10 Ways for Programmers to Improve Efficiency

1. No Meetings in the Morning 📅

Everyone has 24 hours in a day, time is equal, but the value of time is not equal. One hour in the morning is worth 4 times that of the evening. Why?

Because morning is the golden time for the brain. After a night's sleep, the brain has been organized, recorded, and rested. Its state is at its fullest, suitable for high-concentration work like programming and learning foreign languages. If we waste time on low-concentration activities like meetings or scrolling through phones, we waste the value of the morning.

2. Don't Use the Pomodoro Technique 🍅

Sometimes when programming intently, we enter a "flow state" - a state of high concentration. When our focused state is broken, it takes 15 minutes to re-enter that state.

Many people recommend the Pomodoro Technique - setting a 25-minute countdown, forcing a 5-minute break, then entering the next Pomodoro. In my actual use of this method, I often encounter the problem of just entering the "flow" focused state when the Pomodoro timer rings, breaking concentration. It takes another 15 minutes to re-enter this focused state.

A good alternative is using a stopwatch. Like the Pomodoro, it visualizes time but counts forward, not breaking our "flow". When our programming concentration decreases, we can check the stopwatch to determine our break time.

3. Don't Use Your Phone During Breaks 📱

The brain needs to use 90% of its capacity to process visual information, and flickering screens excite the brain. This is why we still feel tired when returning to work despite having rested.

During break time, we should block visual information input. Recommendations:

• Close your eyes and rest 😪
• Listen to music 🎶
• Walk around the office 🏃‍♂️
• Chat with colleagues 💑
• Stretch your neck 💁‍♂️
• Meditate or practice mindfulness 🧘

4. Don't Eat Lunch at Your Desk 🥣

After a morning of intensive programming, the brain's concentration has dropped by 40%-50%. At this time, we need to restart our concentration. A good method is eating out. Benefits of eating out include:

• Promoting serotonin secretion: Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that controls our sleep and wakefulness. Eating out can restore our serotonin, making us refreshed:
  • Sunbathing: Sun exposure while out promotes serotonin secretion
  • Rhythmic exercise: Walking is rhythmic exercise that also promotes serotonin secretion
• Activating place neurons: Place neurons control location and space, existing in the hippocampus. Changing locations when eating out activates place neurons, promoting hippocampus activity and improving memory
• Activating acetylcholine: Going to new restaurants, streets, and trying new things activates acetylcholine, which plays a huge role in "creation" and "inspiration"

5. Take a Nap 😴

Science has shown that napping is very important. It can:

• Restore our physical state: A 26-minute nap can increase afternoon work efficiency by 34% and concentration by 54%
• Extend lifespan: People who don't nap are more likely to die earlier than those who do
• Prevent diseases: Reduces Alzheimer's, cancer, cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, depression, etc.

Napping has many benefits, but should be appropriate - 15 to 30 minutes is optimal. More than that can be harmful.

6. Exercise Before Afternoon Work 🚴

2-4 PM is when people are least alert. 10 minutes of exercise can re-awaken our bodies and improve concentration. For programmers with limited workspace, recommendations:

• 1️⃣ Squats
• 2️⃣ Push-ups
• 3️⃣ Jumping jacks
• 4️⃣ Climb stairs (don't go down - it's hard on knees. Climb to the top floor, then take the elevator down)

7. 2-Minute Rule and 30-Second Decision 🖖

⚒️ 2-Minute Rule means if something can be completed within 2 minutes, strike while the iron is hot and complete it. This is a trick to solve procrastination. As programmers, we often encounter various unexpected problems. For some issues, we can't decide whether to complete them immediately. The 2-minute rule is a good auxiliary decision-making method.

💣 30-Second Decision means for daily matters, we only need 30 seconds to make decisions. This comes from "speed chess theory" - researchers had a famous chess player observe a game, then gave him 30 seconds and 1 hour respectively to decide the next move. They found 90% of decisions made in 30 seconds and 1 hour were identical.

8. Don't Work Overtime, Get Enough Sleep 💤

As programmers, we might often work overtime until 9 PM, get home at 10:30, shower and get to bed by midnight, then play with our phones until 2-3 AM.

Compressing sleep time means the brain doesn't get effective rest, reducing next day's concentration and work efficiency - creating a vicious cycle.

Think about our daytime work - much time is wasted ineffectively. If we force ourselves to set leaving time, innovate and change work methods, complete work with high efficiency, quality, and density, couldn't we reduce overtime, have more free time to learn new knowledge and technology, thereby improving our work efficiency and creating a positive cycle?

9. 2 Hours Before Bed 🛌

1. Things not to do 2 hours before bed:
   • 🍲 Eating: Empty stomach promotes growth hormone, which increases blood sugar and eliminates fatigue. But eating raises blood sugar, stopping growth hormone secretion
   • 🥃 Drinking alcohol
   • ⛹️ Intense exercise
   • 💦 Hot baths
   • 🎮 Visual entertainment (gaming, movies, etc.)
   • 📺 Bright things (phones, computers, TV)
   • 💡 Being in overly bright places
2. Things suitable to do:
   • 📖 Reading
   • 🎶 Listening to music
   • 🎨 Non-visual entertainment
   • 🧘‍♂️ Light exercise that relaxes the body

10. Don't Deliberately Sleep In on Weekends 🚫

Many people rest on a weekly basis, compressing sleep Monday to Friday, then catching up on weekends, sleeping until noon on Saturday and Sunday. But this conflicts with workday sleep rhythms, resulting in feeling particularly tired and anxious on Monday mornings.

Actually, weekends don't need catch-up sleep. The human body has a daily biological clock. Breaking the current biological clock cycle affects the next cycle, and readjustment takes time.

We should rest on a daily basis, go to bed early and wake up early, maintaining daily concentration.

References

Most of the above comes from the book "Why All Elites Are Time Controllers" by Shion Kabasawa, a neuroscientist.