How to Code Productively in a World Filled With Interruptions.
Have you ever been interrupted while you’re coding, only to come back and completely lose your place/focus? Programmers know that feeling as breaking out of flow.
Flow its a euphoric state of being in which you feel in-sync with the program you’re writing. You know exactly what needs to be done and all the dots suddenly begin to connect; you become Neo.
1. The Problem: Interruptions.
It usually takes me around 15–20 minutes of laser focus to enter a state of flow; unfortunately it also takes me just 3 seconds of being interrupted to fall out of it.
Here are some of the common interruptions I run into during on a daily basis:
- Noisy household
- Distant chatter/dialogue
- Messaging (SMS, Slack, Facebook etc…)
- Meetings at work
- Hunger
The point I’m trying to insinuate is that interruptions are inevitable.
2. The Desired End Goal: Uninterrupted Coding.
Whenever I code, I always make the most progress when I’m in a state of flow. Therefore, I feel that in order to be productive, I needed to achieve at least one good (> 3 hours) flow session a day.
The end goal was uninterrupted coding sessions.
3. The Shocking Yet Simple Realization: People.
I realized that no matter what the interruption was, it would always be traced back to the same source; people. Interruptions are always created by other people.
Alright… so I just have to avoid people when I’m coding right?
Well, this is practically impossible during the workday. There’s always going to be other people talking around you, meetings you need to be at, co-workers you need to coordinate with etc….
In order to code to my best of my ability, I needed to find a time/place where my interactions with other people would be reduced to practically none.
4. The Solution: Adjusting Schedules.
My solution was adopting a new coding schedule.
Instead of coding at random times or in little bits throughout the day, I decided to spend all my energy in one late night sitting. This was tremendously helpful because people are asleep during the late-night hours. Even if they’re awake, they don’t make much noise out of respect for others that might be sleeping.
This is was utopia! No loud talking, no knocks on your door, no texts, no calls, no messages, no vacuuming, no cooking, just silence.
5. Conclusion: Made in the AM.
Since adopting the late night coding schedule, my productivity has skyrocketed, and as a result, I’ve become happier! So if you’ve been looking for more meaningful coding sessions, start working near the AM.
No interruptions, just flow.
Till next time,