

Ask HN: What do you do to get into "work mode"? - blhack

For me, I'll turn my phone off, close my email, close the door on my office, and shut the lights off.<p>It's just me, some music (lately the Tron OST [the daft punk thing]), and a couple of VIM sessions.<p>The amount of quality work I've been able to get done in the last couple of weeks by employing this has been outstanding.<p>The next best thing is to stay really late, after everybody has left.<p>Something that I really struggle with at work is interruptions.  People don't realize it, but stopping in to just say hi is <i>very</i> distracting.  The threat of a manager stopping in to get a progress report on what I'm up to at that very moment can <i>also</i> be very distracting, which is why working after hours is so nice for me.  (The threat of somebody stopping in is gone).<p>Howabout you, HN, what are you productivity hacks?<p>(And yes, I realize that I'm being a complete prima donna with this.  The problem is that I've been given a couple of impossible deadlines in the last couple of weeks, and my boss has basically given me a "do whatever you need to to get it done" pass)
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sdfjkl
Music that puts your brain into flow[1] - I have a special playlist for that.
The Tron soundtrack fits well if you omit the parts of Jeff Bridges talking -
background talk is extremely distracting.

Exit email - I check it mornings, lunch and half an hour before stopping work.
Omit mornings if you're already motivated to get right into your actual work.

Get a quiet, distraction-free environment. If you don't have an office with a
door, claim a meeting room. Put a "don't disturb or I'll cut you" sign on the
door. Be prepared to cut invaders until they learn. Tell them to email you and
expect to wait half a day for a response. Tell your manager how important it
is not to be disturbed and get them on your side (assuming they want you to
get stuff done, that shouldn't be too hard), so they protect you from invaders
instead of being one. Working from home can work, if you don't have family or
other distractions around.

Staying late works, but your brain is probably not at it's best performance
near the end of a working day.

Keep a to-do list[2] and go over it once a day, prioritising important tasks
and breaking items that are too complex ("write LDAP authentication plugin")
down into simpler steps ("find python module for LDAP support", "figure out
our LDAp server's hostname", ...).

Take breaks. If you're stumped on something, go take a quick break (I make
myself a cup of tea), but keep the problem in mind and don't interact with
others during your break if possible. You will sometimes find that a great
solution comes to you without thinking about it (because the non-dominant part
of your brain will submit solutions).[3]

If you're really stumped, worked on another part of the problem and come back
later. You might come up with a good solution while sleeping on it or working
on the other part.

Phones are an evil relic of the past, when people thought they had a right to
intrude on other peoples time whenever they pleased. Turn it off. If you're
writing code for a living, only your boss and your SO should have your phone
number and they should damn well know to not use it unless there's a real
emergency that requires your immediate attention.

And last but not least: Make sure you're working on something you WANT to work
on. Otherwise you will procrastinate, no matter the consequences. If you are
working on something you don't give a shit about, or worse, you actively hate
your work, think about why and go fix it.

[1] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)>

[2] <http://culturedcode.com/things/> (Mac) or
<http://www.rememberthemilk.com/> (Web) are nice

[3] can't find this article: How the classic concept of brain hemispheres is
wrong, but we still have dominant and subordinate "halves" and how most
techies are logical dominated and the non-dominant "half" will only get a word
in if the dominant part shuts up for a moment (which is why you have good
ideas whilst going for a walk, taking a shower or making a cup of tea)

------
freshhawk
Funny, I've had the Tron OST on a loop at work for the last few weeks as well.
I definitely find that instrumental music is the way to go, especially if it
is upbeat or energetic.

Lately I also pull up my org-mode work journal file, create a new entry for
the day and find my next actions for the project i'm working on. Then I start
my 25 minute time-boxing timer, the only anti-procrastination thing that's
ever worked for me.

~~~
blhack
Time boxing timer?

~~~
Thieum22
<http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/>

------
veyron
Drive! I particularly enjoy the 78th street road through central park -- with
the top down and the hip hop on 12.

Driving is a great stress release (assuming you can control yourself) and acts
as a sort of forced context switch (so you have those few moments when you get
back, before being inundated with other tasks, when nothing and no one can
interrupt you)

My music, of course, is hilariously offensive hip hop and rap (the lyrics in
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK-BC27NdHs> are particularly NSFW but it gets
the juices flowing)

~~~
blhack
Driving is a good one. I still say that some of the most mentally productive
years of my life were when I had a 45 minute each-way commute in a jeep with
no CD player.

The things I came up with during those drives were awesome :).

------
ben1040
_The next best thing is to stay really late, after everybody has left._

I don't have an office to hide in, so when I'm on a deadline at work, I'll
just come in late and leave really late. I get a ton more done when I'm there
alone and nobody else is around to corner me.

For side projects, I'll go to the library. For centuries the library has come
with the expectation that it's the place where you go to be serious. It works.

~~~
blhack
Sadly, I'm not allowed to come in late. Staying late means that I'm eating
into my own personal time.

<offtopic />

There was an article a while ago talking about how geeks never negotiate to be
payed properly. Most of them will just shut up as soon as they're making
enough to pay their bills on time. As long as they're not worried about being
evicted from their house, or having their car repo'd, they're fine.

I think this is because a lot of geeks have a genuine interest in their jobs.
To me, writing good code, or shipping good products is a pride issue. I'm not
_really_ doing it because I'm making money, I'm doing it because I enjoy it.

I mean...when I go home, I read about coding, I write code, I write _about_
coding, I think about coding etc. I love it.

So staying late, while it can be annoying, isn't really so bad. I'm doing the
same thing at work that I would be at home, and my computer at work is a whole
lot nicer than my computer at home.

------
vbrenny
I use to put my headphones and have some instrumental music playing, mid-loud.
Preferably some fast (but not aggressive) tunes - it feels like my brain is
'overclocked'. I don't like lyrics because I always end up paying attention to
it. Helps me getting focused, avoid distractions (by signaling to people that
you're busy and concentrated AND not letting you hear external noises) and
gets me an 'isolated from the world' sensation.

~~~
blhack
I tried the headphones thing for a long time, but it would usually result in
people just coming over and knocking on my desk until I looked at them.

They'd then give a little polite smile and a "Hey, huh, are you busy? Whatcha
doin?"

I feel like a jerk literally shutting the lights off (so they think I'm not
here), but it does seem to be working (things are getting done, I mean).

~~~
vbrenny
Well.. the whole ideia is to give out the message of 'I'm busy'. I have
coworkers that use _unplugged_ headphones, just to get the message delivered.
Of course, it works only if other people understand this signal.

You can try to use some form of humor to disguise it.. try a little warning
sign with something like 'DO NOT DISTURB: Genius doing science'. People will,
at least, stop at the sign to take a closer look and you will be aware that
they are coming, not scaring you.

------
azsromej
I'm self-employed and make it a point to sit down and start working at the
same time each day, just as if I had a normal job. That's not always enough.
If I find myself reluctant to start a task I pick something easier, maybe even
fun, and start with that instead. That usually pulls me in and gets me
rolling.

The Tron soundtrack has worked well for me too as far as music. I was tired of
it but then discovered the two-disc version and extras (15 extra tracks)

------
gohat
I have a routine that keeps me productive. Basically, I get to work the same
time most days, even drinking coffee at the same time and such, as well as
taking breaks at the same time.

It's a little repetitive but it works great to keep me productive as I'm self-
employed.

~~~
vbrenny
I worked for some time as self-employed.. The hardest part was to maintain
discipline. And I've got to the same conclusion: routine. What makes your life
seem boring when you're an employee, is what keeps you from procrastinating
all day when you are self-employed.

------
ulisesroche
The best trick I know is one I stole from Ernest Hemingway, that is to always
stop working when you're doing good, and don't think or worry about your work
until you start again the next day.

------
AnthonBerg
Get out of the house.

Work in new places. This library, a cafe, that library.

Exercise.

Meditate.

------
sjayman
Turn off Hacker News, and other news. Also your browser if you really don't
need it for work

