Relaxing while coding

[joshmo]

Hey all...I was thinking about how different people relax when they are getting down with their coding. This thread is meant for sharing each others experiences while they are getting down with work. Perhaps you listen to music, dance, or even shout at yourself...I think other people would be glad to know how everyone handles their stress if i may say..Actually maybe some people even code nude :)...just saying...it suprised me in this movie where some painter used to do his work bare(and that is how he could only do it) anyways hope its an entertaining idea..

[Ancient Dragon]

if i may say..Actually maybe some people even code nude :)...just saying...it suprised me in this movie where some painter used to do his work bare(and that is how he could only do it) anyways hope its an entertaining idea..

No way -- not in a roomful of other coders!:icon_eek:

[joshmo]

No way -- not in a roomful of other coders!:icon_eek:

well maybe when your home alone or something...it doesnt have to be at work..i find it rather amusing though and dont know if anyone has tried it..well if there is someone who has then why not share the feel (if there is any).. :)

[scru]

I'd love to try it. Fits right into my "plans" for when I live alone...

[selfhelpebooks]

Peace and quiet around is best!
So, you can concentrate better.

[Infarction]

I usually have music playing, though sometimes just to provide background noise and a beat. If I'm trying to solve a problem, I'll usually pace, walk around the office or my apartment (my gf gets a kick out of it when I randomly get up, peruse the kitchen, and then scramble to the whiteboard with an inspiration). During my pacing, I'll often get sidetracked (I think I might have ADD) and end up forgetting my solution a good portion of the time. Then I pace back to a whiteboard or some paper and re-solve it.

[jwenting]

music helps a lot, but it highly depends on the music.
And that's highly personal... I know a lot of people who code best when listening to heavy metal, myself I can't stand that and work best listening to folk music or orchan cantatas.

As to coding nude, I can see how that could work. If you're relaxed when nude your brain works better when nude and so you should be able to code better that way.
In the office though I doubt it would go down well (a lot of people do take off their shoes).

Don't class getting sidetracked easily as having ADD, Infarction. ADD is just a shrink's way of giving a clinical name to a purely natural phenomenon called an active/creative brain.
Without one you can't code so it's quite normal and in fact beneficial.
But a normal situation doesn't make money for shrinks (and pharma companies of course) thus the attempt (highly successful) to make normal people think they have psychiatric problems, make them take expensive "counseling" sessions, and pump them full of tranquilizers.

The proof is easy: 20 years ago a kid sitting in front of the television all day was considered to not be active enough and need psychiatric help. We all got the story about watching television for more than an hour a day causing your eyes to go square...
These days any kid NOT sitting in front of the television all day but actually exploring its environment and playing independently is considered to have ADD and pumped full of drugs to keep it quiet and dumb down the brain enough that it actually likes sitcoms and soap operas.

[joshmo]

I usually have music playing, though sometimes just to provide background noise and a beat. If I'm trying to solve a problem, I'll usually pace, walk around the office or my apartment (my gf gets a kick out of it when I randomly get up, peruse the kitchen, and then scramble to the whiteboard with an inspiration). During my pacing, I'll often get sidetracked (I think I might have ADD) and end up forgetting my solution a good portion of the time. Then I pace back to a whiteboard or some paper and re-solve it.

that happens alot to me too...getting up to get some air or strech a little and you end up forgetting..maybe a scotch or whiskey could help out but that too also may get in the way some of the time

[Ravenous Wolf]

luckily i used to play chess so i can just sit still and concentrate. Although i must say that i, too, think better when i pace up and down.
I think it is better to sit when you work on code because then you can draw or write as the ideas occur to you.

As for dealing with stress, I can only think of deep breathing and relaxing the muscles of the midsection, hips and thighs. The muscles of the rest of the body tends to follow by themselves and when the muscles of the body relax the brain relax too. That is when I think best.

i cant see the whole nude coding thing. first of all it is too much effort taking of your close just to code. and then you remember to go get something from the shop? or someone knocks on the door? second it would be too cold. and honestly. Does it really make a difference?

[hammerhead]

I prefer to eat while coding. I usually have a pack of chips or peanuts with me. Often some juice or cold drink also helps.

[jwenting]

i cant see the whole nude coding thing. first of all it is too much effort taking of your close just to code. and then you remember to go get something from the shop? or someone knocks on the door? second it would be too cold. and honestly. Does it really make a difference?

That's assuming you have to take them off in the first place.
One of the benefits of working from home is that you don't have to get dressed up in the morning to look good in the office...
If someone knocks on the door, you can just throw on a bathrobe...
If it's too cold, turn up the heater or turn down the airconditioning, sheesh.
If you can't see the point, it's not for you. Just like dressing up in a monkey suit with a $100 tie isn't for everyone either (I know I hate it, however much I like the looks of that tie).

[nav33n]

Umm.. A cup of coffee and a cigarette :)

[Jishnu]

I'd sprinkle water on my eyes.

[Ezzaral]

Wander outside for a smoke or a walk around the building. As mentioned, the nude thing just wouldn't work in the office - and I don't touch code when I'm at home with the exception of a very rare occurrence of having to remote in or work from home.

[jwenting]

yah, but wouldn't it be nice...
Might never do it myself, but IMO the entire taboo against nudity is rather silly.
While clothes may be a necessity in cold and temperate climates to compensate for the lack of fur on the human body, that's largely because we're not used to being without clothes.
The taboo is rooted in religion, not any scientific reason.

[Ezzaral]

Well, that and the fact that there are a lot of people around we just don't want to think about seeing naked! :P

[Jishnu]

lol...

[jwenting]

Well, that and the fact that there are a lot of people around we just don't want to think about seeing naked! :P

There are people I don't want to see at all...
One of the pillars of nudism is respect for others, lack of jealousy. Sounds like a good idea.
Don't judge others by how they look, lest you be so judged yourself.

[Ene Uran]

Creative writing in the buff does work well, but coding may not. I guess it depends on the program you are working on.

[bumsfeld]

Coding on the typical French beach? "Unpossible"!

[JobMatchNow]

I like the music as a background, sometimes I lose track of what I do, when I hear someting I like.

[lio04]

I prefer listening to music, specially Joe Satriani (my God). :P

[joshmo]

Coding on the typical French beach? "Unpossible"!

coding at a beach?? hmmm..:-/

[jwenting]

Coding on the typical French beach? "Unpossible"!

hmm, one of those weathersealed laptops could work wonders...

[scru]

If they could handle my coding tools to begin with....

[joshmo]

If they could handle my coding tools to begin with....

What kind of coding tools

[scru]

Visual Studio (the hoggy new one), IIS, MySQL, and a chisel.

[ZZucker]

Watching and listening to the surf come in, is very inspiring to my creativity. Not quite sure how my notebook handles sand and salt.

[nav33n]

and a chisel.

chisel :-/ Why ?

[jwenting]

the only "coding tool" you need is VI, and maybe a commandline compiler.

Probably the most relaxed coding I've ever done was in a lounge chair at the poolside, sipping a cold drink with one hand while writing code in pencil on paper with the other.