tips needed; dealing with mental block while coding

[tleslie]

My full time job, oh and I mean full time !is coding (well lately some
sysadm has creep'd in). 22 years! and counting.

Things I have done - to make programming fun and easy at all times:

1) seating and feeling good while programing. If you are going to
program for say even only 8 hours a day, for say 40 years ... set aside
a  $.03 for each of those hours now, and buy, (as i have), a
$1600.00-$2500.00 super chair, i have essentially a lazy boy recliner
version of a programmers chair, and am programming in complete comfort
at about a 45 degree incline. Its such a nice chair that i WANT to be in
it.
2) by same logic as above, set aside another $0.02 and buy a pair of
dual 22", 24" or 30" monitors so you have a proper programmers sized
desktop! ok, actually i need four 30 monitors to be comfortable, but I
am waiting for them to come down in price a bit and also have to
consider the card(s) and machine to drive them.
3) try to lose yourself in the programming, and thus program at times
you will not get interrupted. I find my best times to program are on
weekend and from midnight to 8am for that reason, however I can alter my
schedule and even alter my "holidays" to make up the time. 
4) listen to tunes ... for me I always have, as of late, Queensryche
blaring out of headphones at volumes that make a ipod at "10" seem like
a whisper .. ok i exaggerate :) but I am rocking to tunes!
5) get paid well, not being happy about doing it is a sure way to become
dejected.
6) use good programming tools that are efficient. I use slickedit, which
for a linux programmer is a dream. I try to do most programming in one
super language, i.e. Mono/C#, but at times I have to use C if for kernel
programming and such.
7) get 2000 calories of exercise everyday, ymmv but get some exercise
even if not 2000cal worth. try to get at least 20 min. of sweat
generating exercise at a minimum each day. sitting all day is bad for
circulation, even on a 2K$! If you bought a 4K$ massage chair that might
be a different story but again your better off with the exercise
regardless.
8) make sure you have an awsome keyboard, I use a split, humped ergo
with touch pad at thumbs, so no need to reach for the mouse (i.e. no
reason to be inefficent).
9) do all the things you were taught in school about modularizing your
programming tasks, and such. I use "View your mind" a mind mapping tool,
(http://www.insilmaril.de/vym/)  and export to html, and TaskJuggler  -
to keep things organized.

Having said that, if i had to report to a office and punch a clock, sit
in a chair they provide for me, and on even a reasonably good system, I
probably wouldn't be a happy efficient programmer, at least not for a 40
+ year tour.


-tl



On Mon, 2007-03-26 at 18:10 -0400, Madison Kelly wrote:
> Hi all,
> 
>    I've only been coding for three years, so I am far from an expert. In 
> that time though I've found a definite pattern and I am wondering how 
> common it is.
> 
>    No matter how eager I am on a project, I run into these "blocks" 
> where I lose all motivation. I try to push myself to code but 
> inevitably, and often quickly, I just end up doing something else. I 
> chide myself, try to get back at it, then drift off again. After a few 
> days usually I am back into the swing of things and I can code morning 
> to night without stopping.
> 
>    So first; how much does this happen to others here?
> 
>    Second; when it does, has anyone found a way to get themselves back 
> on track?
> 
>    Thanks for any tips... Now I'll go back to trying to work again :)
> 
> Madi
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