I'm just wondering. At what time of the day is a programmer most productive? If there is such a "productive time" or i.e. "intellectual-peak time" are there any scientific researches done to find this out?
Thanks!
+1
A:
Time of day is very subjective; I know of no studies about this, but from anecdotal evidence, the programmers I know vary wildly: some (including me) are most productive at night, others are most productive in the morning, and some are most productive during the day.
But I think what is less subjective is the environment: environments with many interruptions can easily distract from the abstractions that must be built and maintained mentally when programming. I've seen reports that recovering from distractions can take half an hour. So, being free from phone calls, needless meetings, IRC, etc., can make a huge difference in productivity.
Places I've worked were kind enough to not bother with the telephones, schedule meetings for one day out of the week (except when a new project is starting, and more than that one day is necessary), and relied on IRC and email to provide 'at your convenience' communications. Handle them all in the morning, after lunch, and again at the end of the day, and otherwise just get work done.
sarnold
2010-07-19 02:02:22
A:
Easy, for me. When everyone else has gone home, and I'm left in the office alone. Then time passes so fast, that I'm always late for dinner, and I get home quite a few hours late. I swear it felt like I was only working 15 minutes!! (Where did the time go?)
C Johnson
2010-07-19 02:06:56