Julien Lengrand-Lambert bio photo

Julien Lengrand-Lambert

French guy living in the Netherlands. IT Chapter Lead @ING during the day, CoFounder @Skyai at night.

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Run for your life fellow developers

… till the inspiration comes !

If you stare at your computer screen for the last two hours, trying to figure out a software issue. If you keep swapping between Facebook, G+ and Stack Overflow waiting for the solution to comu up; then put your sport shoes on and have a run for half an hour!

Why? Well, I won’t make another discussion about the benefits of running, I’m sure you’ve had enough already. But while running, you can focus on your problem and get fully concentrating without being disturbed. You won’t be able to check FB, nor your mails. . . But most of all, you will get even more concentrated than while resting. Your brain will enjoy focusing on something else than pain, and you will have it fully dedicated to solve your problem.

When you get back home, take a short shower, a drink, and get back to work immediately! Let things come, and use what you thought about during the foooting. This could become the most efficient hour of your day :p.

I started this back some weeks ago and is has almost become a necessity since then. I go for a run a soon as I get stuck for more than two pomodoro sandglasses (aka 50 min). And I can count on my hand the number of times I didn’t come home with a solution, or at least a clue of where to look for :).

You can use this for anything you want. When younger, I used this to search for dissertation plans. Now, I sometimes use it to find motivation and write articles on my blog (can you imagine when this one came up? ). And believe me, it’s far more efficient than having another mug of coffee :D.

Finally, write down the date and how much time you ran. It’s always good for your mind to keep track of your performance :). Oh, and don’t take your phone! ;)

 

UPDATE : Some days ago, I found this interesting article related to my post :).

Here it is!