Josh Waitzkin, the subject of "Searching for Bobby Fischer" wrote a book called "Art of Learning". In there, he describes one method he was taught to increase the amount of time he can sustain his focus -- interval training.
He was first taught this technique at a high-end athletic training center. They put him on an exercise machine and had him go all out for a few minutes. Then they had him relax and recover -- and the trainers timed it, so he only relaxed for say, 45 seconds. Precisely at the end of 45 seconds, they put him back on the exercise machine again. Over time, his heart rate did not spike up as high, and the amount of time he needed to recover started shortening.
Lest you think this applies to only physical tasks, and not mental tasks, according to the book, Waitzkin was able to successfully apply this during the intense national and international chess tournements he participated in. He takes short mini-breaks, so while it looks like he is able to sustain his focus for long periods of time, that's an illusion.
This idea of recovery time for getting things done isn't a new one. I've always thought I had to go all out, indefinitely. I always exhaust myself and couldn't energize myself to get more done. My bet is that people who appear to be productive all the time are the ones skilled at taking these short mini-breaks.
This is my typical work flow and I am currently in a lull. I haven't figured out exactly how to get out of a lull except to wait it out and work on whatever hold my interest for the longest.
If I sit in front of my computer and after 15 minutes I can't get anything done on the project that I am wanting to work on, I know I never will. Forcing it will never make anything happen.
I often work alone, so I wonder if having someone else around to help motivate me would help. Talking about the project without any pressure to produce until my creativity start moving again.
For me, I can have entire months where all I do is the bare minimum to keep life moving and then one week I manage to do what it would take most other people an entire month to accomplish. I know that this is part of my cycle and I've learned to life with it and let if flow however it does ...
But days like today I sure wish I could make things move on their own ...
The article raises some interesting question, but doesn't tell me anything I didn't know about my, uh, "condition". It'd be good to have an "explosive productivity" veteran talk about how you adapt yourself and the world around you to this kind of working pattern, to make the most of it.
I've found that switching focus helps keep prolonged unproductive periods to a minimum.
For example, I try to keep a couple of projects going on at the same time - I generally have a major release in development for our team's primary product at all times. This is my "main work".
I also have one or two smaller projects at some stage of design or development as well - perhaps a prototype to try show the business owners a cool new idea or some type of development or administration tool which would help support the primary project. Usually, I try to learn a new technology or language while solving a problem related to our business.
When I find myself become unproductive on my main work, I switch focus temporarily to one of the smaller projects. These projects tend to be personal (although work-related) and don't have fixed delivery dates. Without the pressure of a strict schedule or external expectations, I can more easily work on these projects and rediscover my ambition.
It usually doesn't take more than a day or so to get my motivation back and I return to working on my main project with my usual productivity.
I think the only thing that is needed is understanding boss/company/co-workers etc, who understand the way that you work.
Working like this seems natural to me, big explosive bouts of high productivity, churning out cool stuff, and then days of nothing. I think part of it is that the days of 'nothing' seem like nothing, when in reality they are often 'thinking' days, where you solve problems, but just don't happen to produce code.
"Me, too." I have my all-out-coding periods and my just-can't-get-into-it periods. I've mostly decided to accept that this is my natural rhythm.
However, I have a way to stay productive during the lulls, which has been very effective for me: pair programming. Even if I'm not inspired, or even energetic, if I sit down with someone else to work on a task, pretty soon the conversation gets me focused and triggers ideas.
(Someone from Google said something similar too, and even suggested that he was considering how the employment of regular Google employees should be reorganised in light of the SoC experience, but I'm afraid I don't have the link.)
I think this is a byproduct of the "always-on" startup culture. Everyone spends all their time cutting, and none of their time measuring; and they burn out as a result.
I think the best thing to do is to realize that you are in a recovery-needed stage and then go and recover! Embrace it without guilt. Doing nothing (or something recreational of course), for a time, might be the best way to get more stuff done.
He was first taught this technique at a high-end athletic training center. They put him on an exercise machine and had him go all out for a few minutes. Then they had him relax and recover -- and the trainers timed it, so he only relaxed for say, 45 seconds. Precisely at the end of 45 seconds, they put him back on the exercise machine again. Over time, his heart rate did not spike up as high, and the amount of time he needed to recover started shortening.
Lest you think this applies to only physical tasks, and not mental tasks, according to the book, Waitzkin was able to successfully apply this during the intense national and international chess tournements he participated in. He takes short mini-breaks, so while it looks like he is able to sustain his focus for long periods of time, that's an illusion.
This idea of recovery time for getting things done isn't a new one. I've always thought I had to go all out, indefinitely. I always exhaust myself and couldn't energize myself to get more done. My bet is that people who appear to be productive all the time are the ones skilled at taking these short mini-breaks.