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How to Survive 80+ Hours of Programming Every Week

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Re: How to Survive 80+ Hours of Programming Every Week

#41

Post by koonsolo »

So you only sleep 5 to 6 hours each night, and program 80+ hours a week? You probably think you are maximizing your productivity, but actually you aren't. You are losing obvious creative solutions and spend a lot of time fixing stupid things you broke.

You are working in an unsustainable way, both mentally and physically.

Do you have a fellow programmer in the same code base who does normal hours? If so, what does he think about your code and delivery rate? If not, let someone else (and smart) look at your code and productivity, and get some objective feedback on it.

Re: How to Survive 80+ Hours of Programming Every Week

#42

Post by jbrooksuk »

sauldcosta wrote: post #17
coldcode wrote: post #15

You can't. Eventually it will do you in. When I was 29 I spent 4.5 months coding 100 per week and once we shipped I wound up in the hospital. Never again.

I've been doing this for 11 months and still going strong. I'm still getting a reasonable amount of sleep every night (about 6 hours) which I'm sure helps, and I make sure to recover when I need to.

I seriously believe that you have the wrong attitude here. You should be looking to reduce the amount of hours and instead focus on decent, solid and productive hours.

There is no way you can be at 100% after 11 months of 80 hour weeks.

Re: How to Survive 80+ Hours of Programming Every Week

#43

Post by loopbit »

sauldcosta wrote: post #16
zerr wrote: post #13

Is it only me who thinks that actually typing the code takes the least amount of time from all of the activities required for software engineering?

I think early in your career as a programmer you spend a lot of time researching, and then as you gain more experience and learn more about the languages, tools, etc. you're working with you end up spending more time writing code and less having to read S.O. answers :)

I think that the parent is actually referring to design time.

I find as I grow older that I program in short bursts. I spend quite a bit of time thinking about what I want to do. I scribble a couple of diagrams on paper to make sure that the image I have in my head is complete and once I'm sure of what I want to do and why, only then, I start typing.

Usually, those first scribbles end up being my test cases.

As for the original article, if I had to use as much gear as he does just to get by, I would really rethink my life.

Re: How to Survive 80+ Hours of Programming Every Week

#44

Post by bryanlarsen »

sauldcosta wrote: post #25
bryanlarsen wrote: post #20

Falling asleep in less than 10 minutes is a strong sign that you have a chronic sleep deficit. A chronic sleep deficit significantly impacts your mental abilities. So in other words, you may be working long hours, but they are very likely to be much less effective hours than if you were getting a proper night's sleep every night.

Possibly, although I don't know if that has to be the case. I fall asleep extremely quickly no matter how well rested I am. It's not based on how tired I am but rather the approach I explain the post.

Yes, it's a strong sign that you're chronically over tired, but it's not proof. I also fall asleep in less than 10 minutes. I "learned" this skill during a time period when I was chronically over tired, though. Any sort of stimulant use (caffeine, late night sunshine, et cetera) disrupts it.

Re: How to Survive 80+ Hours of Programming Every Week

#45

Post by sauldcosta »

Just want to clear up a few things, since this is getting more attention that I thought it would.

1) I am not saying you should do this. I code this much because I'm a co-founder of a pre-funding startup and am working hard to get my company off the ground, and because I enjoy coding. 2) Programming 80+ hours a week is absolutely insane. I'm not saying I'm anything special because I do it or that people who do it are anything less. I'm just another SV entrepreneur working hard to turn an idea into a company. 3) I wrote this post for other founders like me who are in worse shape than I in hopes that some of the things in here might help them.

Re: How to Survive 80+ Hours of Programming Every Week

#46

Post by melling »

rocco337 wrote: post #29
melling wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should get a good mechanical keyboard. Cherry Browns or Blues. Reduces hand stress.

after 80 hours per week, stress on your hands is your least problem.

Nice one. I love those "least of your problems" quips. For anyone who thinks this person is probably wrong, here's some reading for what it's like to not be able to type:

http://24ways.org/2014/dont-push-through-the-pain/

http://ergoemacs.org/emacs/emacs_hand_pain_celebrity.html

http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~arora/RSI.html

http://looknohands.me

http://markmcb.com/2014/10/13/severe-hand-rsi-pain-and-recov...

Re: How to Survive 80+ Hours of Programming Every Week

#47

Post by TickleSteve »

sauldcosta wrote: post #16
zerr wrote: post #13

Is it only me who thinks that actually typing the code takes the least amount of time from all of the activities required for software engineering?

I think early in your career as a programmer you spend a lot of time researching, and then as you gain more experience and learn more about the languages, tools, etc. you're working with you end up spending more time writing code and less having to read S.O. answers :)

I've been creating software now for almost 25 years and I find that the amount I type has definitely decreased over that time. Developing good, maintainable, correctly abstracted software should need more design/thinking time than actually implementing/typing it.
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