Programmers, teach non-geeks the true cost of interruptions (2014)

Re:Programmers, teach non-geeks the true cost of interruptio... by mtsr on Saturday July 10, 2021 @06:39AM (#27792484)

I would recommend trying the pomodoro method: 25 minutes of work, 5 minute break away from screens, repeat. 30 minute break after a few cycles.

I’ve discovered I’m much more in touch with my mental and emotional state and even a five minute break will really relieve some of the pressure you put on your mind and body. Also because it’s just for 25 minutes anyway, it’s much easier to get started again, even with unfun work.

Edit: In case you’re worried this will make things worse, because of the regular interruption, I’ve found it to not be so bad with the exception of some types of debugging. The mind is pretty good at mulling over the problem while you’re taking a break and often I’m more effective afterwards. But the 25/5 isn’t a hard requirement and should be changed depending on preference and type of work.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Programmers, teach non-geeks the true cost of interruptio... by john-tells-all on Monday July 12, 2021 @11:49AM (#27811493)

Seconded. Pomodoro is wonderful for engineers: it rapidly teaches us to build up a "focus muscle". We start focusing at the beginning of a 25 min cycle, and consciously relax the focus at the end. If I walk around for 5 minutes and do low-impact things like dishes/laundry it helps.

My channel has a short talk recommending Pomodoro for engineers, including using it with Agile. The methods are extremely similar. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0PGaH-sVPGIdFUC88FgMmw

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Programmers, teach non-geeks the true cost of interruptio... by the_other on Saturday July 10, 2021 @07:39AM (#27792692)

I used to use an app that had both a timer and a notepad. It was helpful for sketching out pointers to where I’d reached. A quick scan before restarting the next 25min, especially after a meeting or lunch, was very helpful. Being in the same app helped connect it to each session.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Programmers, teach non-geeks the true cost of interruptio... by james-skemp on Saturday July 10, 2021 @10:01AM (#27793399)

Do you recall the name of it?

Starting a new job and that may finally be enough of a change to trigger me actually trying this after all these years of hearing about it.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Programmers, teach non-geeks the true cost of interruptio... by the_other on Saturday July 10, 2021 @02:31PM (#27795420)

Vitamin-R. It was Mac only, I think.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Programmers, teach non-geeks the true cost of interruptio... by james-skemp on Saturday July 10, 2021 @08:57PM (#27797664)

Thanks for the reply!

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Programmers, teach non-geeks the true cost of interruptio... by ideamotor on Sunday July 11, 2021 @02:21AM (#27798824)

Thanks

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Programmers, teach non-geeks the true cost of interruptio... by smcl on Saturday July 10, 2021 @10:06AM (#27793422)

Yeah good point. I think it's also different since the interruption is on your own terms - you've deliberately given yourself 5 minutes break from some task so that you be more focused over the lifetime of that task. You're (hopefully) not getting other tasks thrown at you which can take up precious mental resources or destroy context you've been slowly building up in your head.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Programmers, teach non-geeks the true cost of interruptio... by pksebben on Saturday July 10, 2021 @02:21PM (#27795343)

I use pomodoros religiously, and you touched on one of the few gotchas of the technique; Never use your break to attend to other work, unless it's thoughtless. Can't say how many times I've lost the thread and been kicking myself because of mixed contexts.

[ Parent | on HN ]