Working on a big solo project (~15,000 LOC), I am encountering the following phenomenon:
I seem to work best when I program in short bursts of 10-15 minutes.
Right now I am working on a section which is a complete first time for me architecturally and if I have any architectural issues that emerge when doing the implementation, I seem to be able to best serve these by taking a total break. Then, later, sketching out the ideas on some paper. And when I feel I have sufficient clarity, then going back to code. This iterates until that architectural issue for that section is resolved.
This seems quite counter intuitive: that I can progress more quickly by coding less, and taking more breaks.
I am nearing the end of the sections which are "first times" for me, and about to dive into stuff which I am much more familiar and am wondering if this counter intuitive efficiency will continue. So my question is: even for regular coding of sections one is familiar with, which don't require constant re-clarification of the best architecture, is more progress to be attained by taking more breaks and coding in bursts?
