I’m too tired to think of a title.
This article is exactly what it is like to be a programmer. It is hard to get this point across to anyone who isn’t, especially the management types. I also cannot even stress enough that this is why once I get into that programming zone–that time-warping type of programming–phone calls from people wondering if I’ve read their e-mail or having to go to a meeting that is 1-hour too long when my contribution would take minutes is soooo irritating. It takes me out of that zone that took forever to get into in the first place.
I can apply this to tasks beyond work and programming. Cleaning the house is a good example. It just takes me a bit to get into the mental state that I need to just Get Things Done. When I’m finally in it, I’m really focused on getting things clean and organized and if I’m interrupted, it will not get finished.
I’m a big believer in the 80/20 rule, which could be applied here saying 80% of your work is completed during 20% of your work day. So out of an 8 hour day, only about 1 1/2 hours are actually spent achieving useful work, of course this ratio may seem even higher for programmers since I know so much time is spent refactoring, test, customer communication, etc. which takes time and contributes to the off 20%. I like the guy who says he gets around this by only coming in to work for half the day.
Last Sunday’s Dilbert cartoon will pair with any management woes you may feel.
http://www.dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/archive/dilbert-20080217.html
I dig the concept of Fire and Motion as well.