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How do you cope with programmer's fatigue?

Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 7:37 am
by LonelyProgrammer
I tried to remain calm, I swear. But everything conspires against me. A forgotten include here, a wrong return value there and waiting agonizingly for the log file to be written. Testing this puppy is a multi-step nightmare. You have to include a couple of dummy records (automated of course), execute the PayPal Mass Payment API and keep checking the log file. And because it's a remote execution of a PHP file, you don't see the error messages. Still, I fixed one bugs after another. Then the deed is done.

Even though it takes only about 2 hours, I feel exhausted. I don't even want to look at another line of code ever again (at least for the time being). I have just graduated and shuddered. If testing drains so much out of me for a freelance job, how would I ever cope with a 8 to 5 desk job coding away?

Oh experienced gurus, this grasshopper here seeks advice.

Re: How do you cope with programmer's fatigue?

Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 7:47 am
by mintedjo
Like the rest of us - coffee.
Check out http://www.thinkgeek.com/caffeine/ for interesting ways to get your daily overdose of caffeine.

Re: How do you cope with programmer's fatigue?

Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 7:48 am
by papa
Fresh air, red bull, music, coffee, a cig... :)

Re: How do you cope with programmer's fatigue?

Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 9:36 am
by jaoudestudios
More coding :D and coffee :wink:

Re: How do you cope with programmer's fatigue?

Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 9:38 am
by onion2k
Fresh air, plenty of water, and regular breaks from the computer.

Re: How do you cope with programmer's fatigue?

Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 10:08 am
by josh
Um I was in the same boat for 4 years, then I started doing TDD. Real programmers write programs that help them program, write tests that do your debugging for you
http://www.simpletest.org/en/start-testing.html

Oh and also Mt Dew

Re: How do you cope with programmer's fatigue?

Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 11:48 am
by daedalus__
Video games do the same thing to me. Music, code, and work don't though? I just stop playing.

Re: How do you cope with programmer's fatigue?

Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 11:52 am
by josh
Stop? I know of no such concept.

Re: How do you cope with programmer's fatigue?

Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 11:53 am
by daedalus__
Hahaha. They bore me super fast. I'd rather work.

Re: How do you cope with programmer's fatigue?

Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 1:31 pm
by josh
Haha I thought you meant stop coding, gotchya, yeah I used to be a video game junkie, now I find it more entertaining to study the algorithms that made the games work when I was a kid :D

Re: How do you cope with programmer's fatigue?

Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 4:39 pm
by Chris Corbyn
There's a dude where I work (no joke) who puts a Berocca tablet (one of those hi-vitamin efforvessent things) into a glass of red bull and just drinks that.

Personally I try to avoid going hard on caffiene or energy drinks. I'm sure red bull will be banned in future for being dangerous :P And chain-drinking coffee is a slippery slope (you just get tireder overall).

I do drink coffee, but I tend to limit myself to one a day (just habit now), usually in the morning. I drink tea too, but usually it's just one cup a day, in the afternoon.

I used to be terrible for chain-drinking tea and coffee and I can definitely say that I am far less tired overall these days.

I cycle to work and back too which I think makes a difference. Kick-start your day by getting your heart racing (no, not by asking your wife for a bit of "how's your father") and inhaling lots of fresh air!

So err, yeah, less caffiene, more exercise :)

Re: How do you cope with programmer's fatigue?

Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 4:45 pm
by alex.barylski
You'll feel most fatigued when you realize your not getting paid for the labour you put out.

Don't be cheap when charging. You don't do anyone any favours, yourself included.

Working a 9-5 means you can go home at days end...freelancing means you constantly at the beck and call of your clients. Set some ground rules right out of the gate and be clear about it.

Re: How do you cope with programmer's fatigue?

Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 5:23 pm
by fontguy
As you gain more experience, you're testing will go quicker (and you'll figure out problems easier). But you're human, so you need regular breaks. Go for a walk or do 10 minutes of exercise. It'll relax you and make you think more clearly.

Re: How do you cope with programmer's fatigue?

Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 6:01 pm
by JAB Creations
fontguy is right...I mean when I first came to DevNetwork I was really frustrated and it didn't help my communication skills at the time which I regret may have negatively effected my social interactions with some folks here.

But over time I've noticed I don't make the same mistakes, my mind adapts as those neural connections and synapses are created and strengthened...Red Bull helps too!

Just think...you know much more now then when you first started out...whenever that was of course. Just imagine what you'll be able to do in another year or two. Hell I'm finally actually making almost entirely on my own merit (with some help from the folks on this forum every now and then) stuff I only imagined a few years ago. :)

Also get the hell away from the computer...just walk away for five minutes and relax your brain.

Ever notice when you day dream for a few minutes? That's your brain creating those neural connections and synapses. You may not know it but day dreaming is the mind's way of reinforcing what you just learned. :mrgreen:

Re: How do you cope with programmer's fatigue?

Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 7:47 pm
by josh
JAB Creations wrote:Ever notice when you day dream for a few minutes? That's your brain creating those neural connections and synapses. You may not know it but day dreaming is the mind's way of reinforcing what you just learned. :mrgreen:
I believe that too and agree, and I think thats part of what dreaming is.. but do you have a source or are you just speculating? Is this based on some real science or are you just saying?