Tips for Getting in the Zone
July 27th, 2007 by proj
Came across this post on programming.reddit.com today (the programming reddit has been one my guilty pleasures lately). The author has some good tips on staying in the zone. I have some tips of my own as I enjoy the feeling of being in the zone and lament when I’m not.
While it’s nice to get rid of distractions, block off big chunks of time and lay out large chunks of work here’s some tips that can help if you work on large teams and just can’t really get rid of all the interruptions.
Keep a pad of paper and pencil by your keyboard. Write your thoughts down and what you’re currently working on. Write down small ideas you have to fix up the code. When you sit down in the morning or interrupted look over your notes to get back on task. If you’re having trouble getting started on some code draw some pictures of what you’re trying to build.
Open your editor. Sometimes all that you need to get yourself started is to actually open the code and look at it. If you’re working on something new sometimes a blank screen in your favorite editor is enough to launch you.
Write unit tests. Unit tests are a great way to give yourself some small bite size piece of code to get the juices flowing. I can’t emphasise enough how good this is for your thought process. This is a way of kicking off the little positive feedback loop that is instrumental in getting you in the zone. You can immediately transition into the code side with the right mindset and at the same time you’re reaping a huge net benefit to your code quality.
Lastly, take real breaks. That is breaks away from your office where you actually get your blood flowing to other parts of your body besides your brain. If you can do some pushups, do a brisk walk or engage in some other kind of physical activity for even 15 minutes you’ll find when you come back to your desk you’ll have a fresh perspective and you’ll feel much better. The endorphins you get from physical activity are great creativity boosters.
Feel free to leave comments if you have any more tips.
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