Python Engineer Oleksiy Diryavskyy shared on LinkedIn that he changed his approach to work — now he works mostly standing. But over time, even that became inefficient, so he asked his colleagues what approaches to work they use to keep their physical condition intact and their productivity high.
Python Engineer Oleksiy Diryavskyy shared on LinkedIn that he changed his approach to work — now he works mostly standing. But over time, even that became inefficient, so he asked his colleagues what approaches to work they use to keep their physical condition intact and their productivity high.
«For the last 5 months, I have been working on the project every day, on average 6-7 hours a day. In mid-October, I could no longer get work done while sitting, and switched to working only while standing,» the IT worker writes. «I feel that I have already used the limit of this approach to the maximum. I realized that I have a very big problem, that until I solve the problem to its logical end, I do not take a break and there were many days when I could spend the whole day developing.»
Frontend developer Iryna Kaletnik has been writing code standing up lately, which makes her feel better. At the same time, she starts her morning with special muscle exercises recommended by her doctor, which helps keep her back in shape.
Python Engineer Oleksiy Diryavsky, the author of the post, purchased a height-adjustable desk: «The thing is definitely cool. I can confidently say that I felt better when I changed from a sitting position to a standing one.»
Oleksiy also mentioned the benefits of a standing approach to work: he quickly felt relief from tension in his neck and trapezius, and the number of headaches decreased. At the same time, he is now trying to find a balance between working standing and sitting.
Google Cloud Developer Maksym Chernomaz says that everything was solved by the right chair. He also advises going to a doctor and finding out the condition of your spine, instead of consulting, for example, with an AI.
Junior Front-end developer Bogdan K. has been using the Pomodoro Technique for a long time — a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. It uses a timer to break work into 25-minute intervals called «pomodori» (the Italian word for «tomatoes») and separated by short breaks.
Junior .NET developer Yegor Sukhomlin spoke in favor of this approach: «Productivity increases not by leaps and bounds, but by leaps and bounds if you use these 10 minutes to relieve your body and brain. I can’t solve most problems by staring blankly at the code, all the best ideas come either while playing some strategy game or while walking, that’s how I live.»
Senior Backend Engineer Max Haiduk also uses the Pomodoro method, which helps avoid cognitive overload, and exercising keeps your back in shape.
And by the way, regarding sports, here are some options from the experience of IT people.
«If you are planning a long career, then health issues should be put first. For example: devote a certain amount of time to sports a day, and the rest of the time do work, not vice versa. In the long run, this approach will pay off. And don’t say that you won’t have time for something, because real development is in your head, and writing code is just fixing the decision,» wrote Senior Node.js/PHP engineer Vasyl Voyna.
Delivery Director Oleksiy Shevchenko chose a morning jog for himself: «No matter how trite it may sound, I decided for myself that I lacked the number of calories burned (namely, calories burned, not consumed) and I couldn’t find a better way than a 3 km morning jog. In the morning, I completed my daily load norm and can sit all day without harm to my health.»
Backend developer Ivan Karachevsky described his approach to work in great detail: «If the task is big and there is an implementation plan, then spend 40-50 minutes on work and 10-15 minutes on rest. 3-4 sets and lunch 3-4 sets and turn off the PC. Yes, it is very important to bring the subtask to its logical conclusion in order to have peace of mind. If the task is big and there is no plan, there is no entry point. Then poke from different sides, look around, check everything you can, quit and go for a walk, sleep, etc. The brain works autonomously, in the background. This approach helps a lot with blockages. The most problematic, for me, is to sort out some kind of muck (read the doc, catch a lot of blockages). In such cases, it is imperative to create a plan, a sequence, methodically step by step. If the task is big and you really like it and you can’t stop. then you need to stop yourself. Because a boiled brain is harmful to me and my loved ones. And so, a combined sitting/standing/walking approach. I solve some complicated things during walks. 1-2 hours a day. I still haven’t found the optimal balance between work and life. It’s hard. The main thing I’ve achieved is to stop at the logical, stop working when I’m stupid, not to work after the end of the working day, not to work on weekends, to unload my brain after difficult tasks, very difficult ones.
Back End Engineer Dmitry Martynov: «I started taking lunch breaks. It can be difficult to turn off my brain. But lately I’ve been trying to divide tasks in such a way that I can bring some part to its logical conclusion in 4-5 hours, do some minor planning for the rest of the day, and then go rest.»
» Try everything that will help break the monotony. And to maintain context during the pause, I just stupidly wrote in a notebook what I stopped at and what was problematic, because in the morning more important tasks may arise that can drag on until the afternoon,» added Java Developer Roman Manzhula.
