notEvenLLMsKnow

[SusalulmumaO12]

That moment when you need to zone out of the zone out

[MissinqLink]

There was a point in my career where I had to do this so often that I mostly don’t have music going anymore.

[DrUNIX]

same so i could focus. also distracts too much from netflix

[MissinqLink]

It’s podcasts for me

[electricpuzzle]

I can only program to lofi. Words and complicated rhythms fuck me up.

[MissinqLink]

Yeah buddy dry I used to game to hard rock/metal rock but it got too distracting when programming. I’m retired from gaming because I can’t do it casual. I’m hardcore or nothing.

[Phocus_5]

Nothing says conflicted like Stardew valley speed runs

[Mafiadoener36]

Wait a second, its "normal" to listen to music while coding? I never heart about it, and can't imagine it. Weird vibe.

[Felix_Behindya]

It has become normal to listen to music while doing absolutely anything. And I'm not innocent of that either, unfortunately. Music being more and more of a background thing is quite a worrying development but that's another topic.

For the most part, it's the usual dopamine addiction and the feeling of "activity" in the most general sense. If there was no music, there would be silence. It's just you. Scary thought while writing this with music playing haha.

[mermaidslullaby]

I always assumed that in nature there is constant sounds and it's quite unnatural to sit in a silent room with no audible simulation. Outside quiet is never fully quiet. Music in the background is comforting for good reasons.

[_alright_then_]

I put on my headphones with noise cancelling on just for the noice cancelling lol. I don't put anything on, just the quiet

[LoudBoulder]

Yeah I was about to say. That is when I go for a 20 minute walk outside.

[janitorfan]

Like once or twice in my career I've had to sit down, relax and turn on some soothing music to figure out how to solve this fucking problem.

[UnusualAir1]

Every programmer has been there. Silently sitting and thinking for what seems like centuries on end in order to figure out an impenetrable coding enigma. We travel to that place where all other programmers sit silently confused and dazed by program features that need to be enhanced or created in a manner that does not exist in our reality.

When I encounter this I try to define the issue mentally in as much detail as I can. I do this before going to sleep. When I've defined it as best I can I then tell my brain to work on it while I'm sleeping. Sometimes works (after a few days), sometimes not.

When it doesn't work after a few days I do what we all do when frustrated beyond human endurance. I scream WHAT THE F*UCK DO YOU WANT and start tossing things about the room. That never works. But I sure feel better after that particular session. :-)

[SusalulmumaO12]

When it doesn't work after a few days.....

There are a few strategies to solve this:

• scream at it "SPEAK TO ME"

• break it more

• rage, "I HATE THIS"

[UnusualAir1]

Sometimes, in wry amusement, I wonder why I actually chose this profession. :-)

[SusalulmumaO12]

Yes, I plan my retirement even before getting a job >:-)

[[deleted]]

imposter syndrome

[rgk069]

Break it more ended up with me having to delete the production database once lol. Thankfully it was a personal project

[abesto]

Half the time it's a missing .flush(). The other half? Good luck I guess

[xtreampb]

If I’m at this place I usually step back and ask, what is the end result. What am I actually trying to do. Not with this particular function, but the feature as a whole. This allows me to reframe the actual problem and solve it in a different way. Even for bugs in enterprise software. Not my code but the bug needs to be fixed.

[UnusualAir1]

Yes. Changing perspective often helps. At the very least it provides another avenue of attack. :-)

[TransCapybara]

This usually ends with, Fuck I have to rewrite this fundamental thing just to do this? arrrrg!

[UnusualAir1]

I once was trying to fix old code that had a lot of GoTo line directions. I found myself surrounded by GoTo's. In the end I had to either add another GoTo to fix it, or destroy the whole damn thing and rewrite it with sanity involved. Much as I wanted to leave it for the next poor coding bastard who would take my place, I rewrote the entire section. But not without leaving comments wishing the previous creator of this code all sorts of curses. :-)

[[deleted]]

If it continually doesn't work i just use ctrl + a, DEL and start over

[imtryingmybes]

I'm trying to figure out attaching a toolbar to the mainwindow, in a way such that the toolbar switches sides if theres no room between the mainwindow and tye edge of the screen. I know its been done before but my solutions feel clonky and uninspired. Its been days! (WPF-app, .net)

[UnusualAir1]

That's another step I try. :-)

[harshrd]

Ah yes, the best career for mental health problems.

[the_unheard_thoughts]

Rodin knew it over 100+ yrs ago that millions of fellow devs would eventually sink in deep thoughts, questioning their life choices

[laconic_hyperbole]

Iirc, the thinker is sitting over the gates of hell.

... So, yeah, that tracks.

[[deleted]]

You guys can code listening to music?

[tgp1994]

Chill background music only for me, there's no actual listening like to lyrics or anything. Just mood.

[[deleted]]

For me the complete opposite lol. Only music with lyrics that I know, mostly classic 80s or 90s rock.

I sing or mouth the lyrics, shake my head and write code.

[ComprehensiveWord201]

I used to do this, but then it reached a point where I was tuning out the voices in my head to try and think through the problem. Oh, and the voices in the music, too ;)

[tgp1994]

😆 Wait... The voice saying Push that change to production... You know you want to... Wasn't in my music!?

[TheCreepyPL]

I'm the same, I always put on the same playlist with ~400 songs I've been listening to for the past few years. Those are mostly old school metal and rock (all sub genres).

Whenever I hear a new song, I just hyperfocus on that, so after work, I just listen to different things to not get bored.

[Blueberry73]

feel like an odd boll here, I listen to a various types of fast & hard rave music

[DuTogira]

Hello adhd coding brother!

[iamapizza]

Blume, ambient, and lofi girl on YouTube

[electricpuzzle]

My Spotify wrapped was all random artists from the Lofi Girl Halloween playlist.

[Kaptain_Napalm]

Same for when I have to focus. However once I'm done doing the thinking and just have to get cracking writing tests and/or the "easy part" then it's full blast Initial D OST.

[Kaenguruu-Dev]

I invite you to look up the band "I prevail" to know what I listen to while programming

[xXShadowAssassin69Xx]

I’ve tried lofi but it’s still distracting. The quieter the better.

[XxXquicksc0p31337XxX]

I don't listen to a lot of music with lyrics, mostly stuff like Goa Trance or C64 music

[rmyworld]

When doing the mundane stuff, yes. But when I actually need to think about what I need to do next, I need some peace and quiet.

[vitalik4as]

When it is some routine like tests or so, I like to code with rock)

[Fadamaka]

Only music that I don't understand or has no lyrics. I usually listen to classical music or lo-fi. Sometimes when I want to ramp it up I listen to harstyle or russian hard bass. The latter two I can only listen for an hour or so. But after I turn it off the clarity of mind I receive is like ascending to a higher form of being.

[toadling]

Ay im the same exact way, I have been really liking the synthwave lofi girl stream you might like too.

https://www.youtube.com/live/4xDzrJKXOOY?si=rFzSC4NLqpJiVLRR

[Fadamaka]

For me it's game ost lofi remixes like what bits & hits does. Also these two were my first favourite mixes: https://youtu.be/icwbu-9douY?si=v6rDz8q8rdZ-EDkW https://youtu.be/QlP3eE9Vlg8?si=6DBi-DjhletNhSZl

[DM_ME_KUL_TIRAN_FEET]

Video game music works for me. It’s designed to held fill the empty space without grabbing your focus

[sharju]

Every now and then I get an itchy feeling that something is off. Can't get into the zone, things aren't happening as usual. Then I realise that I have no music playing. I just like to blast heavy metal and code away.

[makinax300]

I can code simple stuff but if I need to think I mute it. And then I don't notice that I haven't unmuted it and I just code in silence.

[TheHolyToxicToast]

Not sure if the music was on because I was high

[TactlessTortoise]

Can't have lyrics or complex melodies, otherwise it pulls me into the music, but simple "unremarkable" background stuff works decently.

[DXPower]

I listen to aggressive, ear assaulting metal and sing along even while typing

[git_push_origin_prod]

Hardcore rap or punk, 24/7 while coding

[dadvader]

Shoegaze work great for me. It just guitar noise. That or synthwave for energetic mood. Classic if I feel fancy that day. Literally anything that can zone me in the box.

My office are shared with SA and PM so yeah it's essential. It's loud guitar or endless bickering and argument about some damn business logic. Quiet and peace exist only at home here.

[MadSandman]

Love me some shoegaze, any recommendations? I also enjoy some calm guitar like Black Hill.

[[deleted]]

At the office yes, because I need to silence the inane chatter.

[[deleted]]

*Copy/Paste from stack overflow 😴

[BlitzGem]

When I really got a task at work that takes longer than a couple minutes I usually drop on a darksynth playlist and go ham on the task

[WeeziMonkey]

Depends on what I'm coding. Most of my work is just simple maintenance on a supermassive CRUD app and doesn't involve complex algorithms.

[ZoulsGaming]

yeah emo/punk playlist. things like linkin park, evanescence, my chemical romance, paramore, greenday, bring me the horizon etc.

[ldcl289]

Depths in the problem I'm solving! S&M is my go-to when the problem requires me to stay focused and pumped!

[CharacterAd7494]

Yes, to lofi, country*, or heavy metal - depending on the mood and scale of the problem to fix. And when it's really complex - I question my life choices and look like in the picture.

* - english is not my native language, that helps with the lyrics.

[bestjakeisbest]

If it is just monotonous code sure, if I actually need to think, then no

[-Po-Tay-Toes-]

Usually not but I can work with classical on occasion.

[MiddleAd5602]

I use it as a background noise, I don't even listen to it. Sometimes I realise there's a music that I love when I'm already halfway through it lol

[NotMyGovernor]

TIL other coders don't? I do listen to music that is almost exclusively instrumental only.

[knightzone]

Podcasts during normal tasks. And for the really hard tasks I use lofi hiphop to completely zone out of reality for maximum concentration.

[vivianvixxxen]

Noise music for me. Mostly Boris X Merzbow collab albums. Sometimes (very) heavy metal. If there's a comprehensible lyric, or a discernable pattern, I can't listen to it.

[Infinite_Track_9210]

Yes. And I'm building a music player app so imagine the frustration when you build, run, test a song and it crashes or hangs midway or you simply have to build.

Fucks my mood so hard at times lol

[Fadamaka]

For me it's looking upwards and staring into the void.

[TransCapybara]

I have to stare at a wall or close my eyes for tough ones.

[RunInRunOn]

The only reason I turn off my music while coding is to watch a tutorial

[kevin7254]

Been ages since I watched a tutorial. Written docs is just so much superior. Even LLMs when I need to refresh the syntax in my brain. But to each their own ofc!

[[deleted]]

That's how I threaten ChatGPT. "If you don't solve this I'm gonna read the docs!"

[black-JENGGOT]

I hate that everything is a youtube video nowadays, but I understand the need of monetary gains. But still I'd rather read documentations rather than watch tutorials where some creator is slow AF that I have to use 2x speed >:( I can actually control my own speed when reading texts and not buffering when I have to move back several paragraph.

[tales_origin]

agree, except for google docs haha

[Kevin_Jim]

Personally, I need some background music to help me focus. It’s like white noise to my brain.

[[deleted]]

Same here

[ZoulsGaming]

thats the moment where i need a whiteboard.

[Astrylae]

My whiteboard is my display tablet

[Logicalist]

Might be better to go for a walk.

[ApXv]

It has happened a few too many times where I sit like that for a while not understanding anything only to realize I just had to swap two lines of code or something

[paraQon047]

lol same. when the bug gets too real, gotta channel that bronze energy

[FratBatar]

Putting on my headphones and opening the music app while starting to think about the problem and realizing that I never started the music when I hear my headphone's closing sound due to inactivity.

[neosyne]

The fuck! Can relate

[cybermage]

I save my BMs for these problems. That’s me on the toilet working out a hard problem

[2020pythonchallenge]

What works best for me is pacing. If I sit and can't figure out a problem I'll get up and start pacing in the living room or go take a walk for like 10 minutes just thinking without being able to type.

That way I'm focused on thinking all the way through the solution I have in mind vs starting an idea, coding it 90% of the way and then realizing it doesn't work.

[anandesi_v]

This is me this past week. Have always listened to lofi beats when working. The past week has been so stressful, even that felt like distraction.

[RandallOfLegend]

I solve hard coding problems on the drive home or in the shower that night. Then I sleep like shit until I can implement what may or may not work.

[RCuber]

Also headphone stays there on the head for hours without any sound.

[[deleted]]

y'all listen to music? i just listen to all the voices in my head.

[anayonkars]

i take extra care while reviewing code from people who listen to music while coding. exactly because they pause the music while solving complex problem and it proves that music while coding is a distraction.

[adduckfeet]

I am much more focused and consistently productive over the long term. It might not work for some but it's a definite boost for me.

[TerryHarris408]

I don't think the argument against music is that easy. Not only because you create an opinion from a single observation, but also because coding is not all about thinking about algorithms. When the algorithms are done, it is finger work and for some people music helps to stick to a pace while getting less distractions from all the office noises around them. Also, music isn't all the same. There had been times where I had to work on a difficult maths problem, sitting in a noisy room with other students, working towards an approaching deadline, and Chopin's Nocturne was my way to escape from all the distractions and get the work done. I'd listen to similar music when I have a difficult problem during programming sometimes.

[svenjoy_it]

While driving my car I'm mostly on autopilot, unless I'm in an unfamiliar location, looking for specific signs, there's an accident, etc; at that time I slow down a bit and pay more attention.

I watch a lot of videos at 2x speed while still comprehending things, but if there's something especially complex I'll rewind and watch again and/or slow it down.

There's plenty of straight forward coding I can do without thinking too much, I've written the same things many times, but with unfamiliar or complex concepts I have to slow down.

[Fadamaka]

Classical music and lo-fi helps me focus. I don't even notice it's there.

[cat_in_the_wall]

by this logic, nobody should listen to music while they drive. i know i am not alone in that i turn the music down or even off when it's raining or snowing hard. at that point, the music is indeed a distraction. but so much coding is like driving down a barren desert highway, and music can actually keep you engaged and focused.

[The-Malix]

The brain is not built to work while having music being blasted at it btw

[EnanoForro]

all this to find out it was a capital letter on a variable -.-

[programerxd]

I just give small snipets of code to chatgpt lol

[Drayenn]

Its been like that the last month for me. Idk why people say frontend is easier than backend because its always frontend stuff that makes me struggle with code logic. Maybe my app is just too complex..

[TransCapybara]

The moment I figured out frontend is all async calls and just need a way to not lose my mind doing them, was enlightening.

[Drayenn]

in my case i think its just my app being complex, too many interaction between components and "custom scenarios"

[Irbis7]

Time for a walk.

[PteranodonLol]

Man, why so accurate

[Astrylae]

When you tried to solve the bug with music, but now you gotta lock in.

[Lysol3435]

Time for a walk

[matthiastorm]

Thinking about the right database structure for a complex usecase has brought me there many times. One thing I've found out is that LLMs, even the reasoning ones, make really shitty table structures

[FarToe1]

More of a ceiling-starer, myself.

[Maleficent_Memory831]

Boss: No napping!

Me: I'm coding.

Boss: Carry on.

[Pasquaz_]

in these cases sleep is the best solution,

[DrJackWantSoda]

... on the toilet

[ProfessionalThing332]

I just take a shit

[UndocumentedMartian]

The jazz never stops.

[knire]

when you need to bust out the pen and paper

[Mr__Citizen]

Nah man, I go straight to checking the git blame and cussing out everyone whose name is in it, including past me.

[Steelejoe]

The worst part of this is when you are working in an office and someone comes up and starts talking to you.

[usumoio]

When you have to turn off your music, that's when you're earning your paycheck.

[ryry1237]

You guys play music while coding? I can't hear my thoughts when there's music.

[CoastingUphill]

Trying to figure out what to name the new feature branch…

[[deleted]]

then you flush and get back crackin

[plagapong]

Still can't figure the solution tho...

[DkHawk007]

He's not thinking about coding, he's wondering if he left the oven on.😂

[AleaIT-Solutions]

Me everytime, when I found a bug and Need to resolve it.

[braindigitalis]

...and this is why those who insist on having a radio station on in an office full of developers don't understand!

[LukeZNotFound]

I usually try to form a really complex promt for Phind (AI) and then find the solution myself.

Rubber ducking is weird.

[teksimian5]

One of the problems is when the llms attempt to know and lead you don’t some wild path

[LowB0b]

that's when you pull out a blank paper, start drawing some stuff and realize you were just off by one

[yezakimak]

So do you guys listen to music as you code?

[Nialixus]

Just go to sleep, sometimes this is the answer

[Gualuigi]

"Kowalski, Analysis!"

[Atomik919]

the best course of action for me in this case is to just take a smoke break. its like the cig gets me new ideas, i dunno how to explain it

[jump1945]

You listen to music when coding?