Think, Think, Think…
One of my favorite shows to watch with my young children was Winnie The Pooh — perhaps because I had good memories of watching the classic TV specials from when I was a child.
I loved the simple, happy nature of Pooh, but one downside of being stuffed with fluff is that it can be hard to think. Pooh occasionally worked very hard at it, with very limited results. I’m pretty sure my head isn’t stuffed with fluff, but some days my thinking doesn’t seem to get me any farther than Pooh’s did.
Lost in Thought — An Incredible, Productive Day
In developing software, my primary tool is my mind. Languages, frameworks, IDE’s, and editors all are important — but without the right mind to use them, and the right frame of mind, they are worthless.
My family can tell you that watching me work some days is incredibly boring. Much of those days is spent staring at the screen, at some scribbles on notepaper, or blankly into space. Those are often the days where I make the most progress.
My most productive days are when I’m so deep in thought that I don’t even remember to eat. I love those days. It’s like I can see the entire program as a single entity in my mind–I can turn it over and around, zoom in and out, pull one part out, graft something new in–it’s a incredible feeling. I wish they happened more often!
Holding it in your head
Paul Graham describes that feeling as “Holding a Program in One’s Head“. He writes:
They do more in their heads: they try to understand a problem space well enough that they can walk around it the way you can walk around the memory of the house you grew up in. At its best programming is the same. You hold the whole program in your head, and you can manipulate it at will.
He goes on to list ways to help load the entire program into your head. I may quibble about some items, but the point is valid. In order to get to that incredible, lost in the world of my program point more often, I need to figure out deliberate steps that move me away from Pooh-thinking and into that magical place.
From Pooh to TRON
There are a number of tactics I use to de-fluff my mind and achieve TRON-ness with my program, but none of them work every time, and each of them are subject to exceptions.
Working at a consistent level
- I try to stay at a consistent level of abstraction as long as possible, switching costs between working on high-level designs and low-level implementation details can be high.
- Rather than switching back and forth between competing projects throughout the day, I try very hard to spend most of the day on a single project — even if it is not the exact same task.
Managing distractions
- Some interruptions are predictable, so preempt them and deal with them before they attack. (If you work at home, this may mean keeping up properly with your share of household duties before you begin.)
- Have a notebook or software tool that allows you to quickly record any unrelated items demanding attention. Do not do any real thinking about it, simply record it. Once recorded, dismiss the thought and go back to work, those items are attacks on your concentration — do not give ground. (This only works if you have a reliable system for addressing those items, otherwise your mind will not let go.)
- After you finish a session, deal with the items you recorded appropriately if necessary. That way you train yourself to trust that you really will “deal with that later”.
- Schedule times or days where coworkers or family know you need to be left alone, in cooperation with them of course! On-going communication is key.
- If twitter, facebook, news readers, or email keep pulling you away — just STOP IT.
Achieving Flow quickly
- When you finish a session, or are interrupted, record what you are thinking or doing so that you don’t lose all your context. (See the excellent advice in the post “the interruptible programmer“.)
- Use music, headphones if necessary. I listen to a lot of different kinds of music, but my “flow” music tends to fade into the background quickly and support my thinking, rather than require me to pay attention to it directly. For me, that usually means minimal or no lyrics, but everyone is different in that regard.
- If you are actively working on code, then leave it in a mildly broken state. Put some notes directly in the source file where you left off so it won’t compile, add a failing unit test, something to draw your attention back to the point you left.
Manage your expectations
I don’t believe it is possible to be so consistent at your work, that you never suffer from Pooh-thinking days. So don’t set your expectations so high that your disappointment becomes a serious distraction all by itself.
You goal should be improvement, and perhaps even that “perfect” day — but don’t let the fluffy-head days get you down. There’s a good chance tomorrow will be a better day.
We all need the support of others to do our best. Find other like-minded developers that will provide encouragement and motivation through local user groups, regular conferences or meetups. This post is part of iDevBlogADay which has really helped me stay on track with my writing and my iOS projects.
Also, here is a little more information about me, Doug Sjoquist, and how I came to my current place in life. You should follow me on twitter and subscribe to my blog. Have a great day!
