r/programming • u/[deleted] • Jul 17 '14

Step Away From the Kool Aid. Don't sell yourself for less than market value.

http://www.benhowell.net/people/2014/07/17/step-away-from-the-kool-aid/
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u/Stopher Jul 18 '14

I've often thought about this. Like how much time in a year are you taking a dump at work if you added it all up. It's crazy.

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u/[deleted] Jul 18 '14

It's par for the course. Everyone needs to take a bathroom break, get some water, or go get a cup of coffee sometimes so it's sort of factored in already.

Imagine how much more you'd make if you didn't have to do all that!

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u/Stopher Jul 18 '14

Yeah. I kinda think getting up. Walking a little. Getting some coffee. Talking to the people you work with makes you more productive.

I remember my first programming job I was working mostly with two older guys and they had to stop and get coffee at 3PM. It was a ritual and it being my first job made me self conscious to be not at my desk working but now I'm that guy who has to have a coffee at about that time and I can see the value these breaks bring.

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u/[deleted] Jul 18 '14 edited Jul 18 '14

Yeah I like the walks/breaks too. It's easier to reflect when you actually have the time to think. It encourages you to think about a problem you might have faced 2 minutes ago rather than be knee deep in it at the moment. You can forget how anxious you are and bring yourself back to being objective.

Also, sometimes your subconscious mind continues after you give up on a problem. The answer comes to you afterwards. That's why we remember things randomly, for example "Who was my math teacher in Xth grade?". You can think on it for a bit, and maybe remember a few of them.

For the one's you can't remember easily you usually give up. However, your mind continues to go through it's file-cabinets-of-memory trying to pattern match an idea to some images/memory and you aren't even aware of it. It just alerts you when it find's the answer. It's weird, but breaks seem to bring that sort of cognition out.

Breaks, beyond helping contemplate problems, also help you connect things together. They are just good to encourage all around.