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Turn off my phone completely. Put it in a desk drawer. Clean my desk completely. Flip my notebook to a new page. Close all chat/email apps. Open my IDE. Write d
by kody 7y ago
Turn off my phone completely. Put it in a desk drawer. Clean my desk completely. Flip my notebook to a new page. Close all chat/email apps. Open my IDE. Write down the most important thing to do today (check Jira if I'm unsure). Open Spotify and play a lyricless music playlist (jazz or metal). Work.
So far, this is the ONLY way I've been able to reliably get in the zone. It's crucial that I avoid Slack, email, or the web until well into the afternoon. Sometimes I feel mentally "fragile" for struggling to multitask or return to work after being interrupted, but if it works, it works. I'm lucky to be part of a team that isn't too keen on frequent meetings and doesn't expect instant Slack responses.
- elamje 7y agoThat’s awesome. It’s crazy how much small distractions that are normal for other occupations hinder software development productivity. I wish I knew how to leave the zone for a minute, then step back into it and instantly be productive again.
- kody 7y agoNo kidding! I envy people who can pop off their headphones, talk for a few minutes, and (seemingly) get right back into the groove.
- alexmint 7y agoI like to add one more step. Close all tabs in my browser. It is like rebooting my mind into a Zen-like mode.
- jolmg 7y agoOr reboot the machine. It works better when not only browser tabs accumulate, but also terminals, editors, virtual machines, etc. Just reboot it all to hell. It's a good chance to update and load a new kernel, anyways. Also, > Clean my desk completely. It's amazing what having a clean environment does to productivity. After being more clean/neat in my life, I've found that clutter has kept a constant burden in my mind. Clutter just makes working/living less approachable. I mean this both digitally and physically.