The original post: /r/php by /u/plonkster on 2025-01-17 20:57:32.

I code a lot, and I noticed a pattern.

I can program intensely for about 5-6 hours on a given day. By intensely, I mean not sleepwalking through stuff you barely need to think about, but actively solving problems, mobilizing all the brain resources you can to channel into the problem solving. The kind of session that makes you feel washed out when it ends.

Then, the next day, I pretty much need to rest, by either not programming at all, or doing some lightweight stuff like minor UI tweaks, maybe some performance optimization or making PHPStan happy(ier).

I also noticed that if I attempt to push the intense session past the 5-6 hours, into the 8+ hour waters, I almost inevitably regret it as I end up producing shitty code / taking unreasonable shortcuts that will cost me at least as much time later to redo / debug.

What about you guys? What are your metrics as far as coding time / quality output?