Micro Iterations
When I have phases of real progress that moves me forward, it seems that there is one pattern repeating: I am doing Micro-Iterations. That is, I got a small problem while writing software and think about it, and if I have no solutions for, say 30 seconds, I stand up, go to my table, sit down and write the problem on a piece of paper. The physical shift in location and activity encourages me to get into a dialog with myself, largely supported by re-spotting the written words or sketches. And solutions flow in, one after another, bringing me forward in my thinking and writing.
It’s the discrimination, it’s the setup, the context that changes perspective and so initiates the rewiring. Software development was never in the code, the fingers or the language, it’s in our heads. Consciously separating an explicit “now I want to be creative” situation from the “typing work” may be an important behavioral pattern that makes us faster and more innovative.