10 Signs You Need a Programming Break

Programming is a real good time. Solving puzzles, and breaking things (then fixing them) can be a source of an adrenaline rush.

There are times when you are hitting the keyboard a little too hard and a little too often.

Here are 10 telltale signs that you should log out of Slack, close the laptop and recharge.

Dreaming of Debugging

I’ve certainly been there. You find yourself in a boring dream doing things that you don’t enjoy at work. The worst part about this is once you wake up you need to actually go back to debugging. 

Semicolon Syndrome

You start to find trivial mistakes in everything. You read the label on your shampoo and find that there are grammar mistakes. You see someone driving and they don’t use their indicator and it enrages you.

You use semicolons in your everyday work, including in an email you write to your bank.

Caffeine Compiler

Your coffee consumption has increased so dramatically that your bloodstream might now be considered a hazardous material site.

You have a headache every morning and start to get the shakes if you miss your caffeine fix in the morning.

You Think Git Commands Function in Life

You forget your card at the supermarket. Your first thought is git commit --amend, and you try to type it in the air.
Since life doesn’t come with a rollback feature it just doesn’t work.

Keyboard Imprints

You’ve got keyboard imprints on your fingertips and you consider it a badge of honor. Someone says professional guitarists get finger callus so you think that having keyboard callus makes you cool. You couldn’t be further from the truth.

Variable Vocabulary

When someone asks how you’re feeling at a party you respond with: “My status is currently set to a mix of tired, caffeine-dependent, and deadline-driven.”

Agile Present

When given anything to do you think that it is a ticket. You demand full requirements before you start anything, including lunch with your partner.

Who am I kidding? None of us have a partner.

Restless Repository

You feel you need to constantly refresh your Pull Requests in case you’ve received a review. 

Whenever you are not checking in code. A day without commits is like a day without sunshine.

You think Dijkstra is Funny

On the bus you tell the driver to do a Dijkstra and find a shorter path to your apartment.

Everyone on the bus becomes concerned about your wellbeing.

Social Syntax Errors

Conversations start feeling like code reviews and you’re tempted to ask friends and family to submit their anecdotes for your approval. You feel able to “radical honesty” to tell them their story about their grandmother dying is trash.

Conclusion

I think I need a break from software development and blog posting. That is, I think it’s time for me to sleep.