A quick little post today on my routine that I go through when I’m stuck. Let’s say that I’m programming and I’m hitting a wall, maybe I’m getting frustrated that I can’t figure something out, and I feel like I’m spinning my wheels. Despite being a supreme genius of the universe, this happens to me all the time. Now I have a little routine that I go through systematically, and eighty percent of the time or so it gets me moving again.
The first thing I do is I clean up my desk. I hate to admit that I’m influenced by such trivial things as desk clutter, but a nice empty clean desk has a real calming effect on the mind. Sometimes I even wipe it down with soap and water so that it’s really clean. This sounds a little bit crazy, but I’ve noticed a consistent improvement in motivation when I do it. I also clean anything in front of me. In the RV, that’s the two front seats and whatever’s on the kitchen counter beside me.
Next I drink about sixteen ounces of water, even if I’m not thirsty. Left to my own devices, I drink very little water unless I’m at a restaurant, so I use frustration as a cue that I might need more water. Sometimes I have tea cold-brewing in the fridge, and I might drink that instead. Being even moderately dehydrated brings on feeling of fatigue, which can be confused with (or a part of) not being able to concentrate. Drinking water doesn’t always have an effect, but sometimes it wakes me right up.
After cleaning and drinking some water, I play my violin. You can substitute anything left-brained here, like sketching or playing piano. I have theories about why this helps– maybe it spins up the left brain and starts using it to tackle the problem at hand, maybe it gives the right brain a break to recharge its chemicals, or maybe it’s all placebo. Regardless, I find that a good portion of the time after I play some music, I’ll think of a totally different solution to the problem that I hadn’t even considered before.
The last step I take before getting back to work is turning off my monitor and spending just a minute or two thinking about the problem. When the computer is on, I have a tendency to just start mashing at the keys trying to solve the problem, but if it’s off for even a couple minutes that gives my brain a chance to wrap itself around the problem.
This may sound like an unnecessarily complex ritual to go through, but it actually only takes 5-10 minutes, which is a nice little break to take every few hours anyway. You may be able to find a better process for yourself (leave it in the comments), but if you don’t have one, try this is as starting point next time you find yourself at an impasse.
###
Japan meetup is TODAY (Saturday Japan time). Looks like it’s going to rain, so we’ll probably be meeting up at the cafe. Link is here: http://tynan.com/community/tokyo-meetup
Photo was taken by Brian… we climbed up the wall of Osaka Castle.
Leave a Reply