In my experience, programmers who code 8 hours straight produce code of mediocre quality (at best). I mean, we all know the discussion about lines of code. Writ

In my experience, programmers who code 8 hours straight produce code of mediocre quality (at best). I mean, we all know the discussion about lines of code. Writing less code to solve the same problem with the same readability is preferable. So thinking is actually a good part of the process. IMHO even the best coders don't code only. I think the important part is what you do with the time you don't code. If you watch TV you are probably lazy (it keeps your mind busy). If you sit in a distraction free environment and think about the problems you want to solve for your company, you are probably the most productive person in the company ;-) Probably you are doing something in between, but even taking a walk can be incredible productive.