I am not kidding or being sarcastic, but let me add another tip for using your "full brain":<p>aerobic exercise.<p>If you just take a brisk walk, a quick sprint, or a jog, before you code or intermittently, you'll notice a world of difference.
Perhaps I missed it and the article already covered these, but a few other major tips that I doubt anyone would disagree with:<p>-Eliminate distractions. Any external stimuli subtract from concentration and "processing power" for your task. Even the possibility of distraction can put your brain on alert for them when they're not present, so best if you can create an environment which is free of distraction generally. This relates not only to your office/work environment, but things like going into DND on your phone and IMs.<p>-Work in large, contiguous time chunks (and then take breaks; see next). For complex tasks, it takes a while to "spin up". To load all the context, to explore possibility branches of solutions, to implement possible solutions and test them. As with distractions, very short work windows break this problem solving time up and require a re-spin-up period.<p>-Take breaks between longer work sessions. Taking breaks-- and in particular moving around while on break-- helps prevent fatigue, sustaining efficacy and productivity for longer windows of the day. Taking a break, especially wherein you change your environment (eg walking outside), can also help invigorate problem-solving. Finally, moving around is healthy for both your body and your mind.<p>I don't think you can make full use of your brain without following all of these as well.
We should all mimic sleeping dolphins, so we could always use our active heimsphere to approach 100% coding time<p>Also, to add some neuron info that the article didn't mention:<p>- place / grid cells would allow you to use your brain more, easily - see the book <i>Moonwalking with Einstein</i> a book recommended by a friend<p>- neural codes are convex- could we use this knowledge somehow?<p>- using your full brain is known as an epileptic seizure, iirc..<p>- tonic/phasic firing matters a lot as to the effect of neural firing, although I forget as to whether that's a dopamine-only trait..
I would also add "be interested in what you're writing". If you don't care at all for what you're working on, there's little chance of paying full attention.
Computer science has a plethora of studies related to OS process scheduling. All of it is directly relevant to human task management. I've never, ever seen in referenced in any management talks/books/etc.
I agree with every point. Too bad that, aside from splitting the problem into small tasks, the conditions most software devs work in prevent taking this advice. It is impossible to avoid multitasking in a collaborative open office environment. I can't imagine saying in a standup meeting that I'm just going to work through tutorials and work on memorizing the standard library instead of assigned work.
This may be a little anal but analogies between a typical von Neumann architecture computer and any animal brain are pretty limited. The brain is essentially like some next-gen MIMD processor.
> How to use your full brain when writing code<p>I'm curious how the parts of my brain responsible for walking, riding a bicycle or telling jokes could be used when writing code.
> I like to complement this with memorization of the most difficult concepts, especially things I don’t run into very often while reading. You can use Anki for this (or any other spaced-repetition software).<p>Sure enough, I took a look and found this: <a href="http://orgmode.org/worg/org-contrib/org-drill.html" rel="nofollow">http://orgmode.org/worg/org-contrib/org-drill.html</a>
anecdotal but I don't think I can agree with no multitasking rule. I go nuts if I spend on any task for more than 10-15 minutes. I have to switch to something else and come back. How ever I can keep doing this all day with little exhaustion :)