This post originated from an RSS feed registered with Java Buzz by Chris Winters. Original Post: Hyperproductive, then not so much... Feed Title: cwinters.com Feed URL: http://www.cwinters.com/search/registrar.php?domain=jroller.com®istrar=sedopark Feed Description: Chris Winters on Java, programming and technology, usually in that order. Latest Java Buzz Posts Latest Java Buzz Posts by Chris Winters Latest Posts From cwinters.com

Over the years I've seen a number of programmers talk about bursts of productivity. And those are just fantastic -- everything flows and just fits. But then... it's gone, and that you had such a flow just highlights the times when you don't. (Doctor: Why do you keep smacking your head with the hammer? Patient: It feels so good when I stop!)

So why can't I be like this all the time? Is it just that I have a limited pool of smarts? Or do I only have sufficient smarts to solve a problem after churning for a long time then bursting out the result superfast. (Like how cats sleep all the time...) Mark and I have joked about this before: "You lazy bastard, you're just sitting around reading Fark and bloglines!" "No, I'm tending to long running threads working on a few hairy problems."

Or maybe I just need to always have challenging problems to work on? (That would be the most emotionally satisfying answer: it's not that I'm lazy, I'm just not challenged!) But: if I were really smart, wouldn't I just figure out how to make the boring stuff challenging?