, and because I truly enjoy my job (game engine programmer), I tend to put in way more hours than I need to.
Way more hours.
On the order of 80-100hrs/wk. Of coding. (Which is to say, 80-100hrs/wk of actual thinking + typing. Not "time spent getting ready to program" or "time spent psyching myself up to begin working on the problem" etc.)
(Also, I love Vim. I'd likely be massively frustrated with all the programming I was trying to do, if not for ViEmu + Visual Assist.)
And damn, it's fun! The only strain I feel is from lack of sleep.
Also, I think the 'quality' argument is subjective. It's true that if you're physically exhausted, you can't work. But if I'm merely pushing myself, the output of my work is of a similar quality as when I'm living a "balanced" week.
But the insidious thing is, I have a personality where if I try to "balance" myself, I wind up mentally not "getting in the zone" for any of my projects. And for me, it's a little depressing to be in that state, because I am only capable of bug fixes / minor tasks. Nothing architectural.
So, in conclusion, I am certainly not planning on keeping up this lifestyle forever --- I'm just enjoying the 80-100hr weeks while they last. It's a similar feeling to being a kid staying up all night at a friend's house. It's fun!
I found that trying to be a father, an employee and also a startup entrepreneur all-consuming. I really couldn't do anything else, all my time was tied up.
Also, I probably couldn't have done it at all if my fulltime job required my full talents. As it was, it was a pretty simple role requiring only lightweight UI work in C++, so it didn't drain my brain at all.
Don't beat yourself up about not sustaining a huge number of hours. The best solution is to be clever about how you use your time and to try to reduce the number of hours you work.