When I was starting as a software developer, I was under the impression that the more hours I worked the more productive I would be. However, that has proven me wrong countless times. Afterward, I began to start observing and taking notes on my productivity. What I noticed is that beyond a certain point, my productivity was roughly the same. If the title of the post didn’t give it away, that certain point is around the 5 hours mark for me.
So, I found my limit on how much deep thinking my brain can handle and I changed how I work based on that limit. I began working (deep work) a total of 5 hours a day, taking more breaks and filling up the remaining time with shallow work. What I noticed as a result was that my output didn’t change, but I was happier and have more energy by the end of the day. Intrigued with my results, I dug deeper and start to really take notes on what are the benefits of making this change has on myself. The benefits allow me to see how big of a difference the change has on me, which I will share in this post.
Before I start, I want to say that this is strongly based on my own experience and it may vary for you, but for the most part the idea should be similar. For example, your limit might not be 5 hours it could be less or more than that. Also, the information I’ll be sharing might not be applicable if you’re not in a 9 to 5 software development role.
1. Mentally Draining
Developing software is mentally draining with how much is going on in your head during the process. It’s like a marathon, but for your brain. Similar to running a marathon, you know that you don’t have an unlimited amount of energy to run forever. That means you can’t keep working the entire day; just like how you can’t keep running endlessly. Eventually, you’re going to run out of energy and need to stop.
2. Mental Cognition Daily Limit
As a human being, we all have a limit to how much we can do something within a day. Sure, you can train yourself to push your limit higher, but it will not be unlimited. Once you hit that limit, you will know and stop.
Similarly, it’s the same thing for your brain. Your brain can only do so much deep thinking within a day before it needs to stop and start recharging. Going beyond that limit would just mean your brain no longer can work as you need it to for the context of software development. It also overworks your brain which makes you feel mental fatigue and that’s not a point you want to be at.
3. Inability to Realize Lower Output
We tend to feel that we’re producing as long as we’re working. This leads to the thinking that the more time spent working the more would get done. This is true for the most part, but there is a diminishing return for the time input and result output. Unfortunately, this is not easy to catch because our perception is that the more time spent working the more result.
I don’t know what is exactly the best way to overcome this issue. However, I took notes on my output working a different number of hours then comparing the result. For myself, I found that anything past 5 hours of working my output degrades tremendously.
4. At Risk of Repetitive Strain Injuries
There was a time when I was coding 8 hours a day every single weekday. Guess what happened? I started to feel pain in my wrist, signaling the beginning of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, a subset of Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI). I ignored it for the first few days but noticed that the pain was getting worse so I dial down on how much I was coding afterward to 4 hours a day. The pain went away after a few weeks, but this incident has lead me to learn about workspace ergonomics and to turn my workspace into an ergonomic one.
My experience with RSI is quite mild, but RSI can potentially be career-breaking because it prevents you from being able to type on a keyboard or use a mouse. So, it’s important to take precautions against RSI by not overworking your wrist too much and maybe turn your workspace into an ergonomic one. RSI is one of those things that don’t present itself until further down the line, so when it does it will be too late.
5. Improved Mental Health
Your mental health is important. It helps facilitate how you think, feel, act, handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. So, when there is a problem with your mental health, it is going to affect your thinking, mood, and behavior. Although mental health can have many effects, I want to focus on the thinking portion. Without the ability to think critically, you won’t be able to develop great software.
So, what can lead you down the path to mental health problems? Well, there are many things, but one of the biggest offenders is working too much. When you’re working too much you’re trading something away. Probably your time to sleep and spending time with your friends and family. To maintain mental health, you’ll need to have a balance between your work and life.
6. Reduce the Chance of Burnout
Burnout can happen to anyone, but in the field of software development, burnout is more likely to happen due to the nature of the job. The long hours put into crunch time or to fix issues when things go south can really take a toll on you.
When you’re experiencing burnout you lose passion for your work. The quality of your work suffers. Your health begins to suffer. You lack the energy to do anything. And guess what? One of the top contributors to getting you to reach burnout state is by working too much.
By spending less time working you can prevent yourself from reaching burnout. If you find yourself experiencing burnout, spending less time working helps break you out of it.
I hope this post was helpful to you. If you found this post helpful, share it with others so they can benefit too.
What is your work schedule like? Do you find yourself hitting your limit each day?
To get in touch, follow me on Twitter, leave a comment, or send me an email at steven@brightdevelopers.com.