

Ask HN: Do you meditate? Does it help you concentrate and improve your code? - VonGuard

Concentration is the key to coding, right? Does anyone out there meditate? Have you noticed a marked improvement in your ability to concentrate and to code since you began meditating? Any advice?
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dheavy
I do meditate and it does help me solve problem on a large scale, with some
perspective. But it's not magic, i.e. if I'm not in a calm room for long
hours, I just can't code properly or be more productive. I used to have
trouble sleeping (that's not really the case now) and I'd remain in bed doing
nothing, expecting (hoping) sleep would come. Then I started noticing my
breathing, and it became some sort of exercise. That was 7 years ago or so...
Now every night I go to bed and I do the same routine: notice and control
(more or less) my breathing, nothing else. I'm quickly engulfed by thousands
of thoughts and the trick is just maintaining the routine for as long as it
takes for them to calm down, observing them in a non-judgemental way, waiting.
It's a bit of a leap of faith, that part. I can hardly describe the sense of
clarity that strikes me after that... I actually believe this simple routine
helped me a lot in getting rid of a general anxiety I use to have when I was a
teenager, and find a better sleep (with richly symbolic dreams during the
night that proved to provide a lot of "subconscient" answers to day-to-day or
creative problems), among other things.

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mattm
Yes. It especially helps to get you back on track. You know those urges to
check email and Facebook, it has helped me to ignore those and remain focused
on my task until my Pomodoro time is up. It also helps with my own self
awareness. I feel I am much more aware of my body now than before. This helps
me to recognize when a break would help me solve a problem rather than pushing
on.

Another big benefit is just having time to relax. I don't know about other
developers but I always feel I have to be doing something. With smartphones
and high speed internet, there is always something I could be doing. But
boredom is a good thing. It helps your body and mind to heal. Meditation has
helped me to reduce my anxiety a lot and to just slow down and not feel so
pressured.

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onlyup
Since all the answers are yes in here, I might as well post since my answer is
"no". I don't meditate because

1) That time is better spent doing something else

2) It's boring

The only time I have trouble concentrating on code is the after lunch slump.

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joelmaat
I listen to brainwave entrainment tracks, even while I'm working, and from
past experience I can say it helps a lot. My mind is a lot clearer, and I can
code for great stretches of time without stalling out.

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lucidrains
Absolutely! As in anything in life, experiment! Give it a try for a week and
see how it changes you.

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macarthy12
For all those that say Yes, can you tell us how you started? Any resources?

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teapot7
A book called "Change Your Mind: A practical guide to Buddhist meditation" was
very good for me. It's written by an English Buddhist monk, but is singularly
free of any mystical or religious content.

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biscarch
Yes. Meditation helps me achieve flow and a more balanced state of mind.

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orangethirty
Yes, it helps, and I do it everyday.

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orionblastar
Yes meditation helps, but what helps even more is insight to meditation to
gain knowledge, wisdom, understanding, and experience.

