I thought software engineering and working remotely was the best thing ever because I could just sip coffee all day and have youtube in the background while I work . I was a fool.
I end up missing the whole day and I only stop at like 2AM. I only stop to eat dinner and I don’t have any other meals.
I think if I was going to a dev office everyday then it would be different but I’m afraid I don’t finish enough in a day. I don’t know who I am supposed to compare myself to either. How much does a dev have to get done in a day?
This will kill your productivity. Focus on the task at hand fully, and take breaks. Don’t try to watch something in the background while you’re coding.
Which dev? You can only accomplish what you can. It will change over time.
Early on I’d sometimes code past midnight to somehow catch up with an imaginary schedule I had setup.
So I created an actual schedule which I roughly followed. I don’t follow it anymore though.
Now I’ve simplified things. I don’t turn on the computer before 7am, and shut it off by 4 or 5 pm. Every now and then I break the rules, but avoid breaking them on the weekends.
If you are working from home, then go for a walk at regular times. It will help circulate blood and oxygen, and give your mind a chance to rest. Water the garden if you have one, just not everyday. It may sound boring, but you could do some household chores.
One thing that helped me focus was listening to one song before I started coding. I’d reward myself by listening to a another song an hour later after getting the things I’d planned to do for that hour.
Eat breakfast everyday. It will fuel the most productive part of your day.
Take an hour for lunch. After eating, read a book, listen to music, watch some tv.
Write down the things you want to do, then separate them into sub tasks. At the beginning, it will take a lot of time. But as you do it more, you’ll find shortcuts and shorthand. Having lists to check may help give you some structure to your day.