Finding Your Flow
Getting stuff done in an overstimulated world
Joe Stanco
Photo: Tom Baker
bit.ly/1BSe1Ry
What is flow?
Flow, also known as Zone, is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity.
Source: Wikipedia
The cost of multitasking
On average, it can take up to 20 minutes
to regain focus after an interruption.
Daily distractions
-
Test fails
-
Hotfixes
-
Environment issues
-
Code reviews
-
Urgent requests
A programmer is likely to get just
one uninterrupted 2-hour session in a day
Source: Programmer Interrupted
-
Interviews
-
Onboarding
-
Meetings
Daily distractions
-
Test fails
-
Hotfixes
-
Environment issues
-
Code reviews
-
Urgent requests
A programmer is likely to get just
one uninterrupted 2-hour session in a day
Source: Programmer Interrupted
-
Interviews -
Onboarding -
Meetings
Releasing Code
Can't stop, won't stop
How do developers
achieve a flow state?
-
Wear headphones
-
Work at night
-
Take breaks
-
Minimize notifications
Your mileage my vary...
-
Wear headphones
...maybe skip the vocals -
Work at night
...or wake up early -
Take breaks
...timing is everything -
Minimize notifications
...not always an option!
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Conditions of the
flow experience
-
There are clear goals every step of the way.
-
There is immediate feedback to one's action.
-
There is a balance between challenges and skills.
Source: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, It's the Play that Makes Serious Play Serious
How does it feel to be in flow?
-
Completely involved in what you are doing - focused, concentrated.
-
Great inner clarity - knowing what needs to be done, and how well you are doing.
-
Knowing that the activity is doable - that our skills are adequate to the task.
-
Intrinsic motivation - whatever produces flow becomes its own reward.
-
A sense of ecstasy - of being outside everyday reality.
-
A sense of serenity - no worries about oneself, and a feeling of growing beyond the boundaries of the ego.
-
Timelessness - thoroughly focused on the present, hours seem to pass by in minutes.
Source: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow, the secret to happiness
BuzzFlow
Teams at BuzzFeed
Desktop
Mobile
Megaphone
Mission Control
Giraffe
1. Clear Goals
- Code standards
- Style guide / components
- Tech blog
- Teams should be highly aligned and autonomous
W.A.F.F.L.E.
Web Application Framework For Living Easy
Unifying Vision
I think with the technology base underneath everything we do, we're able to get knowledge back and have a closer relationship with our audience and serve the consumer better.
Jonah Peretti
Source: The Verge
2. Immediate
Feedback
- Start with a prototype
- Set achievable milestones
- Deploy incremental improvements
Tech Talks
Photo by Andy Yaco-Mink
3. Challenge + Skill
- Bootcamp to learn core skills
- Experimentation is key
- Refactor and optimize
Game Jam!
Emoji Oracle
Thank you!
bit.ly/1BSe1Ry
Resources
Addy Osmani: Writing Modular JS
Nicholas Zakas: Scalable JS Application Architecture
Joost van Dongen: What most young programmers need to learn
Finding Your Flow
By Joe Stanco
Finding Your Flow
Getting stuff done in an overstimulated world.
- 1,458