I've come up with an analogy that works great for me. With all my creative endeavors (which only partially includes coding) I think of a sponge.
It took a long time (at least a decade) to recognize I have two major modes, absorption mode and squeeze mode.
When I'm in absorption mode I am doing lots of reading, research, jotting down ideas, and seeking inspiration. Eventually the sponge gets so wet I know that it's time to squeeze.
When I'm in squeeze mode, I'm coding and designing tirelessly, sometimes through the night, until the sponge runs dry.
It's a simply analogy that has worked very well for me. But it began with recognizing the times when I wasn't being productive with output and allowing myself to say now is not the time.
It's simple, but I think it's spot-on, and so much more eloquently put than the rambling section of my own response, trying to describe this.
I think there's a third "mode" -- passive osmosis. The sponge is slightly damp or dry but not stiff-dry and sitting in a puddle - it passively absorbs the water, but isn't being aggressive about it. It'll get most of it if given long enough, but it's in no rush.
These would be the times where I'm not actively researching or seeking inspiration, but rather....letting inspiration come to me. Letting ideas come and flow around and maybe making note of what seems to have some sticking power, so I can deep-dive them when I go into one of the active modes.
I like your analogy :). I can identify with these states you're talking about. I definitely have days when I learn easily and days when I prefer to practice what I learned. I think this is the way things find their balance.
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I've come up with an analogy that works great for me. With all my creative endeavors (which only partially includes coding) I think of a sponge.
It took a long time (at least a decade) to recognize I have two major modes, absorption mode and squeeze mode.
When I'm in absorption mode I am doing lots of reading, research, jotting down ideas, and seeking inspiration. Eventually the sponge gets so wet I know that it's time to squeeze.
When I'm in squeeze mode, I'm coding and designing tirelessly, sometimes through the night, until the sponge runs dry.
It's a simply analogy that has worked very well for me. But it began with recognizing the times when I wasn't being productive with output and allowing myself to say now is not the time.
I love this analogy!
It's simple, but I think it's spot-on, and so much more eloquently put than the rambling section of my own response, trying to describe this.
I think there's a third "mode" -- passive osmosis. The sponge is slightly damp or dry but not stiff-dry and sitting in a puddle - it passively absorbs the water, but isn't being aggressive about it. It'll get most of it if given long enough, but it's in no rush.
These would be the times where I'm not actively researching or seeking inspiration, but rather....letting inspiration come to me. Letting ideas come and flow around and maybe making note of what seems to have some sticking power, so I can deep-dive them when I go into one of the active modes.
Sometimes you have to be careful, my spunge has been full of thick sludge at times, and that can take a long time to clean out!
I like your analogy :). I can identify with these states you're talking about. I definitely have days when I learn easily and days when I prefer to practice what I learned. I think this is the way things find their balance.