Comments on: Getting to the bottom of things http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2008/07/15/getting-to-the-bottom-of-things/ The blog of John D. Cook Sat, 11 Feb 2012 01:10:06 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Austin http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2008/07/15/getting-to-the-bottom-of-things/comment-page-1/#comment-34464 Austin Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:04:21 +0000 http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2008/07/15/getting-to-the-bottom-of-things/#comment-34464 I have found that to get truly deep thought done, I need to get away from my desk and office all together. I'll wander along outside, or find a spot at the local college library, and mumble to myself while working through the logic and data on notepads. The process can take days or weeks, but when I'm finally ready I sit down and am able to basically write all the code in one spell. When I get away from this method, my error rate goes way up and I often code myself into corners. I have found that to get truly deep thought done, I need to get away from my desk and office all together. I’ll wander along outside, or find a spot at the local college library, and mumble to myself while working through the logic and data on notepads. The process can take days or weeks, but when I’m finally ready I sit down and am able to basically write all the code in one spell. When I get away from this method, my error rate goes way up and I often code myself into corners.

]]> By: How I spent my summer « Catenary http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2008/07/15/getting-to-the-bottom-of-things/comment-page-1/#comment-6240 How I spent my summer « Catenary Sun, 07 Sep 2008 17:27:31 +0000 http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2008/07/15/getting-to-the-bottom-of-things/#comment-6240 [...] of “Talks”, I only logged strictly my real work time — not the time I spent staying on top of things (reading and answering emails, catching up with blogs), taking a break, working on non-project [...] [...] of “Talks”, I only logged strictly my real work time — not the time I spent staying on top of things (reading and answering emails, catching up with blogs), taking a break, working on non-project [...]

]]> By: Senthil http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2008/07/15/getting-to-the-bottom-of-things/comment-page-1/#comment-3118 Senthil Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:51:26 +0000 http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2008/07/15/getting-to-the-bottom-of-things/#comment-3118 I quite agree that for deep and a thoughtful work, it requires very less context- switching of minding, focus from any real and anticipated distractions. We get into that 'zone' seldom only and we try to get there by long hours of work. IRC's always puzzle me as how developers are able to stay there while doing work. Pardon me, I visit IRC ( mostly #python and #python-dev) only when I have questions and I want to discuss things. At office, I kind of close my emails and IMs. With respect to emails, I think allocating specific timings can help plan better. I quite agree that for deep and a thoughtful work, it requires very less context- switching of minding, focus from any real and anticipated distractions. We get into that ‘zone’ seldom only and we try to get there by long hours of work.

IRC’s always puzzle me as how developers are able to stay there while doing work. Pardon me, I visit IRC ( mostly #python and #python-dev) only when I have questions and I want to discuss things.

At office, I kind of close my emails and IMs.
With respect to emails, I think allocating specific timings can help plan better.

]]> By: Jim Archer http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2008/07/15/getting-to-the-bottom-of-things/comment-page-1/#comment-2865 Jim Archer Sun, 20 Jul 2008 20:38:35 +0000 http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2008/07/15/getting-to-the-bottom-of-things/#comment-2865 Thanks for focusing on a very real challenge of the modern workplace. The fact that people can get in touch with you immediately via e-mail does not equate with whether or not they should get in touch with you immediately. The instant access capability has contributed in part to the emphasis on the urgent as opposed to the important in time management. Digging into the data to determine what is happening often requires uninterrupted time — something that is all the more needed when the data do not support generally held hypotheses or in fact seem to contradict generally held hypotheses. Thanks for focusing on a very real challenge of the modern workplace. The fact that people can get in touch with you immediately via e-mail does not equate with whether or not they should get in touch with you immediately. The instant access capability has contributed in part to the emphasis on the urgent as opposed to the important in time management. Digging into the data to determine what is happening often requires uninterrupted time — something that is all the more needed when the data do not support generally held hypotheses or in fact seem to contradict generally held hypotheses.

]]> By: The Third Bit » Blog Archive » Staying On Top vs. Getting to the Bottom http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2008/07/15/getting-to-the-bottom-of-things/comment-page-1/#comment-2618 The Third Bit » Blog Archive » Staying On Top vs. Getting to the Bottom Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:33:34 +0000 http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2008/07/15/getting-to-the-bottom-of-things/#comment-2618 [...] Nice post by John Cook. [...] [...] Nice post by John Cook. [...]

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