At this mode, my mind uses all available time slots to make the best of them. For example, by the time my program compiles, my brain visualizes possible breakage scenarios and possible solutions, in case the compilation fails.
I could be on confirmation bias here, but this seems to be a neat trick to get more things done.
Surprisingly, at the end of the day (typically after two/three of these zones) I feel more fresh, satisfied and productive. But that's just me.
Which is that all accomplishments are meaningless in the end. And we are just getting older. Once a person dies they aren’t experiencing any stuff that came as a result of their effort. They may as well have just messed around and had a family sooner, or traveled, or not. It’s all meaningless anyway.
I can’t shake it. Anyone felt this way all the time? Any advice?
As for me, Yes, I might pick traveling and having fun over creating software. But I'm not from a wealthy background and my need for a better quality of life is satisfied by selling my skill for money. In that sense, I picked long-term quality of life over short bursts of fun and happiness.
Also, I do have fun coding so it's kind of alright for me.
So, consider your heirs, and work long enough to build a nest egg cushion the devote time to having a wonderful spouse, making babies and enjoying them.
Think of yourself as a part of humankind - you can contribute big or small to the goal of continuing the existence of humankind and its further expansion - with your work, raising children, other.
Ultimately, there is no meaning given to us from any source (given that you are not religious), and you search and choose your own.
I think starting your own project or startup can fall into that category, too. It can be very intrinsically fun and rewarding, and the idea is to do stuff that's intrinsically fun and rewarding while we're still alive, I think. Writing 2.0 of BigCorp's latest TPS management app carries none of that, and so it seems like a complete waste in the grand scheme of life.
Another option is to do things that really will have a significant positive impact on people's lives post-death, and despite the fact that you won't be able to see, feel, or appreciate the impact you caused after you die, it will still feel very worthwhile for the entire duration that you're still alive. Like helping fight global hunger or disease, for example. You'll forget that TPS 2.0 app a few days after you've quit that job probably, but if you quit a non-profit helping fight hunger and you made something that actually tangibly helped, you'll probably think about that your whole life.
Where anxiety and stress can come in for me is letting unsolvable, abstract-ish things hound me for a long time: "I have made a big mistake in life N years ago", etc.
Where I think urgency is hurting is breadth: I focus only on the easiest solution and long term view goes out the window so I need to intersperse walking or similar to let my mind wander to strange, stupid or potentially good ideas. Just my 2c, YMMV.
It obviously doesn’t sustainable though, both your work and health. It get a job done, but I know that it lack finesse quality, also all that stress definitely shorten my lifespan.