What do you do to pass time during long operations (compiling, uploading, etc)?

Question

It's no secret that having to wait while coding breaks you out of "the zone". Even worse, you might get sucked in by some activity (like SO) and suddenly realize you've just wasted yet another half an hour. Long compile times are often mentioned in this context, but there are many other things with the same effect - programs that open slowly, files that need to be uploaded, scripts that take time to execute, etc. The net result is the same.

Sure, it's an argument to get better hardware, but let's face it - not all of us can afford top-notch computers, and even on those there are some things that just take time.

So - how do you cope with this problem? What do you do during the wait that makes it easier to return to coding afterwards?

(P.S. If this question has already been asked, I wasn't able to find it)

Answer 1

I always have a todo list ready at hand.

When I have a task which is going to take a long of time, I just pick one item from my todo list which I can do quickly

I follow the Getting Things Done methodology and so far it is working for me

Getting things done on Wikipedia

Answer 2

I try having a list of lower-priority tasks that I can turn to. In most cases, those are other coding or system administration tasks. In my experience, maintaining a written list of tasks that need to be done helps a lot from getting distracted and feeling that one is wasting time.

Answer 3

I read.

Having Code Complete 2 or any similar book by my desk is always a good idea. Even a few minutes are okay to open the book at random and read a couple of paragraphs.

Answer 4

When my workstation is tied up with a big compile, I switch to working on my other workstation. It's like hyperthreading.

Answer 5

I play time wasting games :| mostly Opera Widgets