I have been experimenting with programming in different places like parks, coffee houses and even the beach !!! I have almost always found that programming in places such as these stimulates the brain and increases productivity.
Seeing people smiling and having a good time in general creates a good pleasant ambience that results in lesser fatigue ...
Has anyone had a similar experience?
Personally, I would find environments like that very distracting. I am most productive early in the morning if I get to work before everyone else and the office is quiet. Also, if I stay late and everyone else is gone.
I can't program at home anymore - way too many distractions.
I have, on occasion, gone to Starbucks with my laptop and got quite a bit of work done in an hour or so. Sometimes I leave early and do that on the way to work if I want to work on a single problem or document for a while with no distractions. For some reason, the gentle noise of a coffee shop - talking, machines, soft music - is like white noise and I find it relaxing.
I like to go to the library, but I work for a university where you can't turn around without bumping into a library...
I do my best programming in the office after 5pm when it starts to get really quiet.
I can't program outside as my laptop screen is not bright enough. Plus, I really need my Microsoft Natural keyboard to be really comfortable.
Libraries are nice for a little bit of white noise, but you often can't eat or drink there. I don't like coffee shops, as they tend to be a bit too distracting. I either work at home, where my office area is kept deliberately clear of distractions, and I can essentially lock myself in, or I go to a coffee shop and make sure I remember to bring a set of headphones and play some white noise.
Strangely, I have some really good coding sessions on my commute. Since the train ride in is a fixed duration, I know that I have to accomplish a certain amount within a given time limit, so I tend to wander less. I have actually gotten into a pattern of writing unit tests in the morning, and writing code and documentation in the evening doing this.
I used to get to the office really early when I was living where I could only get bus service in. The work that I would get done before everyone got in was greater than the rest of the day. Of course, I don't have to deal with the bus anymore (and the delays that go with it).
Whether doing this is a good idea or not depends on what kind of task you need to do. Like all critters, human beings tend to produce the same patterns of behavior when exposed to the same sets of stimuli. The secret to creativity sometimes is to just move yourself physically to a new environment and see what kind of random behavior you produce. So if you're trying to come up with a new product idea or a different approach to a particularly vexing bug, hitting the road is a good idea (I even try to go to a different Starbucks each time).
If you just need to find every misspelled instance of Loiuisiania in a giant spreadsheet, stay in your cube.
Any place you feel comfortable. Place you routinely visit such as coffee shops, libraries, or trains can be good. You do want some ambient noise, but nothing distracting. This why many coders play music.
Personally, I do OK at the office as I can shut out most events going on around me. I even manage to get some work done at home, but only if I am alone.
I've noticed this too - I think being around people you don't know makes you slack off less?
I've also tried renting a co-working space like this one in Ottawa Canada - http://thecodefactory.ca/
Its something that varies from person to person. I spent some time getting enough seniority at my current job to be permitted to telecommute once in a while, looking forward to working from home / working from coffee shops / working from the beach.
I discovered that I am unfortunately one of those people that does tend to slack off if you know your boss can't catch you. :(
I do my best work at the office, in my cube, which my boss can see from his desk :(
I find places like that to be very distracting. If I want to REALLY get stuff done, I have to be somewhere that I can control everything (sounds, sights, temperature, etc).