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I have a problem with that item for a slightly different reason -- my own experience and an increasing amount of published research shows that slacking off a fa

I have a problem with that item for a slightly different reason -- my own experience and an increasing amount of published research shows that slacking off a fair amount is actually productive. I rarely have breakthrough "A-Ha!" insights into thorny code problems I'm working on while sitting in front a computer actually thinking about the problem but I have them quite often when out on a long walk being "unproductive" and not even consciously thinking about the problem. Once a problem reaches 3 or 4 levels of indirection my subconscious is way better than my conscious brain at solving the problem in an elegant way and I choose to "slack off" daily in order to take advantage of that.

jmitcheson 14y ago
I do that too. As for the OP, I think when he says "unproductive" that he is talking about tasks which appear to be important work tasks, but which actually aren't. Some examples (mine, not his): spending a few hours watching Google IO videos on scaling to a billion users, or a few hours tracking down reporters trying to pitch them your pre-alpha demo. This link has been passed around here heaps, but it's Rich Hickey talking about how that "downtime" like you spoke of is not only part of the problem solving process, but it some cases that it's the most important part! http://blip.tv/clojure/hammock-driven-development-4475586 http://blip.tv/clojure/hammock-driven-development-4475586