Ask HN: Do you meditate? Does it help you concentrate and improve your code? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Do you meditate? Does it help you concentrate and improve your code?

10 pointsVonGuard12 comments

Concentration is the key to coding, right? Does anyone out there meditate? Have you noticed a marked improvement in your ability to concentrate and to code since you began meditating? Any advice?

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I do meditate and it does help me solve problem on a large scale, with some perspective. But it's not magic, i.e. if I'm not in a calm room for long hours, I just can't code properly or be more productive. I used to have trouble sleeping (that's not really the case now) and I'd remain in bed doing nothing, expecting (hoping) sleep would come. Then I started noticing my breathing, and it became some sort of exercise. That was 7 years ago or so... Now every night I go to bed and I do the same routine: notice and control (more or less) my breathing, nothing else. I'm quickly engulfed by thousands of thoughts and the trick is just maintaining the routine for as long as it takes for them to calm down, observing them in a non-judgemental way, waiting. It's a bit of a leap of faith, that part. I can hardly describe the sense of clarity that strikes me after that... I actually believe this simple routine helped me a lot in getting rid of a general anxiety I use to have when I was a teenager, and find a better sleep (with richly symbolic dreams during the night that proved to provide a lot of "subconscient" answers to day-to-day or creative problems), among other things.

Yes. It especially helps to get you back on track. You know those urges to check email and Facebook, it has helped me to ignore those and remain focused on my task until my Pomodoro time is up. It also helps with my own self awareness. I feel I am much more aware of my body now than before. This helps me to recognize when a break would help me solve a problem rather than pushing on.

Another big benefit is just having time to relax. I don't know about other developers but I always feel I have to be doing something. With smartphones and high speed internet, there is always something I could be doing. But boredom is a good thing. It helps your body and mind to heal. Meditation has helped me to reduce my anxiety a lot and to just slow down and not feel so pressured.

Since all the answers are yes in here, I might as well post since my answer is "no". I don't meditate because

1) That time is better spent doing something else

2) It's boring

The only time I have trouble concentrating on code is the after lunch slump.

I listen to brainwave entrainment tracks, even while I'm working, and from past experience I can say it helps a lot. My mind is a lot clearer, and I can code for great stretches of time without stalling out.

Absolutely! As in anything in life, experiment! Give it a try for a week and see how it changes you.

For all those that say Yes, can you tell us how you started? Any resources?

A book called "Change Your Mind: A practical guide to Buddhist meditation" was very good for me. It's written by an English Buddhist monk, but is singularly free of any mystical or religious content.

I just started. Sit comfortably, breathe fully, notice your breath or your pulse and just relax. Sometimes I try to keep my mind clear of thoughts, sometimes not.

I had done a course called, 'sahaj samadhi' (loose translation in english: calm meditation) from Art of Living foundation. I found it very easy to follow.

Also sometimes, I do guided meditations.

Yes. Meditation helps me achieve flow and a more balanced state of mind.

Yes, it helps, and I do it everyday.

Yes meditation helps, but what helps even more is insight to meditation to gain knowledge, wisdom, understanding, and experience.

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