Ask HN: What do you do while compiling?

8 points·rcfox··11 comments

My project takes a long time to build: 15 minutes for a clean build, 5 minutes for a minor change. At some point in the day, I've caught up with the interesting articles on HN and Google Reader, and then I struggle to find more interesting things to read. I feel like I could make better use of the time, but trying to learn a new language or start a project in 5-minute bursts doesn't work too well for me.

What do you do?

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Pushups, situps and squats.

Next year I'm thinking of pushing my boss to get a barbell rack for the office.

Work on optimizing my compile time.

I either take a walk outside and stretch or I read - something completely unrelated to programming (since I study acupuncture part time it's kind of perfect)

Some compiles take a few hours so I have no choice but to jot down whatever state the current project is in and switch context to some other project...

Get up, stretch, make a cup of coffee, go outside for some fresh air. Getting away from the screen and strip lighting for a while does wonders for me.

Go on dell.com or apple.com and build these crazy systems that I will never buy. 5K for a workstation? Sure!!

Legitimately slack off - http://xkcd.com/303/

Iterate on paper, Start coding the next bit, filter email inbox + im

Honestly? I keep coding. There is always something else to write.

HN new links. :)

Spider Solitaire

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