It really is. I'm finding that there are some menial programming tasks where I really can just turn off my brain and listen to podcasts while I work and almost let my muscle memory take over.
There are also tasks that require my full undivided attention where having anything on in the background breaks my flow and just lengthens the task. When my brain power is low, it's often from working on these particular tasks and when it helps to switch over to one of the menial tasks.
I also do find, as he says, that it's good time to take on some experimental/exploratory tasks that may use more creativity and less logical thinking.
Seeing when you're depleted in one area but not in another is incredibly powerful and is a great productivity booster. (Of course, there are definitely times where I just cannot muster any energy and those are times where it helps to just step away from the keyboard.)
I use my "low energy" time for the more menial tasks, and during those times often my subconscious surfaces useful ideas. This has been so successful for me over the years that I still haven't bothered to learn regular expressions.
There are also tasks that require my full undivided attention where having anything on in the background breaks my flow and just lengthens the task. When my brain power is low, it's often from working on these particular tasks and when it helps to switch over to one of the menial tasks.
I also do find, as he says, that it's good time to take on some experimental/exploratory tasks that may use more creativity and less logical thinking.
Seeing when you're depleted in one area but not in another is incredibly powerful and is a great productivity booster. (Of course, there are definitely times where I just cannot muster any energy and those are times where it helps to just step away from the keyboard.)