[w_t_payne]

I too have put in marathon coding sessions ... some of my best work has been done in such circumstances ... but try as I might, I just cannot turn "flow-state" on like a tap. Indeed, the more I try to push myself at work, the harder and harder it seems to be to get into flow-state. I wish I had a systematic way of encouraging that particular state of consciousness.

[mentos]

I find the flow state comes at the beginning of a project when theres a ton of marginal utility per line of code.

But as a project wears on new code more often than not is to repair broken aspects and not so much to build the new and exciting features. Constantly switching gears between different parts of the code base can be hard to maintain that beloved flow.

[USNetizen]

Having worked as a coder, I know what you mean. But those marathon sessions, however good the "flow" or "zone" is, are untenable in the long term and bad for productivity. The longer you work, whether you realize it or not, the more mistakes you'll make - which is lost productivity.