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When I do dev stuff with a slight sense of urgency, the probability of my mind wandering somewhere else goes down drastically. At this mode, my mind uses all a

When I do dev stuff with a slight sense of urgency, the probability of my mind wandering somewhere else goes down drastically. At this mode, my mind uses all available time slots to make the best of them. For example, by the time my program compiles, my brain visualizes possible breakage scenarios and possible solutions, in case the compilation fails. I could be on confirmation bias here, but this seems to be a neat trick to get more things done.

amelius 7y ago
Yeah, but could it also increase risk of stress, anxiety, burnout?
- lewisjoe 7y ago
  True. Too much of anything is bad. I keep this mode on for as long as I don't get mentally tired. Usually, that's a span of 2-3 hours. Surprisingly, at the end of the day (typically after two/three of these zones) I feel more fresh, satisfied and productive. But that's just me.
  - skohan 7y ago
    Sounds a bit like the Pomodoro method: focus intentionally for short periods, and then rest intentionally for even shorter breaks. It's a bit like interval training for the brain.
  - EGreg 7y ago
    Too much multitasking and producing software for years has made me feel this weird thing: Which is that all accomplishments are meaningless in the end. And we are just getting older. Once a person dies they aren’t experiencing any stuff that came as a result of their effort. They may as well have just messed around and had a family sooner, or traveled, or not. It’s all meaningless anyway. I can’t shake it. Anyone felt this way all the time? Any advice?
    - ensiferum 7y ago
      Just do what you want/enjoy doing and stop worrying.
    - lewisjoe 7y ago
      There are amazing people out here on HN who can help you with better answers to the question. Why don't you post an Ask HN and see? Or better talk with people in person about this. As for me, Yes, I might pick traveling and having fun over creating software. But I'm not from a wealthy background and my need for a better quality of life is satisfied by selling my skill for money. In that sense, I picked long-term quality of life over short bursts of fun and happiness. Also, I do have fun coding so it's kind of alright for me.
    - lr4444lr 7y ago
      Yep. The thought process you describe came on hard once I actually had my first child. The tech that dominates today is just pushing bytes from client to server in the pursuit of some business person's perception of value for the fleeting moment - all we write is dust in the wind. Failing getting a the chance to work on some truly novel technology or research, my next work move will be a big company where work hours and load is better respected.
    - late2part 7y ago
      I used to feel this way, a little bit. Then I had a family and was glad to have the financial security to provide for my family compared to so many others. So, consider your heirs, and work long enough to build a nest egg cushion the devote time to having a wonderful spouse, making babies and enjoying them.
      - alexanderdmitri 7y ago
        +1 for the money, sex and progeny checklist
      - meowface 7y ago
        Note this advice won't apply for people who aren't interested in starting families. Even for those in happy marriages, not everyone feels that biological itch to have kids. And not everyone even feels the itch to marry.
- quickthrower2 7y ago
  I've been wondering if 20 minutes of coding in 'urgent mode' then a 5 minute break, repeated, with a lunch break, would be more productive than 'average mode' all day, and without the burnout.
  - late2part 7y ago
    Try it and let us know - it's different for many people. I can work weeks at 14 hours a day without more than brief bathroom/food breaks if I'm passionate and not distracted.
    - quickthrower2 7y ago
      Yeah I never feel that passionate when someone is paying me to work. Motivation is a funny thing.
- ptero 7y ago
  You can overdo it, but just my personal experience is that focus on work at work, even with urgency, never brings those. Where anxiety and stress can come in for me is letting unsolvable, abstract-ish things hound me for a long time: "I have made a big mistake in life N years ago", etc. Where I think urgency is hurting is breadth: I focus only on the easiest solution and long term view goes out the window so I need to intersperse walking or similar to let my mind wander to strange, stupid or potentially good ideas. Just my 2c, YMMV.
nestorherre 7y ago
Same thing happens to me, but not only on dev stuff. You get into "Flow" state.
raindropm 7y ago
I’m that ‘deadline bring me creative juice’ type of person. I’d say it kind of work to certain degree from my experience — good solution popup out of nowhere, maybe because like you said, I am very focused on that work alone, and nothing else. It obviously doesn’t sustainable though, both your work and health. It get a job done, but I know that it lack finesse quality, also all that stress definitely shorten my lifespan.

amelius 7y ago

Yeah, but could it also increase risk of stress, anxiety, burnout?

lewisjoe 7y ago
True. Too much of anything is bad. I keep this mode on for as long as I don't get mentally tired. Usually, that's a span of 2-3 hours. Surprisingly, at the end of the day (typically after two/three of these zones) I feel more fresh, satisfied and productive. But that's just me.
- skohan 7y ago
  Sounds a bit like the Pomodoro method: focus intentionally for short periods, and then rest intentionally for even shorter breaks. It's a bit like interval training for the brain.
- EGreg 7y ago
  Too much multitasking and producing software for years has made me feel this weird thing: Which is that all accomplishments are meaningless in the end. And we are just getting older. Once a person dies they aren’t experiencing any stuff that came as a result of their effort. They may as well have just messed around and had a family sooner, or traveled, or not. It’s all meaningless anyway. I can’t shake it. Anyone felt this way all the time? Any advice?
  - ensiferum 7y ago
    Just do what you want/enjoy doing and stop worrying.
  - lewisjoe 7y ago
    There are amazing people out here on HN who can help you with better answers to the question. Why don't you post an Ask HN and see? Or better talk with people in person about this. As for me, Yes, I might pick traveling and having fun over creating software. But I'm not from a wealthy background and my need for a better quality of life is satisfied by selling my skill for money. In that sense, I picked long-term quality of life over short bursts of fun and happiness. Also, I do have fun coding so it's kind of alright for me.
  - lr4444lr 7y ago
    Yep. The thought process you describe came on hard once I actually had my first child. The tech that dominates today is just pushing bytes from client to server in the pursuit of some business person's perception of value for the fleeting moment - all we write is dust in the wind. Failing getting a the chance to work on some truly novel technology or research, my next work move will be a big company where work hours and load is better respected.
  - late2part 7y ago
    I used to feel this way, a little bit. Then I had a family and was glad to have the financial security to provide for my family compared to so many others. So, consider your heirs, and work long enough to build a nest egg cushion the devote time to having a wonderful spouse, making babies and enjoying them.
    - alexanderdmitri 7y ago
      +1 for the money, sex and progeny checklist
    - meowface 7y ago
      Note this advice won't apply for people who aren't interested in starting families. Even for those in happy marriages, not everyone feels that biological itch to have kids. And not everyone even feels the itch to marry.
quickthrower2 7y ago
I've been wondering if 20 minutes of coding in 'urgent mode' then a 5 minute break, repeated, with a lunch break, would be more productive than 'average mode' all day, and without the burnout.
- late2part 7y ago
  Try it and let us know - it's different for many people. I can work weeks at 14 hours a day without more than brief bathroom/food breaks if I'm passionate and not distracted.
  - quickthrower2 7y ago
    Yeah I never feel that passionate when someone is paying me to work. Motivation is a funny thing.
ptero 7y ago
You can overdo it, but just my personal experience is that focus on work at work, even with urgency, never brings those. Where anxiety and stress can come in for me is letting unsolvable, abstract-ish things hound me for a long time: "I have made a big mistake in life N years ago", etc. Where I think urgency is hurting is breadth: I focus only on the easiest solution and long term view goes out the window so I need to intersperse walking or similar to let my mind wander to strange, stupid or potentially good ideas. Just my 2c, YMMV.

nestorherre 7y ago

Same thing happens to me, but not only on dev stuff. You get into "Flow" state.

raindropm 7y ago

I’m that ‘deadline bring me creative juice’ type of person. I’d say it kind of work to certain degree from my experience — good solution popup out of nowhere, maybe because like you said, I am very focused on that work alone, and nothing else. It obviously doesn’t sustainable though, both your work and health. It get a job done, but I know that it lack finesse quality, also all that stress definitely shorten my lifespan.