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

contextkeeper.io

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

#61

Post by asdff »

throwbadubadu wrote: post #54
thepostman0 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe, you can SSH to GNU Screen and attach where you were, perhaps from your phone to just read. You could do the same with rdesktop to something x11, but you'd need more than a 256MB VM for that. If you have this running 24x365 then you'd spend more energy/money.

To all above: but machines reboot, also, not? Even our coorp Linuxes now succumb to ugly IT update reboot cycles, Cloud VMs even more ephemeral, and lets not even start with dev containers... One can script tmux sessions to some degree, but still loosing a lot of state (editor open ther, shell history here..).

I hardly reboot a machine unless I am intending to, but there are plugins for tmux for this too.

https://github.com/tmux-plugins/tmux-resurrect

https://github.com/tmux-plugins/tmux-continuum

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

#62

Post by rvba »

dangwhy wrote: post #25
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #20

Sadly, the cost of context switching is well-known, and has been proven, over and over again, for decades. But managers don't care (and many co-workers also). A quick shufti at most modern open-plan offices, shows the contempt that managers have for developer context. They know better, and have made the conscious decision to go open, anyway. I remember visiting the Facebook/Instagram building, in NYC, and was aghast…

>But managers don't care (and many co-workers also). i bet 99% of time people are interrupting themselves. Like i just did to browse HN.

There are people who dont care about you, nor your work - who will interrupt you because they only think about themselves.

Then there is a group of dicks who do it on purpose.

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

#63

Post by helsinki »

postalrat wrote: post #42

Context switching is a skill you can and will improve as you get interrupted throughout your career.

Agreed. I work at a hedge fund and we are constantly interrupted from programming, but we still manage to make a product that consistently generates profit. I feel like people are being a bit too dramatic, here.

Is it hard? Yes, very, but it’s just a matter of discipline and determination, in my opinion.

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

#64

Post by Arrath »

time0ut wrote: post #60

My company likes to schedule at least 20 hours of meetings spread across the week in such a way that you rarely get more than 30 minutes in between two. Then management wonders why it takes so long to get anything done. Guess its a mystery. Let’s schedule a recurring meeting to discuss it…

A meeting to discuss that we're behind schedule.

A meeting to discuss why we're behind schedule.

A meeting to put together a task group to put together a recovery schedule.

A task group meeting to put together the recovery schedule.

A management meeting to review the recovery schedule.

n bounces between management and the TG to revise the recovery schedule.

A meeting with staff to discuss the recovery schedule

A meeting to assign duties towards the goals of the recovery schedule.

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

#66

Post by eulers_secret »

inciampati wrote: post #37
omnicognate wrote: post #23

I actively like being distracted when I'm programming. I tend to approach a problem from lots of different directions, each time fizzling out, hitting a block or having some sort of mental reset, until something unconsciously clicks and an overall structure, understanding or solution emerges. Continually leaving and returning to the problem is a part of that process, so I tend to find someone walking up with a questi…

Indeed, this seems unusual in programmer land. As evidence we have a thread like the current one reaching the front page several times a day. But your way is also my way. I am active in a very wide array of topics, and happy to flit between them. Sometimes I dive deep, but it's usually in a critical moment of synthesis when ideas developed over months or years come to clarity and I put them to action. This is working…

I wanted to reply to this because I'm similar. I don't mind distractions, they don't really cause me issues, and it's always part of the job!

I haven't been in a programming 'flow state' for many years, maybe last in college. It just doesn't happen to me anymore. Programming for me has changed a lot in that time. Most of the typing work is done by an LLM or a contractor/jr. I suppose the opportunity for 'flow' is gone or much less. Additionally, well designed code is easier to reason about and requires less context in most cases.

I think many people are too rigid in their meta-thinking. No, not all programmers fall into flow, not all programmers hate distraction, not all programmers have the "standard" deep/shallow thinking dichotomy. Each of these is probably a spectrum, and are effected by changes based on too many factors to enumerate.

Do what works for you, and read these kind of articles with a skeptical eye. Especially since this article is from "contextkeeper.io" and "Rebuilding the Context" heading is just an ad lmao

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

#67

Post by jamal-kumar »

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #20

Sadly, the cost of context switching is well-known, and has been proven, over and over again, for decades. But managers don't care (and many co-workers also). A quick shufti at most modern open-plan offices, shows the contempt that managers have for developer context. They know better, and have made the conscious decision to go open, anyway. I remember visiting the Facebook/Instagram building, in NYC, and was aghast…

I'm really grateful to have a non-obtrusive work environment as well.

I check in with the team once a week and make sure the task tracking system is updated. Everyone is happy and stuff gets done.

We're going to have to do some more hands-on work down the line where we're going to need physical presence working with hardware which is going to be an interesting shift, but I still think that we're going to mostly adhere to the usual workflow.

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

#68

Post by jamal-kumar »

dangwhy wrote: post #25
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #20

Sadly, the cost of context switching is well-known, and has been proven, over and over again, for decades. But managers don't care (and many co-workers also). A quick shufti at most modern open-plan offices, shows the contempt that managers have for developer context. They know better, and have made the conscious decision to go open, anyway. I remember visiting the Facebook/Instagram building, in NYC, and was aghast…

>But managers don't care (and many co-workers also). i bet 99% of time people are interrupting themselves. Like i just did to browse HN.

For me I have to for health reasons.

If you don't get up and walk around, at least 15 minutes of light to moderate exercise per hour seated, you will suffer bad health effects. Stuff that can end your life early and in painful ways.

I find walking around every hour or two for a while to collect my thoughts about what I'm working on is still something I can make productive. I bring a notebook with me to do some notes if there's more than I can fit in my head, which is pretty usual. It's a good way to get some planning in.

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

#69

Post by bombolo »

eulers_secret wrote: post #66
inciampati wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed, this seems unusual in programmer land. As evidence we have a thread like the current one reaching the front page several times a day. But your way is also my way. I am active in a very wide array of topics, and happy to flit between them. Sometimes I dive deep, but it's usually in a critical moment of synthesis when ideas developed over months or years come to clarity and I put them to action. This is working…

I wanted to reply to this because I'm similar. I don't mind distractions, they don't really cause me issues, and it's always part of the job! I haven't been in a programming 'flow state' for many years, maybe last in college. It just doesn't happen to me anymore. Programming for me has changed a lot in that time. Most of the typing work is done by an LLM or a contractor/jr. I suppose the opportunity for 'flow' is gon…

> Most of the typing work is done by an LLM or a contractor/jr.

Basically you're not a developer but pretend to speak for developers.

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

#70

Post by bombolo »

kosasbest wrote: post #24

It's the shadow work of programming I never liked. - Setting up boilerplate code - Configuring my IDE - Configuring special browsers (for web development) with no addons or tweaks done so it appears like an average person is using the browser - Configuring the OS - Separating work from play. Keeping separate machines strictly for programming - Tests - Reading best practice material - Researching if other people have…

Basically you get paid to distro hop?
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