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Finding a Productive Place to Code?

posted by janrinok on Monday March 24 2014, @01:08PM   Printer-friendly
from the ask-uncle-Jan dept.

Subsentient writes:

"I have a short attention span, a very short one, and I have very, abnormally poor energy levels, to such a point that while my physical strength can be up to snuff, my mind is always running at 8Mhz. I am a programmer. This is a problem. However, I find that some places are better to code at than others. If I can sit somewhere upright, looking down at the monitor, in a comfortable position, I can sometimes get some work done, and if my monitor is large, soft, and bright, I am better off still. Do soylentils have issues with location? What would you suggest for being able to sit down and code for hours, something I have NEVER been able to do?"

 
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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by fliptop on Monday March 24 2014, @03:41PM

    by fliptop (1666) on Monday March 24 2014, @03:41PM (#20466) Journal

    Again, I'm encouraged by this site. I think this may be the 1st thread I've read every comment on and there were barely any mods made to the discussion. Answers were all over the place (even a flame/troll or 2) so it seems we are a diverse bunch that pretty much needs to discover our own solution to this problem.

    My $0.02 - I don't think I have the ADD problem. I'm divorced now so interruptions aren't that big of a problem anymore, but I've worked from home for years w/ my computer in the dining room. When my girls were young I just learned how to tune everything out while focusing on code. If anyone came over my ex would tell them I was "in the zone" and couldn't be interrupted. If you talked to me or even touched me I'd ignore it.

    It helps to be in my comfy chair but I can also get there if I have my laptop out and about. I don't like doing it much because I type a lot slower when I'm not at my regular keyboard and large monitor.

    Any kind of music could be on but I usually like listening to talk radio (but never w/ headphones, for me it works better if it's barely audible, it needs to be background noise such that the keyboard drowns it out). I retain what is said on the radio, too, if a caller is making a point I can pause and listen to it and remember it, then pick right up where I was before.

    It takes about 15-20 minutes to get into "the zone" and I usually stay in it for 4-5 hours. If I stay much longer than that I start making mistakes while typing, it feels like my fingers can't keep up. Once out of it, though, it takes another 15-20 minutes to get back in. Getting there usually starts w/ a game or two of Mahjongg to warm up my brain.

    I don't drink coffee, either, caffeine makes me jumpy and it's harder to concentrate.

    For me, the biggest distraction is food. Since I'm at home and the kitchen is close by my stomach can prematurely knock me out of the zone. When I smoked it helped to fire one up but it definitely does not help to have food w/in arm's reach or I'd be 500 lbs!

    --
    If you have second thoughts about booking a trip to an Indian casino, is it a reservation reservation reservation?
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