
Ask HN: Do developers also have a block? - gauMah
Writers have Writer block or Artist have artist block ,so in the same way, do developers also have something like code block?<p>If you had one, what were the ways you used for dealing with it?
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tedmiston
Yeah, definitely. Somewhat unintuitively what often helps me is stepping away
from the computer. Taking a long break to think without typing, pondering in
the shower, or sleeping on it for example.

~~~
_niom_
Totally agree. Best way to come over the block is to do something completely
different. Give the problem to your unconscious mind and let it do the magic.

Have a long walk, run, shower, sleeping. Read a good book. Do what ever it
takes to get your mind out of the code.

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aprdm
Certainly. Doesn't happen that often to me anymore to be fair but what usually
helps when it happens is going for a walk, leaving work at 6pm and going to
the gym, having a good dinner etc. Basically anything that is not work
related.

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WhitneyLand
I assume you mean ideas of what to work on rather than blocked on a particular
problem.

It's hard to this generalize to everyone, but for myself no, never. Actually
the opposite. It flows like water and I have many more ideas that I can pursue
at once.

I don't start coding them all, rather I'll conduct layers of due dilligence
and market research continually trying to separate what's promising from
what's a rabbit hole.

I have a whole process to try and make what I work on efficient and good
risk/reward. When I was younger I'd just get interested in something and
start. No more.

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rcavezza
Some of the best writers I know think that writer's block is a myth.

Their theory is that if you are experiencing "writer's block", it means you
need more ammunition. You need to do more research or thinking on the specific
subject you're trying to write about.

~~~
Nadya
But that's exactly what writer's block is! A lack of "ammunition" or
motivation to write. It can't "not exist" but still "have a fix."

For programming I often come up with inelegant solutions to complex problems.
Being unable to think of a more elegant solution is something I could see
being referred to as "programmer's block" (I call it "inexperienced").

Sometimes, days or weeks later, I think of an elegant solution to the problem
and go back and rewrite the code. Something so blatantly obviously the only
way I could have missed it before was due to "programmer's block".

Some days I just don't feel like writing code. I could also see that being
referred to as "programmer's block." Especially when it lasts for weeks at a
time.

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segmondy
Nope, anyone with a block is just someone who hasn't learned how to work.
There's two reason for not doing the work.

1\. You don't know what you need to. 2\. You know what you need to do but are
lazy and unmotivated.

Neither is a block.

