[haswell]

Over the years I’ve noticed that I’m often operating in various “modes”. Some of this is related to depressive episodes, but often it’s just a more neutral ebb and flow. I’ll have a week where ideas are flowing and connections form easily. I’ll have a week where it feels like I can’t engage so deeply - like my system is cooling off after exertion.

And this is one of the reasons writing things down has been such a useful tool, and starting with a spec is something I now do religiously after spending the first half of my life just diving in haphazardly (and often not getting very far).

Those ultra productive days are often enough to get a pretty decent spec written; something I can flesh out in far greater detail than I could with a productive coding day. Those down days are now bolstered by the thinking of a version of myself that was firing on all cylinders, and solved many of the problems I probably don’t have the brain power to tackle on the fly when I’m tired and stressed for life reasons.

I feel like I’ve squandered really good trains of thought by telling myself “I’ll remember this and write it down later”. So I always start with writing. Future me always appreciates it.

[j_bum]

Your comment resonates with me.

I totally agree about writing things down being useful. I also like the author’s timebox plan as well. I’m great at writing specs to define what I want to build, but my hobby project timelines are nonexistent. I think I’ll give this a try!

[TrainedMonkey]

Do you keep a journal? Things like sunlight, diet, schedule, socialization, can have a big effect.

[haswell]

I do. These days, I'm all in on Obsidian. It's been a great tool for thought that ebbs and flows with me, and helps me see how things have been going.

Without peeling the whole onion, I've been dealing with a series of autoimmune issues in combination with complex PTSD. I'm working with some really great people to address these issues on all fronts and I'm much better these days than I've been in the past, but it's a work in progress that I'll have to manage for awhile.

A huge +1 to the importance of core habits. Focusing on this has been a key aspect of recovery.

[notjoemama]

But also, don't over optimize. For example, if your routine or schedule is mostly working but you feel like you need some less structured time, don't schedule it, just go out and do that. Don't work it in for the purpose of being more "productive" later.

I've been feeling like the software industry is over optimizing engineering output just a smidge beyond what is morally acceptable. Not enough to raise red flags about cruel and unusual, but just over the line of "it's ok to be human". Maybe that's just me and I'm someone who doesn't need a Pomodoro timer or multiple "just for an update" meetings to get work done. But maybe it's also upper management trying to turn business school theory into something real. You're not a number or a widget or for God sakes a brand. You're a person. Remember that.

[0x008]

These pointless meetings are usually a result of the fact that people feel things are going better if they are a little bit involved, even if their involvement is not actually contributing to the solution.

Also it’s a lot about lack of trust in large orgs.

[TrainedMonkey]

Feeling important is definitely a thing, at my old place we've had a saying - meetings are a practical alternative to real work.

[0x008]

I think its not always that people want to feel important. It's more like the subtle change perception: Whenever you are part of a discussion, you have the feeling that it's going better, just because you are there.

[jdswain]

I've come to a similar conclusion lately. I used to spend a lot of time jumping on my latest idea, researching and even writing a bit of code to get started. I'm much better off writing my ideas down, hopefully in a form where I can consolidate the ideas into a few projects, but even if it just stops me wasting time on an idea that I'll lose interest in soon, it's worthwhile.

On the other hand, I've got one large ongoing series of projects that are relatively pointless, and that is the whole point of them. I'm learning from them and I don't have the pressure of completing anything (although I would really like to). From time to time they have been really important for my mental health, and I value them for that.

I'm also quite aware now that I need to feel achievement to keep me motivated, and if I have a plan and can check off an item on that plan then that counts as a good day. Work doesn't always give me that sense of achievement, so having something else that does can be really valuable.

[pstorm]

This resonates a lot. For years, I would dive in for a week or two, sometimes I would make it to a few months. Lately, I've just been telling myself no, to keep focus on my start up, but it sometimes feels like I'm squandering this spark of energy you described. I absolutely love your approach of doing the planning in that initial burst rather than just getting some part of the idea working in a day or two.

I think those ultra-productive days earlier in my career account for some of the best learning, but now, over a decade into software engineering, focusing on the planning aspect seems much more prudent.

[copperx]

That's me. I even have days that I'm completely enthralled in a project and work 12 hours straight in it. And the next day I don't care about it.

I'm sure it's human nature. But there are some beasts out there like Don Knuth, Torvalds, DHH, that seem to have unlimited stamina. They are the people who advance stuff.