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Have any other software devs found that they have to psyche themselves up prior to starting a long coding session (like someone has to talk themselves into it before jumping off a high diving board)? There seems to be a cognitive load associated with getting into the flow state (especially when there's risk of interruption, e.g. during lockdown when the whole family's around all day :) )... Can anyone relate?
@lightweight I've never encountered this before. Weird!
I've definitely encountered not wanting to work on specific projects for various reasons; but the actual coding has always been the easiest, most natural part for me.
Is it specifically the coding part, or is it something else about the coding, like a specific practice or pattern you need to adhere to that you don't disagree with?
@groovestomp not really - I actually love coding in many ways, as I like building things in the physical world (e.g. woodworking, model planes, etc.) but there seems that I feel a weird reluctance to *start* a session, like there's a cognitive speed bump I have to get over in order to kick-start the process. I think it has to do with the mentally tiring process of loading my brain with all the elements of the project so I can make good decisions along the way.
@lightweight Interesting! I think I understand, but it still seems foreign to me.
If I am working on something where the operation/functionality is well understood, thrn absolutely zero problem.
If it is vague or unclear then I need to think about the structure and operation and make some guesses.
In either case I rely heavily on iteration, so I rough out the parts and iterate towards a sensible API.
I wonder if I have the same hurdle you do, I just understand it differently?
@groovestomp wow - that, in a nutshell, is what I always looked for in prospective devs when hiring... that "roughing out" and then iteratively incorporating complexity. Takes a certain (surprisingly rare) mentality to be able to envision things that way, I think.
@lightweight In my experience, I would tend to agree; there's a reason I am no longer employed as a software developer. ;-)
@groovestomp really - why not? What have you applied your natural abilities to since?
@lightweight I transitioned to "devops"; which, honestly, I am 100% not at all sure is the right move.
I love programming.
I just hate programming in industry. LOL.
I have, unfortunately, discovered that I have developed opinions and I struggle to effectively communicate those opinions among the teams I've found myself working with; much to my own detriment. Probably the biggest problem there is that my opinions usually fall outside of the norm of any particular programming language or tool.
@groovestomp @lightweight Yes. It's hard to fight against the inertia. The companies always claim to strive for continuous improvement, but really spend much more effort in fighting change.
@lightweight @lwriemen @groovestomp I had no idea how bad this was until I got exposed to 'management' culture here in the US. It's rife.
@lwriemen @groovestomp @lightweight I think if they didn't spend 80% of their working hours in entirely pointless meetings, that would be a good start.
@lwriemen @groovestomp @lightweight If I have to sit through another talking head talking about how they're 'data driven' (without defining what that means or giving examples) I will fucking shit. I find it funny, really, because if they really were data driven they probably wouldn't be standing there wasting everyone's time.
@lwriemen @groovestomp yes, I frequently regale folks about the fundamental brokeness of institutional IT where mediocre technologists (who convince uniformed corporate/org HR people they're 'up to it') win roles where they're hired to "digitally enable" people in their organisation and instead create locked-down anti-progress feifdoms designed to give them a career's employment while minimising opportunities for the rest of the org to fully grasp their total unsuitability for their role.