I'm trying to work on realizing that things that aren't strictly programming related are still a good use of my time.
I graduated last year and have found that I've had a hard time getting out of the mindset I was in during my undergrad where every minute was scheduled for either work, school, or self-directed programming related learning. To help myself pump the brakes a bit, I try to make sure I do 3 things each day:
Have a selfish activity: This sounds harsh, but it's meant to be truly an activity that is purely "me" focused. In my case, it's getting healthier through meal prep and exercise.
Have a non-screen related passion project: I still feel the drive to accomplish things, so I've found it helpful to have a project with goals I can lay out. I play multiple instruments and am working on recording songs that I've had on the back burner for ages.
Waste some time (but not too much): This also sounds bad, but I categorize this as an activity that is just doing whatever I want. Often this is me reading a non-technical book, watching some TV, or realizing how bad I am at video games. But either way, it's something that doesn't have boxes to check or goals to meet and helps me decompress for an hour before bed.
Now that I write this out, it sounds almost like I'm promoting bad habits I'm trying to adopt, but I guess I'm trying to teach myself the habit of investing in myself in ways that aren't just cranking out code all the time.
I think it's a good thing.
As a programmer we spend more and more times in from of our PCs,
So a good habit is to have some disconnected sessions to feel the life in another way than a screen.
When you come back to work your mind is more open and you feel more creative
I was in the exact same boat when I graduated. I personally recommend time-tracking if you can get into it. I use Toggl and it's wonderfully easy to get used to, imo. I recommend it because it can be easy to (over time) switch gears so much that you don't want to work on projects and just waste time or relax (something that happened to me..)
I'm trying to work on realizing that things that aren't strictly programming related are still a good use of my time.
I graduated last year and have found that I've had a hard time getting out of the mindset I was in during my undergrad where every minute was scheduled for either work, school, or self-directed programming related learning. To help myself pump the brakes a bit, I try to make sure I do 3 things each day:
Have a selfish activity: This sounds harsh, but it's meant to be truly an activity that is purely "me" focused. In my case, it's getting healthier through meal prep and exercise.
Have a non-screen related passion project: I still feel the drive to accomplish things, so I've found it helpful to have a project with goals I can lay out. I play multiple instruments and am working on recording songs that I've had on the back burner for ages.
Waste some time (but not too much): This also sounds bad, but I categorize this as an activity that is just doing whatever I want. Often this is me reading a non-technical book, watching some TV, or realizing how bad I am at video games. But either way, it's something that doesn't have boxes to check or goals to meet and helps me decompress for an hour before bed.
Now that I write this out, it sounds almost like I'm promoting bad habits I'm trying to adopt, but I guess I'm trying to teach myself the habit of investing in myself in ways that aren't just cranking out code all the time.
I think it's a good thing.
As a programmer we spend more and more times in from of our PCs,
So a good habit is to have some disconnected sessions to feel the life in another way than a screen.
When you come back to work your mind is more open and you feel more creative
I was in the exact same boat when I graduated. I personally recommend time-tracking if you can get into it. I use Toggl and it's wonderfully easy to get used to, imo. I recommend it because it can be easy to (over time) switch gears so much that you don't want to work on projects and just waste time or relax (something that happened to me..)
Thank you for the recommendation, I will give Toggl a try!