What are some good ways to stay mentally alert during the work day?

Question

I've been a programmer for about 5 years now, and one of the things I've noticed is that some days I might code all day and feel fine, and some days I might have that "I've been staring at the screen too long" feeling by 11:30.

What are some ways you've come up with to make sure that you stay fresh and mentally alert during the 8-hour workday?

How do you know when you need to take a break?

What do you do to take a break in a constructive way that won't appear to coworkers as simple slacking off?

Answer 1

I find drinking water when I start to feel a bit sluggish gives me a nice, steady boost. Loaded caffeine drinks only work for a bit followed by a complete and utter crash.

That, coupled with a nice walk around the building usually gets me back on track.

Answer 2

Take a step away from your work and get your mind on something else for a few minutes, usually works well for me.

Answer 3

Take a break once every 60-120 minutes, for at least 10 minutes. Walk around, have a light snack (fresh fruit or chocolate bars are best). Try and resist caffeine as that will lead to a crash later on. If you can, get outside, and away from smokers, even if it's the middle of winter; the fresh air will help rejuvenate you.

Water is also good, or if you work in a really hot, sweaty environment, perhaps Gatorade or Powerade.

Answer 4

• You should be, first and foremost, physically active. Every day. For at least a half an hour, but an hour or more is better. Bonus points if part of this physical activity occurs while you work, or during breaks.

• Drink a lot of water, eat healthy food (including vegetables; balance protein and carbohydrates, tie the amount of those to the amount of physical activity you have in your day).

• Take breaks regularly. If you feel that doing so is going to attract undue attention, perhaps you should consider finding a new employer. Or make the case for the breaks by explaining that they help you keep energy and focus.

• Sleep enough, and at consistent times.

• Try not to spend too much free time at the computer. Besides the fact that it extends your workday stress, the light from a computer screen can negatively impact your sleep cycle and how much rest you get while sleeping.

• Read a book before bed.

• Spend some time (at least fifteen minutes) in the morning either meditating or sitting still without much distraction.

• Edit: Also, some problems that require a lot of thought can be tackled with minor "distraction" (for example, when I need to work around a complex problem, I'll often play a level of Tetris after writing a few [up to maybe a dozen] lines of code); this is not a break: I am taking my focus away from the particularities so that my brain can focus on the more general parts of the problem and correct approaches to addressing it.

Answer 5

I've found that regular exercise helps a lot. You'll have more energy in general and your brain will be more alert.

Answer 6

How about taking a short break to answer some questions on stackoverflow!

I find walking to break-room at work, making a cup of tea and having a quick chat with whoever is in there often does wonders for my productivity. Other than that I'd have to agree with eyelidlessness' list - pretty comprehensive I'd say.

Answer 7

I'd also add accepting that some days are going to be better than others -- as much as the project management types might hate it, software is as much an art as a science -- sometimes the muse visits, other times she stays away.

So don't beat yourself up if today wasn't a great day, and maybe follow some of the advice in the other answers to make tomorrow better.

Answer 8

The other answers — exercise, etc. — are great, but I find a massive part of staying alert is working on interesting things.

In the past I've fallen asleep at my desk because I wasn't interested in what I was doing. These days I end up working too much because I am too involved... but at least I'm alert :)

Answer 9

Work out like a fiend. You need to get blood / endorphins and adrenaline to you head. Take up running and do at least 1 mile before work for a minimum of 5 days a week. Do a rep of push ups and squats before you run and you'll find that you'll think more clearly about the frustrating problems of the day.

Answer 10

• Limit multitasking as much as possible. Spreading your energy across coding, email, IM, blogs, etc. may keep boredom at bay, but productivity is bound to suffer.

• Take a walk around the building twice a day. Isometric exercises are also a great way to get a quick burst of adrenaline.

• Eat plenty of Altoids, chew ice, snap your wrist with a rubber band, or something similar, if you find yourself getting drowsy.

Answer 11

On top of advice to get good sleep and eat well - I've found that this helps quite a bit: Take breaks. Do fun stuff.

If you drive to work, make sure your car trunk has all sorts of recreational items. For instance, we try to do some nerd-safe activities during breaks:

• kick around a hacky sack/footbag
• throw a frisbee
• I try to throw the football, while others actually can...
• toss around a baseball/softball

and, I do have a skateboard in my trunk, but it doesn't get used so much these days...

I also would encourage anyone to ride their bike into work if you can do it safely. I find that when I ride to work, I'm physically satisfied so that I can be perfectly happy sitting at my desk concentrating on a given task...If you do this, make sure to keep a frisbee and a hacky sack at work so you don't have to schlep them back and forth on your bike.

Answer 12

when i was a student, i'd play dota whenever i lose that drive after struggling with a difficult problem but now im working and that's not allowed, my only resort is to drink coffee :(