Some guides for programming, which might apply to other things too. These probably will not be particularly enlightening for anybody. They are meant to serve as reminders.
If something doesn't make sense at the moment, take a break and revisit.
Slow down. Substantial projects take time. It is a marathon, not a sprint.
The act of programming itself is the treat, not necessarily the outcome. It is important to remember this when a project feels like its not coming along fast enough. Do not let that take away from the meditative experience of coding.
Sometimes problems are from a new problem domain, or have elusive solutions which makes them exciting. Sometimes that is not the case. That can make programming feel tedious, and boring. A good programmer programs regardless.
Focus and clarity of mind is essential. Better to code with lucidity for 2 hours, rather than for 8 hours with low blood sugar, and while going through a caffeine crash.
Work where you work. Play where you play. Build a system in which transitioning between these modes is a time taking, and attention requiring process.
Inspirations and references
- How to meditate wrong by Davi Ramos
- Techniques for dealing with lack of motivation, malaise, depression by Jonathan Blow (video)
- and also a section from a stream of his in which he ports some C++ code to Jai, but doesn't use any fancy tools, and regex, and instead does it manually, which was a reminder for me to slow down and enjoy such things.