Is it age - or is it me

Try the Pomodoro Technique. Basically, code for 25 minutes, take a 5 minute break. After 4 coding sessions take a 15 to 30 minute break. Protect the pomodoro!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqBuh4HWu8U
http://lifehacker.com/productivity-101-a-primer-to-the-pomodoro-technique-1598992730

I find a lot depends on the task... if I'm excited about testing something I'll push through to a few hours before needing to take a walk.

First time I've heard of this "pomodoro" technique... makes sense though!
I appreciate "A pomodoro is indivisible." - when interrupted you may as well abandon everything and start over...

I'd like to say it depends on the urgency of the project, but the reality is about 7-10 hrs, then I need to clear the clipboard.

Tom Jenkins said:

One thing I have noticed over the years, then and now, is that the programming part of my brain does better in the late afternoon, evening, and at night. I don't know if it's quieter, circadian rhythms, or what.

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Recently I read a study somewhere (don't recall where exactly, think it was some management thingy) that programming at later times is far more productive then early in the morning.

Well personally I have the same thing. maybe it's the night-owl thing someone else mentioned...

I am 29 and for me it depends heavily on the task at hand. Complex things that require lots of thinking I can only do a few hours before taking a few min. If its just a punching task like a couple hundred basic rungs I dont last very long before needing to stand up.

Usually if I get stuck or cant find a solution I will take a 15 min break and it usually helps.

I have attention issues anyhow so in my "few hours" I have stopped programming and wondered things like if I have ever got milk from the same cow twice in different jugs.

Sometimes like now (doing a pretty complex excel sheet) I will take a min and skim through the forums to break the pattern.

We are all different creatures eh. As other have said - the walk / run /coffee / sleep etc, solves more problems than staring at logic screens.
Bob can go all day..... programming that is That's some feat at 73
Keeps alzheimer's away too no doubt.

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Mind is hugely active - very lucky. If I wake up in the morning and have to think what am I going to do today instead of the usual what do I do first I get very bored!


As for the wallies that want to interrupt you do your nana - really badly - they will not do it again!


I often start work in the morning building panels or design drawings, get in the car about lunch time and drive for 3 hours, then work most of the night coding and commissioning. Getting a bit harder than it used to be though - recovery takes a bit longer. Good fun writing new code and commissioning it at 3AM on a live site and having the pressure of having to be done by 4AM so they can get everything back online!


Two things - I won't be beaten and with the references previously about knees and the like I find that the body objects violently to what the mind tells it to do these days! LOL

I am 59. I find my best programming occurs between beer # 2 and #3.
Nature is all about survival of the fitest
Scientest say alcohol kill brains cells
Only the weak cells must be killed then according to nature
So when you drink , your brain is full of strong cells

Reading through the posts, a lot of us are at the back end or passed our retirement age.

I have said many times that I won't retire until I feel I have to.
This job with all its quirks and responsibilities is in the main - very enjoyable.

The saying 'if you enjoy your job - you will never work a day in your life' is so true.

But who is coming up behind?

From what I see in the UK - not many.

There are plenty 'in-house' engineers and I have met many that say they can do it.....
but in reality, there is a dearth. A big gap.
That's why codgers like me are getting the work.

I have lost count of the jobs I have had to 'put right' after others have said they could do it.

I had one recently that was so unbelievable - it made me laugh.

An aggressive big talking salesman said they could do a job I had quoted for,
for half the price. (half)
They sent a lad out with a brand new laptop, leads and the software still on the DVD
He was actually going to learn on the job by himself.

Miracles do happen but not this time.
The job is mine again.

Ronnie Sullivan said:

Reading through the posts, a lot of us are at the back end or passed our retirement age.

I have said many times that I won't retire until I feel I have to.
This job with all its quirks and responsibilities is in the main - very enjoyable.

The saying 'if you enjoy your job - you will never work a day in your life' is so true.

But who is coming up behind?

From what I see in the UK - not many.

There are plenty 'in-house' engineers and I have met many that say they can do it.....
but in reality, there is a dearth. A big gap.
That's why codgers like me are getting the work.

I have lost count of the jobs I have had to 'put right' after others have said they could do it.

I had one recently that was so unbelievable - it made me laugh.

An aggressive big talking salesman said they could do a job I had quoted for,
for half the price. (half)
They sent a lad out with a brand new laptop, leads and the software still on the DVD
He was actually going to learn on the job by himself.

Miracles do happen but not this time.
The job is mine again.

Click to expand...

I'm at 37 and if this thread is anything to go by I'll probably have a job for a while.

One thing I noticed about the UK and PLC people is that the wages don't seem to match the scarcity of the resource. An instrument technician that is matching instruments to process conditions and updates and already created AutoCAD sheet will make on average more than a controls engineer (at least on my searches).

I was on the job market a while back and most companies treated me as if they had plenty of options (which considering they offered me the job, probably wasn't the case).
This went from poor salaries to mentioning openly that they don't like people to be looking at the clock... but there was no overtime paid.
Another point is the travel conditions, yeah... usually people developing will be doing commissioning, but a minimum of comfort is to be expected when travelling and a bit of focus on family life is, at least to me, expected. But nope... none of that.

The other thing that starts to get to me is that companies want more and more automation, but instead of trying their best to develop in house, they go to integrators... whilst this makes sense, sometimes it's not the best course of action (depending on the size of the company obviously), but is still the preferred way.

tark said:

try the pomodoro technique. Basically, code for 25 minutes, take a 5 minute break. After 4 coding sessions take a 15 to 30 minute break. Protect the pomodoro!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/pomodoro_technique
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqbuh4hwu8u
http://lifehacker.com/productivity-101-a-primer-to-the-pomodoro-technique-1598992730

Click to expand...

bright & deep ... Thanks

24 years old here... I feel like a toddler but I'm humbled to be in a room full of vets and pros.

If I am making edits to someones code, usually I can program for a few hours or until my edit is complete and working. I can usually code with a straight train of thought on edits. With a task at hand I'm able to tunnel myself and focus accordingly.

If I'm coding from scratch, that's a different story. My mind wanders when a huge project is at hand and I'm working alone. I do tend get mentally overwhelmed, and I have to draw out my plan. If I am coding from scratch, I usually can only go for two hours before needing a 10 minute break to gather my thought, breathe, and focus. If I'm working with a partner or a group, then it's not so bad.

Hate working with a committee! Loner here. When working on a fresh job apart from planning networking, network bits and words I just start writing code out of the old brain - it flows.


editing someone code is a pain - have to work out their thought processes.


When I did the automation of a power station I had an A3 continuous paper printer - the paper stretched about 30 metres! On my hands and knees with a red pen! Lots of fun.


When the mind was going went for a walk up the road with a packet of ciggies!


Also had a pen and paper on the bedside table - the subconcious went berserk when I was asleep.

I have to agree with BobB for the most part.
At 74 now and having done this since 1966 it gets a bit more difficult at times, but it depends on the project. The less routine the project is, the more likely it is to come up with neat solutions to issues.
I find that going off to do something else for a few minutes usually helps a lot. I also find that keeping a notepad in my truck is a requirement because the answers I need will often pop up while I'm driving to or from a customer's site.

BobB and others
I'm 73 now and still work part time. Even in my younger toolmaker days I had to get away from a problem for a while. I would go home and always wake up with a solution.
As described above I sometimes had to kill off some brain cells in the evening.

I am 64. I am getting grumpier by the day. Grump.
I have a lazy boy recliner in my office and I try to use it for 1 hour a day.
I don't do any production coding now. I just work out weird formulas, test and simulations and toss the result over the wall to the programmers then go back to my chair.