

A Day without Programming - brettcvz
http://blog.filepicker.io/post/28141038384/a-day-without-programming

======
jes5199
Hm! I find that I have to fight to find time to program.

Something like 80% of my time is spent explaining existing systems, reading
bug reports, going to meetings, talking through API designs and database
modeling, answering email, etc.

I would love to take a day where I did nothing _but_ program.

~~~
brettcvz
Sounds like you work for a BigCorp

~~~
jes5199
I work for a successful startup. The previous startup I worked at was much the
same.

~~~
brettcvz
Huh - well my apologies for making an assumption. I suppose it depends on the
role/size of company

------
jhuckestein
I fully agree. If you're a bootstrapping technical founder I'd even suggest
going further and doing alternating code sprints and "other" sprints.

Last week I finally switched gears to marketing, design and biz-dev after
coding core functionality for three months and it was by far the most
productive week ever. I didn't touch code (other than a few bugfixes) all week
and started doing press work, coming up with a distribution strategy, hiring
interns etc. I should have done this much sooner and it's amazing. I'll try
doing the same thing the next two weeks, I doubt not coming out with a new
feature every few days is as bad as some of us engineers might think ;)

------
MIT_Hacker
I really liked this post for a couple of reasons.

First is that I know I sometimes lose sight of the end goal of a project when
I start coding for weeks on end. I'll get sucked into a bug or a feature that
I think is necessary and my vision for the future of the product becomes
clouded.

I also relate this to the design of a product. Without taking a day to step
back and try to examine your product from a different perspective, I don't
think you'll ever be able to properly analyze and iterate on anything you
create.

This all stems from my feelings that every engineer should also furiously work
to be a good designer as well.

------
doc4t
I generally use Friday for all business related task. No programming allowed
unless it's a critical bug.

I'd actually come to enjoy spending most of the day doing my finances,
answering emails, cleaning out the inbox etc. All in a relaxed manner - and
the weekend then takes of with a good conscience.

I highly recommend it.

------
fredsters_s
I do think this is a great idea, and I actually subscribe to it (although
definitely don't do it). I think the higher-order problem that you touch on is
that when we have a million things to do, we tend to de-prioritise those that
are outside our comfort zone, regardless of how much value they could add.

------
jsmcallister
Good post. One thing I like to do is take a bit of my time each week and sit
down with a person who has _never_ used my product. In fact, ideally they've
never even heard of it. Shut off the programming-mindset and just watch an
average person do their thing with your product. Some amazing insight there.

~~~
brettcvz
Neat idea - we were looking at doing <http://www.usertesting.com/> for helping
out with this

------
liyanchang
Totally agree. As valuable as engineering resources are, it's the little
things that make people love your product.

~~~
brettcvz
The point is, it's not just engineering resources that are valuable!

------
msrpotus
I've noticed that as well; it's frequently easier and more enjoyable to dig
into code (or, for that matter, read things here) than to do some of the
actual important work necessary for business.

------
lucian303
How about a day without work? Times two. Make it consecutive. Oh now you have
a "weekend." Keep trying and one day you'll shed the addiction.

------
nerdfiles
My only response is this: [http://www.themarysue.com/wp-
content/uploads/2012/01/tricord...](http://www.themarysue.com/wp-
content/uploads/2012/01/tricorder-spock.jpg)

Sorry. -- But we've been told to "learn teaching." Where else except in the
wild? User testing opportunities abound since we are developing social apps.

~~~
sukuriant
I don't think you responded to the right thread. And if you did, could you
please expound on what you said, because it doesn't look like you groked the
article

~~~
nerdfiles
Deserved. I was trying to reach, perhaps intuitive or anticipate what is
echoed in:

"One thing I like to do is take a bit of my time each week and sit down with a
person who has never used my product."

What does "a day without coding" entail? Can one actually go without coding?
Sure, it is one of _those_ philosophical questions. I am sure most developers
code under a social routine as well. Does a "day without coding" involve
changing that routine? Can one's mind compartmentalize one's projects so
dynamically? What happens when an impromptu conversation turns into a user
test?

But deserved. My thoughts were not quite so lucid for that post.

~~~
mattdeboard
losethos? Is that you man?

~~~
nerdfiles
Not so.

