How Do You Fix the “No Time to Code” Syndrome?

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 05:30:12 -0500
development, time-management

I know it’s easier said than done. There are at least as many articles on this as there are stars in our galaxy. Or may be more.

But the hard truth is that the world’s still full of people who find no time to code their pet project into a full-fledged app. And it’s more or less a self-discipline issue.

Finding time to code is one of the hardest things to do if you’re working full-time and doing the code in your ‘free’ time, which is typically the evenings/nights and the weekends. Quite a lot of hobbyists find it easy to code simple “hobby projects” that won’t see the light of day on the App Store (or even GitHub) but when it comes to serious coding, trouble starts at the time-management level.

There’s always a time to code. “I haven’t got the time to code/test/debug” isn’t a good excuse even when you’re in a full-time job and it all boils down to two things: sacrifice and self-discipline.

I’m sure most of what you are going to read is advice you’ve heard (possibly a million times before). For the benefit of those who’re starting the first lines of their app and for those who’re struggling to manage time to code, here are some things you should always, always remember:

1. There’s No Coding in Small Chunks

If there’s one lesson I’ll take to my grave after having spent a considerable chunk of my lifetime writing code, it’s this: there’s nothing called ‘code in small chunks’. This ‘do it in small measures’ thing might work elsewhere but no, sir, not when you’re coding.

A few lines of CSS and jQuery can take away more than an hour of your time even if you’re smart and can write semantic code on paper like Steve Wozniak.

If you think you’ll come back from office, do a little of this and that and then sit to code for about an hour, I suggest you forget that idea. Code is something that takes away a lot of your time and if you want to get it done, you’ll need to, more often than not, forget time. That means forget setting time limits to code.

2. There’s Something To Sacrifice

Evening visits to the gym can be shifted to the mornings if you code well in the night. A handful of weekend parties can be skipped. Webinars/Seminars on development can be missed. Or if things come to a head-on, a dine-out can be sacrificed for those few hundred lines of code that’ll fix the core part of your project.

There’s always something that you can sacrifice. For me, it has been – for sometime – reading books in the night. Club that with a couple of other things like an evening stroll (about an hour) and TV and you probably get more than enough time to code your way to heaven.

Figure out your routine. Then, cut out stuff that can be sacrificed for precious coding time.

3. Set Up A Distraction-free Environment

There’s this thing called Zero Clutter work zone. It’s basically about de-cluttering your work-zone so you can work distraction-free. And while Leo stops at the physical level of de-cluttering, you can (and should, definitely) take it to the next level: your screens.

When you are coding, have nothing more than one thing in focus: the IDE that you’re working on.

It takes a lot of self-discipline not to:

- check email every two/five/ten minutes
- constantly compile the code every time you make a minor change
- open and refresh Facebook/Twitter/App.net or HN every once in a while
- flip your phone to check messages
- munch on a bagel or fries (drink water; that’s a healthier practice)

Everything other than the IDE is a distraction. If you’re writing a caching program, do just that till you get to a point where you start debugging the code (once it’s totally complete). If you’re writing a regex, finish that totally (test, debug) before you even think of opening a new window in Chrome.

Use a blocking program to keep you off from Gmail, Facebook, HN etc. Keep the phone away – preferably in a different room so you get up only to pick a call.

Little but effective disciplinary changes can help you a lot in focused coding: which translates into less time, more code.

Like I said, it all boils down to self-discipline. And of course, a few hacks like a distraction-free environment (Sublime Text 2, may be?) and a lot of burning the midnight oil (or, if you’re a morning person, getting up a lot earlier than before).

Image by Flickr User Toni Verdú Carbó