My method is to set a timer for 4 hours, but pause that timer when I want to take a break or have to do something. That way it's guaranteed I get 4 hours of work done, and I can have breaks if I want to. How do I guarantee I actually work those 4 hours instead of just procrastinating until bed time? Rules. No entertainment until the timer has hit 0, break time can only be used for things like going to the bathroom, cooking meals, going to the store, or simply resting for a few minutes. This method must also be started first thing in the morning, otherwise it's easy to procrastinate starting the timer.
For me, the biggest challenge to my focus at work is when I’m stuck on a problem. Like, tried all my ideas and still hitting the same roadblock. It just makes me wanna get up and do something else. I think I need to get a little better at facing that adversity instead of being avoidant.
I also found it hard to focus when I code for short sessions, but coding for 2-4 hours and then hitting a break is fine as I have much time to focus and really get to the mood and zone!
"Force yourself to start, and just let it flow" - I cant even count how many times i did that and did not realise this was the better way to go. Thanks!
Yep works for me too. I call it the five minute rule. Just start with a promise to stop after five minutes if I’m not feeling it. Then four hours zips by!!
The thing that really helps me (and probably won't work in all companies) is to have two projects going on at all times. That way when I have a blocker or get stuck on a tricky problem, I stop working on that project and switch to the other. This alternation allows me to never block the flow state of programming. I've done 7+ hours of coding this way. My manager was terrified of this at first, but now will always let me pick two or three features to work through at a time. I find that by the time I come back to the other project, my subconscious will have been working on the problem in the background and I'll be able to start again. Of course, if the thing blocking me was a person, that becomes harder
I do agree with this. When I was studying for CFA (finance) I read the textbooks cover to cover. The longer I read the more bored I get but at the same time my reading comprehension and analytical skills increased by a large margin. And so by the time I read more than 2 hours. I stop feeling bored. It’s similar to attending a college lecture. It’s doable the first hour. The second hour becomes super tedious. But once you past the second hour. You just don’t have to urge to play video games or wanting to get out. You just get into this bored zone and your brain just becomes a sponge that keeps on acquiring new into. Plus when you study or code on hard stuff, your brain feels like you just finished taking a super hard exam. So these two combined together, you become very productive. I only stop working/studying when I finish my task or get sleepy.
Hey, seeing that you probably got your CFA certification, are u learning coding to upskill in the same career line? If so, can U please tell me what exactly are u pursuing in coding?
This is exactly what I do. 3-4 hours, lunch, then another 3-4 later in the night. Helps me to sleep more as well plenty of water & B12 too. for best results, no checking your phone. Just wake up, move to desk, and begin programming
@@FallinIsCute this is working for me although I didn't work on Saturday or Sunday so I want to try it out for a month and see. I feel I have better efficiency at night than in morning.
Couldn't agree more I wake up at 4:30-5am to get at least 2hrs of work done before my daughter wakes up. During that time I only focus on all the important tasks I need to get done. So I can save the less important tasks for later when I'm distracted running around the house like a crazy person.
I'm a full time dad and this is my life. Ive been teaching myself to code and do so from 0445 until she wakes up and try to get an hour of coding to outline tomorrows tasks before I go to bed. I am finishing up on my portfolio piece this week!
I hope all of you achieve everything you set out to do! Learning to code is hard enough in itself. Juggling that with raising a kid and all that comes with it nothing but impressive
25/5 wasn't working for me, but I found that 120/15 is great! So, I guess it depends. The problem with doing 4hrs straight is you get no break from a hard problem. When I leave a hard problem and come back, I usually have new solutions.
Totally agreed. My typical work day is like 3 hours of work, 20 mins of lunch break and another 4-5 hours of work. If I take more than 30 mins for lunch break, I find it really hard to get back in the zone.
Working for 4 hours straight is definitely a goal right now. You're definitely right about the friction not being the work itself but the idea of the work. It's the activation energy to get the process started. The funny thing is, once you've finished a long session like that, you feel great. It's just getting started that is the hard part for me.
That's how I rolled for years, I would just get in the flow and work for hours with no breaks, but at the end of the day I would get a tension headache. In my case I prefer breaks just to avoid the headaches. I can get back in the flow state quite fast if my tasks are broken down in an intelligent way so they are not that hard, or that easy to accomplish. I sometimes use pomodoro, or just go by feel, but I do get at least one break in a two hour period and do the absolute best I can while not taking a break.
Could be a sign of ergonomic or vision problems. Maybe some adjustments to your work space may help. Those problems can build over time and cripple productivity when you get older.
I used basically this same idea when I was studying full time. Left my phone in the other room, headphones on with some kind of binaural or lo-fi beats with no lyrics, The lecture video on one screen, a notes document on the other and just worked from about 8am-12pm. This was easily my highest productivity period, and I'm frustrated that I can't do the same in my job due the structure of the company. WFH is such a blessing when it comes to eliminating a lot of distractions and getting your tasks done.
i agree that the normal 25/5 pomodoro doesn’t really work, but doing 45/15 or 50/10 helps and also it can be used to just get started. if i’m tired and could use a break, i’ll take a break. if i’m in the zone, i just won’t.
it also depends on the nature of the work. for me if it's writing a college paper, working in large chunks of time works better because it doesn't interrupt my train of thought and results in a continuous flow in my writing. however if the task before me is cleaning, which is made up many smaller tasks, then breaking it up every 45-50 minutes with frequent rest periods is much more efficient
I agree, for me getting started is the hard bit but once I’m going il work until I feel like I can’t anymore (normally around 2h) then get up take a break.
Timeblocking with arbitrary breaks, such as pomodoro, is just useless for anything except giving people *some* structure (and perhaps an actively detrimental one, even). But people want to do the right thing, the fancy thing etc. Etc.
I got distracted by a message from my friend, then two replies on two of my youtube comment. So, I am watching it again or am I? Sike! I am commenting.
I am a dev and I use the pomodoro technique a lot! I guess what makes it work for me is that I take lots of notes during my sessions about what it is that I'm working on. This capturing of context allows me to easily jump back into it after the break.
Yeah I make what I call a "dev notes" text file where current tasks, app desc, features, etc are tracked -- so no matter what I always remember where I was.
For me personally, I've never had trouble working on something that I really want to finish for hours and hours. Whether that be projects I had in college or work that need to be done soon or just personal projects I really enjoy. But where that breaks down is that I've never been good at making myself do projects that I don't really care about. That's when I start procrastinating and looking for reasons to not be working on it. As I've gotten older I've gotten more disciplined about just sitting down and doing things I don't like doing, but it's never easy.
5:00 - this is something you realize very quickly when you start working out. You LOATHE the idea of going - putting on your clothes, driving, parking, blah blah blah. You visualize every aspect of it like a big dark cloud occupying your thoughts, and then the lightning starts - ⚡I'VE HAD A LONG DAY⚡I DIDN'T GET A GOOD SLEEP⚡I STILL NEED TO MAKE DINNER⚡I'LL JUST HIT IT EXTRA HARD TOMMOROW⚡ Then you go anyways. And you love it. It feels great. You're glad you went. You're in no rush to leave. You feel accomplished.
2x 2-3 hours blocks are what I like to work with, inserting a food + walk break in between. I get a little antsy and hungry usually around the 3 hour mark. This is all on point though. Great video man. Subscribed!
When I was 18 I was living with my parents and they would not let me get the internet, and I didn't have a cell phone, but I could take a USB stick to the public library, and friends to get stuff I want, applications, documents etc. I was self taught. And I absolutely loved it, once over the majority of the learning curve, my imagination was my limits. And I would eat.. breathe.. sleep.. coding! I've even had problems I'm absolutely stuck on for hours, and I would solve the problem in my sleep, waking up with the solution! 4 hours HA what about 12 or more Consecutive!
When you're starting out, sure. If you're codinga little and researching a lot, sure. It's easy because it's not as mentally taxing. But once you start facing difficult problems, you can't code efficiently for 12 hours. And my take isn't uncommon. Most professional devs that I know, and those that commented on my video "How Long I Code a Day", average 3-4 hours of efficient coding per day. Some days they can grind out 8+, but then their brain is melted lol.
@@fknight Excellent comment. I am in my 2nd year as a dev and I'm hitting a productivity wall because I expect myself to be able to put in thos 12+hr days that I was doing when I first started. Now that the problems are getting more complex, I'm finding it harder to stay focused for long periods.
Definitely find this approach to allow me to get more done. As someone with ADHD it’s impossible for me to get any work done with constant context switching. I usually throw on my airpods, turn on noise cancellation and get to work.
As someone with same conditions, I can understand the situation. Can u tell me how u deal with constant switching. And with airpod thing, do u mean u turn on music?
For me I just try to eliminate as much distractions as possible. My ADHD enhances sound for me, so I’m constantly listening to the background even if I’m not focused on it. Noise cancellation helps a lot with that aspect. However, I don’t listen to music because it disrupts my train of thought.
interesting. got a severe ADHD as well, but coding seems to be the one thing where I actually take an insane profit from it... I let the constant context switching just happen but try to limit it on coding related stuff. doesn't have to be related to the thing I'm trying to solve, can be an awesome new framework I wanna fiddle around with, customizing my ide or whatever. I then almost always start connecting it in the weirdest ways to what I'm supposed to do and switch back to that - just to try out some crazy ideas. this way i'm basically able to focus on coding for 16h straight without any distractions. it does take longer to get the work done in the beginning, but after a while you see the problems and solutions instantly because you learn to connect everything to everything. not sure if this works for you as well, but might be worth a shot
Found out I've had adhd since childhood... a couple months ago. How do you deal with emotional blocks? I get a pain in my gut whenever I'm about to do something i care about. I took a third shift security job to make it easier to get started. Do you use body doubling to get started? Did you need meds in order to get a software developer job? I have a ton of questions when it comes to adhd and programming.
OMG, I can't believe I just saw this video. I thought I was lonely with these methods for so many years. Every time I see someone with three or four screens, I can't understand how they can be productive when eventually you can only focus on one screen at a time. Second, the sun part is fantastic; I literally take breaks during the day just to go out of the office to be in the sun for a few minutes every now and then. Beautiful video! Totally worked for me for years, and for the same reasons. Thank you!
So I just saw this video again (I love it that much), and I want to comment about the "Plan a day before". THIS. IS. THE. KEY. SECRET. TO. PRODUCTIVITY. I can't stress this enough. To say that it's helpful is a colossal understatement. The amount of control it gives you over your time allows you to optimize your focus and be productive in a very personalized way, so morning or evening people can adjust accordingly. It will work the same regardless of your type/hour of the day. I usually do this around midnight/1am to catch all of the recent last-minute changes in tomorrow's schedule and to make my own last-minute optimizations (e.g., WFH or Office this day, what content will I focus on based on the itinerary of tomorrow, etc., which allows fine-tuning even when you work in big teams or over big projects and many participants to keep your productivity level and focus in a dynamic environment altogether).
This is such a great idea! Since I started working as a professional software engineer I work 4 hours straight on coding. If it helps one think that was really helpful to me to concentrate was the competitive programming competitions, after being there 3 or 4 times sat down focusing on a set of problems you start to find easier to concentrate for 4 or even more hours in coding. The other think that helped me a lot is to have a computer exclusive for coding, no Facebook, no Instagram, no slack, no reddit. Just my coding tools and something for music. Thanks for the video, Forrest! Keep doing this great contet!
I totally agree. I lose train of thought when I take breaks base on time. It makes more sense to take breaks after a completed task. Hence why I break my work into chunks of tasks, not chunks of time.
Out of all your splendid videos I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying over the years, this one is your finest 👌🏻 Love this. Someone needed to state this perspective
Great tips, and I can totally relate to the "oh I just had a break, guess I'll spend the next 15 minutes just getting back to where I left off" problem. I love getting so immersed in my work that I lose my sense of time (which I guess from a different angle might be a negative) because I _swear_ I'm the most productive when my entire brain is just occupied with the single task in front of me, rather than those disruptive thoughts like "oh man, I'm still waiting for that email to come, better keep an eye on my notifications". It reminds me a bit of the "just one more turn" phenomenon from games like Civilization; the game has so many different concepts that you fill your brain with that you just don't have an opportunity to get distracted.
I create algorithms in the morning before lunch. After lunch is code testing. If I need to be creative I do it away from the PC , no point being in front of the PC when need to create something complex.
I just watched your video and I'm really intrigued by your approach to productivity. Your method of coding for four hours straight without breaks is definitely a unique perspective, and I appreciate you sharing your insights. Here are some thoughts I have: - I totally agree with you about the traditional Pomodoro Technique not being the most effective for coding tasks. It's refreshing to hear a different approach that's tailored specifically for this kind of work. - Planning tasks ahead of time is such a crucial step, and I appreciate the reminder to schedule the most important ones during my optimal time frame. That's something I'm definitely going to implement in my workflow. - Your emphasis on eliminating distractions is spot on. It's amazing how much more focused and productive you can be when you're not constantly bombarded by notifications and distractions. I'm going to start turning off my phone and using just one monitor like you suggested. - Taking care of our mental and physical health is something we often overlook when trying to boost productivity. Your reminder about staying hydrated, taking vitamins, and getting some outdoor exercise is a great wake-up call. It's so important to have a healthy mind and body to perform at our best. - I've found that using techniques like the Eisenhower Matrix for task prioritization can be incredibly helpful. It helps me focus on the tasks that truly matter and delegate or eliminate the less important ones. - Another technique I've found effective is time blocking. Allocating specific blocks of time for different tasks or activities can help maintain focus and prevent multitasking, which can often lead to decreased productivity. - Mindfulness and meditation exercises can also play a significant role in maintaining focus and reducing stress levels. Taking a few minutes to center oneself before diving into a coding session can make a world of difference. Overall, I'm really excited to give this method a try and see how it works for me. Thanks for sharing your insights and providing such detailed tips. Looking forward to more content like this from you!
As a senior, I don't think you have to stay focused all the time. Sometimes it's not efficient. Instead, I do short breaks or even go to shopping mall by walk. The point is to keep thinking to make sure that what you are going to do is perfectly matching the requirement, and it is the shortest way, the most efficient way that you can do by yourself. Coding is not like running that you need to focus to get the destination. I myself developed my product in 3 years. Sometimes I spent 12-15 hours in a day for coding. If you have this ability to code without breaks, it is very fantastic to code your own products since you know what you are going to do and can decide it immediately. However, it's not good for your health in the long term. One day, you will get burn out that needs few weeks off to recover.
I usually do 3-5 hours coding sessions and I do them after 1am, yeah, after 1 am is when I focus the most because everybody is sleeping and nobody will bother or distract you. After my coding session I do some gaming as positive reinforcement and FOR ME it works perfectlly.
So you are going to sleep between 5-7 am? Assuming you game for one hour. And when you probably sleep 5-8 hours. So you wake up at lunch or even later? I would say that is not very practical for nearly every usual office hours.
I’m sorry but I am unable to see this approach of going to bed and waking up late as disciplined. Discipline brings the best results, and it starts with going to bed and waking up *early*. That’s because the early morning has 2 benefits: no distractions and your mind and body are fresh because you just woke up.
This is exactly what I need. I am bombarded that I should take breaks when I get tired. Thus, I did. But now, it delays and puts me out of focus, or even made me procrastinate to go back to the desk
I understand your view about the pomodoro approach. But I think you’ve got this view because you’ve trained yourself to be able to focus to up to 4 hours at a time. Some aren’t able to do that yet. So, the pomodoro technique help them to start focusing 25 minutes at a time, then maybe 1 hour and gradually until they get to your level and set the pomodoro to 4 hours at a go.
The other nice thing about the Pomodoro technique is that your brain goes into diffuse mode on your break. Sometimes that's when you end up coming up with the solutions to many problems. Same reason why a lot of us get a lot of ideas and solutions when showering, or going for a walk/run/bike ride.
Idk I just don't see much use of short pomodoro bursts. It takes me like an hour to even get into the zone, and if I do like 50:10 chunks, im just losing too much time.
@@bushlite333 yup during my degree i loved to hear "i've been cracking away at this problem for 4 hours straight", when realistically they probably hit a roadbloack early on and then beat their head against a wall for 4 hours, when they could've solved it easier had they stepped away and let your brain handle to thinking for a bit. Just because you're sitting in a chair for 4 hours looking at an IDE doesn't mean you're working efficiently
Because you stopped thinking about the code during the 5 minute break. I still keep coding in my mind while getting that coffee, taking that walk, or do some stretching.
I was watching so much videos recommending this pomodoro technique, and am thinking, ok, but it kinda breaks my flow, and it doesn't really work when I'm in flow. Everything you said 100% correct, couldn't agree more.
Going back to a single monitor for work was the best move I’ve ever made. I’ve ditched my triple monitor set up entirely for work, that’s just for fun now.
how do you convince the organization you work for to let you do that, though?. i usually manage to do this in the first year or two of a job but after a while the number of people who need your input grows and you are lucky to get full hour blocks of focus
Stay focus, 1. break your problem, 2. solve easy problem to make progress 3. find alternative way if stuck 4. Sleep your phone, and focus to code in your desktop 5. Avoid to make more tabs in your browser, if you done, close it and if you need to read again just bookmark 6. Listen to music is okay, but if you need more focus stop your music 7. Make milestone 8. Take rest, if your task is complete or you get stuck and didn't find a way to solve.
Haha I'm glad I've been doing it right all along the way. Those pomodoro hipsters almost made me doubt 😂 My best phase is actually at night between 8-12pm. Employers will never know what they could have gotten if they just let me work this late 😂😂😂
To be honest, my main issue to focus is when I find a solution for a persistent problem. I get so excited that I need to control myself not to get up and mentally go somewhere else. Being focus on these moments are hard
Do you have any advice to stay motivated to work for that long when you've hit a complete roadblock in your code? ive run into an error and no matter what I do or who I ask I just can't find a way around it and it leaves me unable to move on
IMO, When you are stuck in an issue, the most productive thing to do is to take a small break (or if you are working in multiple projects, switch to a different project if possible). Close all the IDEs and stuff and start fresh after the break. This method has helped me countless times.
Jeez, you've got to question a generation that need a video to tell them how to focus on something for just 4 hours as though that's unusual or an achievement.
Yeah! Lets make everything a generational problem! Cmon dude. It’s literally working on a computer. You can’t wrap your brain around why it’s distracting?
@@pyrrhici Everything isn't a generational problem. This is. Right down to you saying "literally" and suggesting the idea your defect means my brain is flawed. You don't get distracted what you have is an inability to focus on anything because of notifications, youtube shorts etc etc etc. To this generation everything else is the distraction - including even the ability to sit doing nothing. Try it on a few and see how twitchy they get needing to check their phones etc.
This might help me SO much! I'm currently writing my master's thesis in mechanical engineering, but in the field of programming/simulation/computer-based stuff. So I need to learn a whole new language all by myself, all while trying to maintain some form of schedule, and why I always tried to "get in the mood" or "get motivated", I actually never thought about planning my work the day before and just try to sit down during this planned time, even though that makes so much sense! Up until this week, where I'm giving this method a shot (and already see the benefits for me), I always felt like grinding, but distracting myself from that grind because it's so exhausting.
The key takeaway for me was planning the next day's schedule in advance. I'm motivated to get up and start working in the morning because my goal has already been set and my mind is focusing on it.
I am glad that you've found your own path. Time Theory is hard. I've already searched and went through too much to really focus on the subject. I guess now I'll be myself. Because that's the easiest thing to do at the moment. Wait till the front head develops and skill learns. Thanks for the critique and review. Have a good life.
Agreed! I'm a smoker, a bad habit and I acknowledge it. However, I've got some trainee job during this summer and what I've realized that what worked for school: 90 : 30 spread, just did not do it for me for work. I realized fast that over some set interval, I'm most productive by doing a three phase work day. Start by having 30 - 60 mins for reviewing the yesterday's plan for what you wish to accomplish today and daily scrum meeting (no more than 10 mins for that) - I'll return to the plan shortly. Take a break for 15 - 60 mins, depending on what you need to do aside work in the morning. Sit down and let your focus take you along the next 3-7 hours, maybe have a lunch break or another break in between. Just dim all the messengers, email, and so on...Be sure to have a system for these to do the talking during the morning or evening phases. Personally, I'm accustomed to a three monitor setup set like this: - Middle screen for active work - Right side to preview and research - Left side for whatever movie, music, anything to help me ignore the outside world while I'm focusing End the day by using 30 - 60 mins to plan for the next day. This isn't just the plan, but time for things like letting your team know what challenges you met during the day (base for tomorrows morning scrum meeting), going through the goals you set for yourself for the day, planning the next day ahead...Just don't overdo this, just do a general overview and plan. Yes, this is only possible as I'm not bound to certain hours aside the morning scrum meeting, which fits well being right after our kids have left for the school...And that does bring me to the reality and when this kind of model for thinking and working can truly shine: If you're bound to certain hours by the company, you won't have the freedom to let yourself to choose the hours that work the best for you and let you make yourself the most productive. However, if you have the freedom, try it out, ForrestKnight has covered the opportunities well in this video and I'm backing him up here. There is only one thing I wish to add here: Never forget your family and their needs. This path can become a rabbit hole if you're not careful.
I can only agree with what you shared and it works for me, too. My most productive time is in the morning, usually between 8 and 12 and if I’m in the flow I go longer, but don’t need to force myself. Another thing that works well for me if I’m not motivated is to start with small tasks to get a quick success experience and then go off of that into a bigger task. I only take brakes if I move from one task to another or when I lose focus. Oh yeah, and noise cancelling headphones without music are great, too. You want as little distraction as possible to get into a flow state and then time is gonna fly. Also, if I get stuck I like to discuss my situation with a colleague to get some fresh ideas. At least where I work it’s encouraged to take some time to get a second opinion instead of wasting more time being stuck.
I have no issues focusing when it's work I love - which is most programming, in all honesty. I can easily forget about and skip lunch on days where I"m working on something that is engaging my brain in creative ways.
When I get stuck on a problem, it's on my mind all the time, I don't set a timer or something, I just code till I want to, and roadblocks just make me want to keep coding. I kid you not, I sometimes get dreams about what I can do to solve the problem, and when I wake up, it works!
Coding for four hours has never been an issue. I could sit down indefinitely and just go at it and truly never get exhausted. The problem is other life responsibilities and actually getting to the chair and working on projects. Especially when coding is not what you do for your job.
What you said at the start of the video about breaking your focus is something I can't agree with more. You just manage to build up that mental image of everything in a coherent way and BAM! It all falls apart because you get up for a break, or the phone rings, or someone in your house wants something, or the dog goes crazy because the delivery guy is there. Or whatever. It's the single biggest hurdle to my productivity.
Thank you. You really helped me out when you said "plan your work" and "optimize your timeframe". Im a beginner in Python, tackling my first project making an A.I. that can help me in my daily life with reminds, planning, daily scheduling, home automotation, cooking, and making phone calls. I want to Spend less time bending my head, and arching my back while i type my comment under your youtube video.
Taking break at every 30 minutes is productivity for me, because 5 minutes of rest helps me to merge the past things in one, and it's really cool, i can look at the problem from the another side.
YES!!! Although, I have to say, I am not an early riser and my brain is not necessarily working the best in the morning HOWEVER neither is anyone else. So early morning is when nobody is calling me, emailing nor can I do any errands. When I get up early, my life goes so much easier. Plus, I have found going to bed early also keeps away all those friends who are having problems in their lives and need someone to talk to. That is my Achilles heel.
Right on the spot. I was trying this short break but always wondering that this is a useless system (for coding). So continue working for 2-3 hours and then taking a break is a much more productive system for me.
The one corollary to this is that when you're truly stuck, sometimes the best thing is to take a break. But if you're not at that point yet, then it's probably still better to just keep trucking.
One of the most critical aspects to focusing in addition to being hydrated and exercising is SLEEP! Being well rested is the foundation for being a rockstar at work :) I am totally worthless if I stay up too late
I love that comic about programmers getting distracted. And it was very relevant here, even though the comic was about other people distracting you, rather than taking breaks by your own choice. But it's just as applicable. This is also why I try to have entire days dedicated to programming only, and marking 1 or 2 days each week to do all the other little small tasks. It takes a few hours just to metaphorically load the work/context/code into my head at the start of the day. The most productive part of the day is 3+ hours into working, once everything is loaded into my head... then I can actually get on to the "doing". It reminds me of having to load games from cassette tapes back on the Commodore 64. You had to consider the "loading:playing" time ratio. If you're spending more time "loading" than "playing/working", then maybe it isn't even worth trying to do it in that moment, and you're better off doing some other smaller tasks that don't involve so much "loading" up front. You need longer dedicated periods to get the more efficient ratio on deep work like programming. Especially on complex projects. As someone who is juggling both programming + general ad-hoc IT work, this stuff is very apparent to me. A few phone calls and 30 minute jobs scattered through the week can basically destroy a week of concentrated programming.
This video connects so much. I just need 10 minutes to forget about reality and just work. But if I think about the idea of working then I usually procratinate. It works so well, for me atleast.
I just started programming in my first subject at college, and in my first project for the subject I figured out the things that you are talking in the video, I'm so related to the content. Now I understand one of the reasons I ended it on time and I got 20/20. Thank you for making me ralised that what I did is the key otogetting cothe de done.
I usually do this for 7 hour at my school right now. I just really really really enjoy it, so i can't take a break. Even my teacher make me take a break once in a while
I have procrastinated so much watching youtube videos that youtube itself suggested me this video lol. Will definitely give it a try and honestly I needed tips like this
I tend to think about the problems I'm facing during the breaks, sometimes they are fixed while I'm preparing my coffee or just walking around. But, YES, I agree that intensive breaks can be distracting sometimes.
@ 7:40 min into the video, “doctors are considered health professionals and half of them don’t know what the hell their talking about.” THIS IS SOOOO DAMN TRUE!!
Dude thank you for this. I’ve been doing this, I can NOT do the 20-25 minute thing. It does not help me at all. Props to those organized people that can but not me lol. When I’m an hour in or so is when I feel like I’m doing the most learning and at my peak efficiency.
Actualy I use this method and it works really well. It is so good to just turn off everything and focus on just coding, but one counterpart that I feel is that when I finish doing my coding tasks, it seems I didn't do nothing, because it took me just a few hours, it just comes down to having that mental that it was enough actually. I really agree with everythinga that you said .
I've had to code over 12 hrs straight with no breaks for school. You kinda stop caring after a while and just keep pushing until you start to fall asleep.
What I've found really helpful was turning off my cellphone's wifi so I may not get distracted by notifications. I could put the cellphone on airplane mode but as I don't have any friends the only three people to call/text me would be my brother/mom/uncle which they do only if there's something important and not to be ignored. Other that that I have a standing fan that I put on full speed and if I'm not hot I'd just face it other direction. The noise from the fan doesn't let the outside noise bother me when I'm in my room on my laptop. 👍👍
I had done an undergraduate research regarding these last year and indeed the flow state is the only thing you should catch here. 4hours can be too much to other people, for some it might be even short, and guess you're lucky enough to have this span of flow state for exactly 4hours. What my point is we all have these sort of unique brain strengths and that brain strengths determines the span of our flow state which is also affected by our environment and the condition of our health as well. The idea is not the hours, the time, nor the environment, nor the lifestyle we got. It comes sometimes unexpectedly, but habitually doing so would lead you there. So instead don't stop if it doesn't work for you, don't stop if you reached more than 4hours already, just stop when you feel this is you already, if this is your preferred span where you're productive enough.
i think the key is just going with the flow of your work (code) and never bothering time or anything. and unconsciously you already working for hours, maybe 2,3,4 or more straight
Exercise before working is what helped me focus. I use to overthink specially before sitting at my desk to write my daily standup script and then start coding
Standups don't have to be drawn out but usually are. Also the end of the day is a challenge with everyone finding a time and agreeing to it. I really like to code for 4+ hour chunks. I just make sure to get up and walk around every hour to keep the blood flowing.
This was what i needed dude amazing i also work in same way and normally if you are working on decent task it usually takes 2-4 hours and the break after that feels amazing.
me, who should be coding, watching this video: 🤡
XD
Lol 😂
👨🏾💻
Me too 😂
Wow! This is exactly how I feel. 😂
My method is to set a timer for 4 hours, but pause that timer when I want to take a break or have to do something. That way it's guaranteed I get 4 hours of work done, and I can have breaks if I want to.
How do I guarantee I actually work those 4 hours instead of just procrastinating until bed time? Rules. No entertainment until the timer has hit 0, break time can only be used for things like going to the bathroom, cooking meals, going to the store, or simply resting for a few minutes. This method must also be started first thing in the morning, otherwise it's easy to procrastinate starting the timer.
I do the exact same thing
This is genius tbh
Rlly like that idea.Gonna use it for studying
Imma try this
good idea, now i too would start using timer
For me, the biggest challenge to my focus at work is when I’m stuck on a problem. Like, tried all my ideas and still hitting the same roadblock. It just makes me wanna get up and do something else. I think I need to get a little better at facing that adversity instead of being avoidant.
luuuul i'm not working today for exactly that reason
True that. Worst part is once it gets to that point my initial reaction is to grab my phone, which fucks up my ability to focus altogether.
Haha it's the worst! I'm on boarding right now so everything is an obstacle. I understand your pain.
Just get up, do something different, talk to yourself, walk on a circle, meditate, go to bathroom then come back.
@@NoOne-ev3jn would do that :^) but i'm high and i don't even want to solve the task right now :P
I also found it hard to focus when I code for short sessions, but coding for 2-4 hours and then hitting a break is fine as I have much time to focus and really get to the mood and zone!
my only problem is that I work from home, and the distractions at home is crazy.
Once i break flow I find it harder to get back into it.
@@_chappie_ unfortunately same🤦♂️
@ㄥㄚҠҠㄖ丂 interesting. Due to my schedule. By 1am im tired af
i found that going for a walk or some other form of physical exercise makes it easier to get in the zone.
@ㄥㄚҠҠㄖ丂 little late but if it works then it works😅
"Force yourself to start, and just let it flow" - I cant even count how many times i did that and did not realise this was the better way to go. Thanks!
Yep works for me too. I call it the five minute rule. Just start with a promise to stop after five minutes if I’m not feeling it. Then four hours zips by!!
💯
100% correct. As a senior engineer, I can focus 3-4 hours at a time. Distractions, meetings, IMs only delay me.
then juniors say they're slower because they can't message me all the time lmao. They don't realise they're slowing me down to a halt.
The thing that really helps me (and probably won't work in all companies) is to have two projects going on at all times. That way when I have a blocker or get stuck on a tricky problem, I stop working on that project and switch to the other. This alternation allows me to never block the flow state of programming. I've done 7+ hours of coding this way. My manager was terrified of this at first, but now will always let me pick two or three features to work through at a time. I find that by the time I come back to the other project, my subconscious will have been working on the problem in the background and I'll be able to start again. Of course, if the thing blocking me was a person, that becomes harder
I do agree with this. When I was studying for CFA (finance) I read the textbooks cover to cover. The longer I read the more bored I get but at the same time my reading comprehension and analytical skills increased by a large margin. And so by the time I read more than 2 hours. I stop feeling bored. It’s similar to attending a college lecture. It’s doable the first hour. The second hour becomes super tedious. But once you past the second hour. You just don’t have to urge to play video games or wanting to get out. You just get into this bored zone and your brain just becomes a sponge that keeps on acquiring new into. Plus when you study or code on hard stuff, your brain feels like you just finished taking a super hard exam. So these two combined together, you become very productive. I only stop working/studying when I finish my task or get sleepy.
Hey, seeing that you probably got your CFA certification, are u learning coding to upskill in the same career line? If so, can U please tell me what exactly are u pursuing in coding?
This is exactly what I do. 3-4 hours, lunch, then another 3-4 later in the night. Helps me to sleep more as well
plenty of water & B12 too.
for best results, no checking your phone. Just wake up, move to desk, and begin programming
Will try this for a week and see if it works for me or not
@@adityaparab4314 did it work for you?
@@FallinIsCute this is working for me although I didn't work on Saturday or Sunday so I want to try it out for a month and see. I feel I have better efficiency at night than in morning.
same
same
Couldn't agree more I wake up at 4:30-5am to get at least 2hrs of work done before my daughter wakes up. During that time I only focus on all the important tasks I need to get done. So I can save the less important tasks for later when I'm distracted running around the house like a crazy person.
I'm a full time dad and this is my life. Ive been teaching myself to code and do so from 0445 until she wakes up and try to get an hour of coding to outline tomorrows tasks before I go to bed. I am finishing up on my portfolio piece this week!
Dad life. Represent.
I hope your portfolio is going well Tim, if it’s something you can share drop a link and we’ll check it out.
Great advice! I have kids as well. I am going to try this.
@@lvrsvid Full-time mom here! The struggle is real!
I hope all of you achieve everything you set out to do! Learning to code is hard enough in itself. Juggling that with raising a kid and all that comes with it nothing but impressive
25/5 wasn't working for me, but I found that 120/15 is great! So, I guess it depends. The problem with doing 4hrs straight is you get no break from a hard problem. When I leave a hard problem and come back, I usually have new solutions.
💯
50/10 for me
Totally agreed. My typical work day is like 3 hours of work, 20 mins of lunch break and another 4-5 hours of work. If I take more than 30 mins for lunch break, I find it really hard to get back in the zone.
Working for 4 hours straight is definitely a goal right now. You're definitely right about the friction not being the work itself but the idea of the work. It's the activation energy to get the process started. The funny thing is, once you've finished a long session like that, you feel great. It's just getting started that is the hard part for me.
That's how I rolled for years, I would just get in the flow and work for hours with no breaks, but at the end of the day I would get a tension headache. In my case I prefer breaks just to avoid the headaches. I can get back in the flow state quite fast if my tasks are broken down in an intelligent way so they are not that hard, or that easy to accomplish. I sometimes use pomodoro, or just go by feel, but I do get at least one break in a two hour period and do the absolute best I can while not taking a break.
Could be a sign of ergonomic or vision problems. Maybe some adjustments to your work space may help.
Those problems can build over time and cripple productivity when you get older.
@@peterbelanger4094 according to multiple doctors my vision is perfectly healthy. Might be ergonomics.
Definitely the video I needed. I get stuck on a leet code problem for 20 mins, I take a 40 mins break
I used basically this same idea when I was studying full time. Left my phone in the other room, headphones on with some kind of binaural or lo-fi beats with no lyrics, The lecture video on one screen, a notes document on the other and just worked from about 8am-12pm. This was easily my highest productivity period, and I'm frustrated that I can't do the same in my job due the structure of the company. WFH is such a blessing when it comes to eliminating a lot of distractions and getting your tasks done.
i agree that the normal 25/5 pomodoro doesn’t really work, but doing 45/15 or 50/10 helps and also it can be used to just get started. if i’m tired and could use a break, i’ll take a break. if i’m in the zone, i just won’t.
it also depends on the nature of the work. for me if it's writing a college paper, working in large chunks of time works better because it doesn't interrupt my train of thought and results in a continuous flow in my writing. however if the task before me is cleaning, which is made up many smaller tasks, then breaking it up every 45-50 minutes with frequent rest periods is much more efficient
I agree, for me getting started is the hard bit but once I’m going il work until I feel like I can’t anymore (normally around 2h) then get up take a break.
Timeblocking with arbitrary breaks, such as pomodoro, is just useless for anything except giving people *some* structure (and perhaps an actively detrimental one, even).
But people want to do the right thing, the fancy thing etc. Etc.
Yeah, I do 50/10, and if I'm really in a flow I postpone.
Then in the break, I do nothing but think.
I agree. I do the exact same thing, sometimes I even just use the pomodoro timer to keep track of how long I've been working
I got distracted by a message from my friend, then two replies on two of my youtube comment. So, I am watching it again or am I? Sike! I am commenting.
I am a dev and I use the pomodoro technique a lot! I guess what makes it work for me is that I take lots of notes during my sessions about what it is that I'm working on. This capturing of context allows me to easily jump back into it after the break.
Yeah I make what I call a "dev notes" text file where current tasks, app desc, features, etc are tracked -- so no matter what I always remember where I was.
so interesting to hear how a person works 4 hours without taking a break. Great 9-5 tip now my boss will be super impressed
For me personally, I've never had trouble working on something that I really want to finish for hours and hours. Whether that be projects I had in college or work that need to be done soon or just personal projects I really enjoy. But where that breaks down is that I've never been good at making myself do projects that I don't really care about. That's when I start procrastinating and looking for reasons to not be working on it. As I've gotten older I've gotten more disciplined about just sitting down and doing things I don't like doing, but it's never easy.
5:00 - this is something you realize very quickly when you start working out. You LOATHE the idea of going - putting on your clothes, driving, parking, blah blah blah. You visualize every aspect of it like a big dark cloud occupying your thoughts, and then the lightning starts - ⚡I'VE HAD A LONG DAY⚡I DIDN'T GET A GOOD SLEEP⚡I STILL NEED TO MAKE DINNER⚡I'LL JUST HIT IT EXTRA HARD TOMMOROW⚡
Then you go anyways. And you love it. It feels great. You're glad you went. You're in no rush to leave. You feel accomplished.
2x 2-3 hours blocks are what I like to work with, inserting a food + walk break in between. I get a little antsy and hungry usually around the 3 hour mark. This is all on point though. Great video man. Subscribed!
Exactly why I moved from pomodoro, to focus sessions. I take a break when I want to. Never ruins the flow.
When I was 18 I was living with my parents and they would not let me get the internet, and I didn't have a cell phone, but I could take a USB stick to the public library, and friends to get stuff I want, applications, documents etc.
I was self taught. And I absolutely loved it, once over the majority of the learning curve, my imagination was my limits.
And I would eat.. breathe.. sleep.. coding!
I've even had problems I'm absolutely stuck on for hours, and I would solve the problem in my sleep, waking up with the solution!
4 hours HA what about 12 or more Consecutive!
When you're starting out, sure. If you're codinga little and researching a lot, sure. It's easy because it's not as mentally taxing. But once you start facing difficult problems, you can't code efficiently for 12 hours. And my take isn't uncommon. Most professional devs that I know, and those that commented on my video "How Long I Code a Day", average 3-4 hours of efficient coding per day. Some days they can grind out 8+, but then their brain is melted lol.
Everyone in the 80's was self taught.
@@fknight Excellent comment. I am in my 2nd year as a dev and I'm hitting a productivity wall because I expect myself to be able to put in thos 12+hr days that I was doing when I first started. Now that the problems are getting more complex, I'm finding it harder to stay focused for long periods.
"Don't worry about all that. Just get in the flow state, having understanding about what you have to do. And roll."
Definitely find this approach to allow me to get more done. As someone with ADHD it’s impossible for me to get any work done with constant context switching. I usually throw on my airpods, turn on noise cancellation and get to work.
As someone with same conditions, I can understand the situation. Can u tell me how u deal with constant switching. And with airpod thing, do u mean u turn on music?
For me I just try to eliminate as much distractions as possible. My ADHD enhances sound for me, so I’m constantly listening to the background even if I’m not focused on it. Noise cancellation helps a lot with that aspect. However, I don’t listen to music because it disrupts my train of thought.
interesting. got a severe ADHD as well, but coding seems to be the one thing where I actually take an insane profit from it... I let the constant context switching just happen but try to limit it on coding related stuff. doesn't have to be related to the thing I'm trying to solve, can be an awesome new framework I wanna fiddle around with, customizing my ide or whatever. I then almost always start connecting it in the weirdest ways to what I'm supposed to do and switch back to that - just to try out some crazy ideas.
this way i'm basically able to focus on coding for 16h straight without any distractions. it does take longer to get the work done in the beginning, but after a while you see the problems and solutions instantly because you learn to connect everything to everything. not sure if this works for you as well, but might be worth a shot
@@williemazehaze Omg, I’m quite literally the same
Found out I've had adhd since childhood... a couple months ago. How do you deal with emotional blocks? I get a pain in my gut whenever I'm about to do something i care about. I took a third shift security job to make it easier to get started.
Do you use body doubling to get started? Did you need meds in order to get a software developer job? I have a ton of questions when it comes to adhd and programming.
OMG, I can't believe I just saw this video. I thought I was lonely with these methods for so many years. Every time I see someone with three or four screens, I can't understand how they can be productive when eventually you can only focus on one screen at a time. Second, the sun part is fantastic; I literally take breaks during the day just to go out of the office to be in the sun for a few minutes every now and then.
Beautiful video! Totally worked for me for years, and for the same reasons.
Thank you!
Subscribing, wanna see more content from you bro.
So I just saw this video again (I love it that much), and I want to comment about the "Plan a day before". THIS. IS. THE. KEY. SECRET. TO. PRODUCTIVITY. I can't stress this enough. To say that it's helpful is a colossal understatement. The amount of control it gives you over your time allows you to optimize your focus and be productive in a very personalized way, so morning or evening people can adjust accordingly. It will work the same regardless of your type/hour of the day. I usually do this around midnight/1am to catch all of the recent last-minute changes in tomorrow's schedule and to make my own last-minute optimizations (e.g., WFH or Office this day, what content will I focus on based on the itinerary of tomorrow, etc., which allows fine-tuning even when you work in big teams or over big projects and many participants to keep your productivity level and focus in a dynamic environment altogether).
This is such a great idea! Since I started working as a professional software engineer I work 4 hours straight on coding. If it helps one think that was really helpful to me to concentrate was the competitive programming competitions, after being there 3 or 4 times sat down focusing on a set of problems you start to find easier to concentrate for 4 or even more hours in coding. The other think that helped me a lot is to have a computer exclusive for coding, no Facebook, no Instagram, no slack, no reddit. Just my coding tools and something for music.
Thanks for the video, Forrest! Keep doing this great contet!
I totally agree. I lose train of thought when I take breaks base on time. It makes more sense to take breaks after a completed task. Hence why I break my work into chunks of tasks, not chunks of time.
Out of all your splendid videos I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying over the years, this one is your finest 👌🏻 Love this. Someone needed to state this perspective
you had me (my like) at that particular pinging pomodoro timer lol and then I stayed for the rest of the content
Great tips, and I can totally relate to the "oh I just had a break, guess I'll spend the next 15 minutes just getting back to where I left off" problem. I love getting so immersed in my work that I lose my sense of time (which I guess from a different angle might be a negative) because I _swear_ I'm the most productive when my entire brain is just occupied with the single task in front of me, rather than those disruptive thoughts like "oh man, I'm still waiting for that email to come, better keep an eye on my notifications". It reminds me a bit of the "just one more turn" phenomenon from games like Civilization; the game has so many different concepts that you fill your brain with that you just don't have an opportunity to get distracted.
I create algorithms in the morning before lunch. After lunch is code testing. If I need to be creative I do it away from the PC , no point being in front of the PC when need to create something complex.
I just watched your video and I'm really intrigued by your approach to productivity. Your method of coding for four hours straight without breaks is definitely a unique perspective, and I appreciate you sharing your insights. Here are some thoughts I have:
- I totally agree with you about the traditional Pomodoro Technique not being the most effective for coding tasks. It's refreshing to hear a different approach that's tailored specifically for this kind of work.
- Planning tasks ahead of time is such a crucial step, and I appreciate the reminder to schedule the most important ones during my optimal time frame. That's something I'm definitely going to implement in my workflow.
- Your emphasis on eliminating distractions is spot on. It's amazing how much more focused and productive you can be when you're not constantly bombarded by notifications and distractions. I'm going to start turning off my phone and using just one monitor like you suggested.
- Taking care of our mental and physical health is something we often overlook when trying to boost productivity. Your reminder about staying hydrated, taking vitamins, and getting some outdoor exercise is a great wake-up call. It's so important to have a healthy mind and body to perform at our best.
- I've found that using techniques like the Eisenhower Matrix for task prioritization can be incredibly helpful. It helps me focus on the tasks that truly matter and delegate or eliminate the less important ones.
- Another technique I've found effective is time blocking. Allocating specific blocks of time for different tasks or activities can help maintain focus and prevent multitasking, which can often lead to decreased productivity.
- Mindfulness and meditation exercises can also play a significant role in maintaining focus and reducing stress levels. Taking a few minutes to center oneself before diving into a coding session can make a world of difference.
Overall, I'm really excited to give this method a try and see how it works for me. Thanks for sharing your insights and providing such detailed tips. Looking forward to more content like this from you!
why does it read like chatGPT response? does anyone feel the same?
@@kodbooth yup
great video. reminds me of paul graham's essay "maker's schedule, manager's schedule". speaks exactly about this
As a senior, I don't think you have to stay focused all the time. Sometimes it's not efficient. Instead, I do short breaks or even go to shopping mall by walk. The point is to keep thinking to make sure that what you are going to do is perfectly matching the requirement, and it is the shortest way, the most efficient way that you can do by yourself. Coding is not like running that you need to focus to get the destination.
I myself developed my product in 3 years. Sometimes I spent 12-15 hours in a day for coding. If you have this ability to code without breaks, it is very fantastic to code your own products since you know what you are going to do and can decide it immediately. However, it's not good for your health in the long term.
One day, you will get burn out that needs few weeks off to recover.
Homie focus for 4 hours and I couldn't even focus for 9 minutes over 4 days to watch this video. Great video as always
Then coding is not for you
I usually do 3-5 hours coding sessions and I do them after 1am, yeah, after 1 am is when I focus the most because everybody is sleeping and nobody will bother or distract you. After my coding session I do some gaming as positive reinforcement and FOR ME it works perfectlly.
So you are going to sleep between 5-7 am? Assuming you game for one hour.
And when you probably sleep 5-8 hours. So you wake up at lunch or even later? I would say that is not very practical for nearly every usual office hours.
@@TheMordano I'm on college and now (in Spain) I'm on holidays and I prefer this schedule.
I’m sorry but I am unable to see this approach of going to bed and waking up late as disciplined. Discipline brings the best results, and it starts with going to bed and waking up *early*. That’s because the early morning has 2 benefits: no distractions and your mind and body are fresh because you just woke up.
@@thosebeyondgod I've got diagnosed insomnia men, I'm unable to fall asleep in less than 4 hours if I'm not extremely tired
This is exactly what I need. I am bombarded that I should take breaks when I get tired. Thus, I did. But now, it delays and puts me out of focus, or even made me procrastinate to go back to the desk
and yesss, damn. Computerr the main source of distractions itself.
I understand your view about the pomodoro approach. But I think you’ve got this view because you’ve trained yourself to be able to focus to up to 4 hours at a time. Some aren’t able to do that yet. So, the pomodoro technique help them to start focusing 25 minutes at a time, then maybe 1 hour and gradually until they get to your level and set the pomodoro to 4 hours at a go.
The other nice thing about the Pomodoro technique is that your brain goes into diffuse mode on your break. Sometimes that's when you end up coming up with the solutions to many problems. Same reason why a lot of us get a lot of ideas and solutions when showering, or going for a walk/run/bike ride.
Idk I just don't see much use of short pomodoro bursts. It takes me like an hour to even get into the zone, and if I do like 50:10 chunks, im just losing too much time.
@@bushlite333 yup during my degree i loved to hear "i've been cracking away at this problem for 4 hours straight", when realistically they probably hit a roadbloack early on and then beat their head against a wall for 4 hours, when they could've solved it easier had they stepped away and let your brain handle to thinking for a bit. Just because you're sitting in a chair for 4 hours looking at an IDE doesn't mean you're working efficiently
Because you stopped thinking about the code during the 5 minute break. I still keep coding in my mind while getting that coffee, taking that walk, or do some stretching.
I was watching so much videos recommending this pomodoro technique, and am thinking, ok, but it kinda breaks my flow, and it doesn't really work when I'm in flow. Everything you said 100% correct, couldn't agree more.
Maybe in studying/learning coding could be applied though.
Going back to a single monitor for work was the best move I’ve ever made. I’ve ditched my triple monitor set up entirely for work, that’s just for fun now.
how do you convince the organization you work for to let you do that, though?. i usually manage to do this in the first year or two of a job but after a while the number of people who need your input grows and you are lucky to get full hour blocks of focus
Yeah, let's try this. Dropping this comment to mark the start.
Thanks for the beautiful explanation tho, loved it😍😍
Stay focus,
1. break your problem,
2. solve easy problem to make progress
3. find alternative way if stuck
4. Sleep your phone, and focus to code in your desktop
5. Avoid to make more tabs in your browser, if you done, close it and if you need to read again just bookmark
6. Listen to music is okay, but if you need more focus stop your music
7. Make milestone
8. Take rest, if your task is complete or you get stuck and didn't find a way to solve.
Forrest’s 4-hour focus phase! Sounds like Tim Ferris’s book if he was a programmer.
Haha I'm glad I've been doing it right all along the way. Those pomodoro hipsters almost made me doubt 😂
My best phase is actually at night between 8-12pm. Employers will never know what they could have gotten if they just let me work this late 😂😂😂
To be honest, my main issue to focus is when I find a solution for a persistent problem. I get so excited that I need to control myself not to get up and mentally go somewhere else.
Being focus on these moments are hard
00:09: Yeaah: How, and Why?!
You should really write a book with the title of "4 hours ultra focus work", must be amazing 👏
Do you have any advice to stay motivated to work for that long when you've hit a complete roadblock in your code? ive run into an error and no matter what I do or who I ask I just can't find a way around it and it leaves me unable to move on
IMO, When you are stuck in an issue, the most productive thing to do is to take a small break (or if you are working in multiple projects, switch to a different project if possible). Close all the IDEs and stuff and start fresh after the break. This method has helped me countless times.
@@thisurathenuka8362 that, or try and find a mentor or senior at work.
I try for super early, first thing after I wake up. Then again late at night after everyone's gone to bed. Great video!
Jeez, you've got to question a generation that need a video to tell them how to focus on something for just 4 hours as though that's unusual or an achievement.
Yeah! Lets make everything a generational problem! Cmon dude. It’s literally working on a computer. You can’t wrap your brain around why it’s distracting?
@@pyrrhici Everything isn't a generational problem. This is. Right down to you saying "literally" and suggesting the idea your defect means my brain is flawed. You don't get distracted what you have is an inability to focus on anything because of notifications, youtube shorts etc etc etc. To this generation everything else is the distraction - including even the ability to sit doing nothing. Try it on a few and see how twitchy they get needing to check their phones etc.
This might help me SO much! I'm currently writing my master's thesis in mechanical engineering, but in the field of programming/simulation/computer-based stuff. So I need to learn a whole new language all by myself, all while trying to maintain some form of schedule, and why I always tried to "get in the mood" or "get motivated", I actually never thought about planning my work the day before and just try to sit down during this planned time, even though that makes so much sense! Up until this week, where I'm giving this method a shot (and already see the benefits for me), I always felt like grinding, but distracting myself from that grind because it's so exhausting.
The key takeaway for me was planning the next day's schedule in advance. I'm motivated to get up and start working in the morning because my goal has already been set and my mind is focusing on it.
Setting the slack status of 'head down, responses will be minimal' helps a ton
"Don't let perfection be the enemy of progress".
This is profound. I'm gonna casually throw this around if they find bugs in my code. 😂
I am glad that you've found your own path. Time Theory is hard. I've already searched and went through too much to really focus on the subject. I guess now I'll be myself. Because that's the easiest thing to do at the moment. Wait till the front head develops and skill learns. Thanks for the critique and review. Have a good life.
I guess the emotional summary is: stop fighting the self, work with the self.
Agreed!
I'm a smoker, a bad habit and I acknowledge it. However, I've got some trainee job during this summer and what I've realized that what worked for school: 90 : 30 spread, just did not do it for me for work.
I realized fast that over some set interval, I'm most productive by doing a three phase work day.
Start by having 30 - 60 mins for reviewing the yesterday's plan for what you wish to accomplish today and daily scrum meeting (no more than 10 mins for that) - I'll return to the plan shortly.
Take a break for 15 - 60 mins, depending on what you need to do aside work in the morning.
Sit down and let your focus take you along the next 3-7 hours, maybe have a lunch break or another break in between. Just dim all the messengers, email, and so on...Be sure to have a system for these to do the talking during the morning or evening phases.
Personally, I'm accustomed to a three monitor setup set like this:
- Middle screen for active work
- Right side to preview and research
- Left side for whatever movie, music, anything to help me ignore the outside world while I'm focusing
End the day by using 30 - 60 mins to plan for the next day. This isn't just the plan, but time for things like letting your team know what challenges you met during the day (base for tomorrows morning scrum meeting), going through the goals you set for yourself for the day, planning the next day ahead...Just don't overdo this, just do a general overview and plan.
Yes, this is only possible as I'm not bound to certain hours aside the morning scrum meeting, which fits well being right after our kids have left for the school...And that does bring me to the reality and when this kind of model for thinking and working can truly shine: If you're bound to certain hours by the company, you won't have the freedom to let yourself to choose the hours that work the best for you and let you make yourself the most productive. However, if you have the freedom, try it out, ForrestKnight has covered the opportunities well in this video and I'm backing him up here. There is only one thing I wish to add here: Never forget your family and their needs. This path can become a rabbit hole if you're not careful.
I can only agree with what you shared and it works for me, too.
My most productive time is in the morning, usually between 8 and 12 and if I’m in the flow I go longer, but don’t need to force myself.
Another thing that works well for me if I’m not motivated is to start with small tasks to get a quick success experience and then go off of that into a bigger task.
I only take brakes if I move from one task to another or when I lose focus.
Oh yeah, and noise cancelling headphones without music are great, too. You want as little distraction as possible to get into a flow state and then time is gonna fly.
Also, if I get stuck I like to discuss my situation with a colleague to get some fresh ideas. At least where I work it’s encouraged to take some time to get a second opinion instead of wasting more time being stuck.
I have no issues focusing when it's work I love - which is most programming, in all honesty. I can easily forget about and skip lunch on days where I"m working on something that is engaging my brain in creative ways.
When I get stuck on a problem, it's on my mind all the time, I don't set a timer or something, I just code till I want to, and roadblocks just make me want to keep coding.
I kid you not, I sometimes get dreams about what I can do to solve the problem, and when I wake up, it works!
This is exactly what I do when I want to actually get work done (except in the afternoon) and it works wonders
Coding for four hours has never been an issue. I could sit down indefinitely and just go at it and truly never get exhausted.
The problem is other life responsibilities and actually getting to the chair and working on projects. Especially when coding is not what you do for your job.
What you said at the start of the video about breaking your focus is something I can't agree with more. You just manage to build up that mental image of everything in a coherent way and BAM! It all falls apart because you get up for a break, or the phone rings, or someone in your house wants something, or the dog goes crazy because the delivery guy is there. Or whatever. It's the single biggest hurdle to my productivity.
Agree with u, when we enjoy what we do, it will make us more happier when do it 🚀🚀
Don´t doubt, just start, no distractions neither multitask.
Thank you. You really helped me out when you said "plan your work" and "optimize your timeframe". Im a beginner in Python, tackling my first project making an A.I. that can help me in my daily life with reminds, planning, daily scheduling, home automotation, cooking, and making phone calls. I want to Spend less time bending my head, and arching my back while i type my comment under your youtube video.
Taking break at every 30 minutes is productivity for me, because 5 minutes of rest helps me to merge the past things in one, and it's really cool, i can look at the problem from the another side.
YES!!! Although, I have to say, I am not an early riser and my brain is not necessarily working the best in the morning HOWEVER neither is anyone else. So early morning is when nobody is calling me, emailing nor can I do any errands. When I get up early, my life goes so much easier. Plus, I have found going to bed early also keeps away all those friends who are having problems in their lives and need someone to talk to. That is my Achilles heel.
Right on the spot. I was trying this short break but always wondering that this is a useless system (for coding). So continue working for 2-3 hours and then taking a break is a much more productive system for me.
Lol, the first time I watched this video I thought it was not for me. Now that I code a little, I remembered it and looked it up. Gonna try this.
The one corollary to this is that when you're truly stuck, sometimes the best thing is to take a break. But if you're not at that point yet, then it's probably still better to just keep trucking.
One of the most critical aspects to focusing in addition to being hydrated and exercising is SLEEP! Being well rested is the foundation for being a rockstar at work :) I am totally worthless if I stay up too late
I love that comic about programmers getting distracted. And it was very relevant here, even though the comic was about other people distracting you, rather than taking breaks by your own choice. But it's just as applicable. This is also why I try to have entire days dedicated to programming only, and marking 1 or 2 days each week to do all the other little small tasks.
It takes a few hours just to metaphorically load the work/context/code into my head at the start of the day. The most productive part of the day is 3+ hours into working, once everything is loaded into my head... then I can actually get on to the "doing".
It reminds me of having to load games from cassette tapes back on the Commodore 64. You had to consider the "loading:playing" time ratio. If you're spending more time "loading" than "playing/working", then maybe it isn't even worth trying to do it in that moment, and you're better off doing some other smaller tasks that don't involve so much "loading" up front.
You need longer dedicated periods to get the more efficient ratio on deep work like programming. Especially on complex projects.
As someone who is juggling both programming + general ad-hoc IT work, this stuff is very apparent to me. A few phone calls and 30 minute jobs scattered through the week can basically destroy a week of concentrated programming.
This video connects so much. I just need 10 minutes to forget about reality and just work. But if I think about the idea of working then I usually procratinate. It works so well, for me atleast.
I just started programming in my first subject at college, and in my first project for the subject I figured out the things that you are talking in the video, I'm so related to the content. Now I understand one of the reasons I ended it on time and I got 20/20. Thank you for making me ralised that what I did is the key otogetting cothe de done.
I find this guy very funny and informative at the same time, lol. Thank you so much for this video.
I usually do this for 7 hour at my school right now. I just really really really enjoy it, so i can't take a break. Even my teacher make me take a break once in a while
I have procrastinated so much watching youtube videos that youtube itself suggested me this video lol. Will definitely give it a try and honestly I needed tips like this
Smart man. I get what you mean. When I start doing coding I just try finish as quickly as possible with Google search when I get stuck
I tend to think about the problems I'm facing during the breaks, sometimes they are fixed while I'm preparing my coffee or just walking around. But, YES, I agree that intensive breaks can be distracting sometimes.
@ 7:40 min into the video, “doctors are considered health professionals and half of them don’t know what the hell their talking about.” THIS IS SOOOO DAMN TRUE!!
Dude thank you for this. I’ve been doing this, I can NOT do the 20-25 minute thing. It does not help me at all. Props to those organized people that can but not me lol.
When I’m an hour in or so is when I feel like I’m doing the most learning and at my peak efficiency.
Actualy I use this method and it works really well. It is so good to just turn off everything and focus on just coding, but one counterpart that I feel is that when I finish doing my coding tasks, it seems I didn't do nothing, because it took me just a few hours, it just comes down to having that mental that it was enough actually. I really agree with everythinga that you said
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It takes me 4 hours just to wake up.
I don’t feel refreshed and eager when I wake up, but rather “Ugh, give me a minute.”
I've had to code over 12 hrs straight with no breaks for school. You kinda stop caring after a while and just keep pushing until you start to fall asleep.
Thanks bro. Needed to hear this. It’s the idea of doing it which is what’s stopping me.
What I've found really helpful was turning off my cellphone's wifi so I may not get distracted by notifications. I could put the cellphone on airplane mode but as I don't have any friends the only three people to call/text me would be my brother/mom/uncle which they do only if there's something important and not to be ignored.
Other that that I have a standing fan that I put on full speed and if I'm not hot I'd just face it other direction. The noise from the fan doesn't let the outside noise bother me when I'm in my room on my laptop.
👍👍
I had done an undergraduate research regarding these last year and indeed the flow state is the only thing you should catch here. 4hours can be too much to other people, for some it might be even short, and guess you're lucky enough to have this span of flow state for exactly 4hours. What my point is we all have these sort of unique brain strengths and that brain strengths determines the span of our flow state which is also affected by our environment and the condition of our health as well. The idea is not the hours, the time, nor the environment, nor the lifestyle we got.
It comes sometimes unexpectedly, but habitually doing so would lead you there. So instead don't stop if it doesn't work for you, don't stop if you reached more than 4hours already, just stop when you feel this is you already, if this is your preferred span where you're productive enough.
Finally, someone that points out that pomodoro is the enemy of flow state, why take a break right as you're about to enter flow state?
Taking a break isn't about increasing your productivity, it's about protecting your health
i think the key is just going with the flow of your work (code) and never bothering time or anything. and unconsciously you already working for hours, maybe 2,3,4 or more straight
the dual monitor distraction is soooooo true
Exercise before working is what helped me focus. I use to overthink specially before sitting at my desk to write my daily standup script and then start coding
Standups don't have to be drawn out but usually are. Also the end of the day is a challenge with everyone finding a time and agreeing to it. I really like to code for 4+ hour chunks. I just make sure to get up and walk around every hour to keep the blood flowing.
Love from Bangladesh bro!
This was what i needed dude amazing i also work in same way and normally if you are working on decent task it usually takes 2-4 hours and the break after that feels amazing.