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Well, it has been a relatively nice weekend, however El Nino seems to be in full-force here in Arkansas. It has pretty much rained every day since the summer began. I really enjoy the summer and spring seasons, well, I tend to enjoy winter and fall’s also. Falls tend to be a bit busier here at the University however, and I find that fitting in some of the outdoor activities very difficult. Let me emphasize that computers and internet technologies is how I make my living, it’s not that I HAVE to do it, I really do enjoy tapping away at my laptop keyboard configuring CSS sheets, and trying to keep images and box-models aligned. But as a developer it is highly important that I have other activities to keep my the windows of my brain open so that fresh air can get in from time to time.

So, in the spirit of Luddite weekends, let me offer a few suggestions.

1. Coffee on the back patio or deck. If you don’t have a back deck try anywhere in your backyard really. Sometime in the morning also. Believe it or not, even if you shun mornings and are more or less a vampire (raises hand) your mind is really more acute in the morning than any other time of the day. Now you don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn, just sometime between 6am and 8am. Even though you are rubbing the sleep out of your eyes, and are trying to figure out where you are, just remember your brain is just climbing out of Beta sleep mode, and the creative side is highly active (which is why we dream like 5 minutes before we wake up) and firing away in imagination. Drinking coffee allows your physical real-brain side to identify with a real-world experience and will begin to start working, while being outside offers more stimulus for your creative side to keep firing away, until your logic takes over.

2. Gardening. This is my personal favorite. When I get home from work in the afternoon (yes even in the summer heat and humidity) I go out and look at my garden. I’ll pick out a few weeds, then look over my blank areas and decide what I am going to do next year with un-productive spaces. This allows my brain to think in a different direction and keeps those neurons growing out instead of just up.

3. Swimming. Now you can choose a different physical activity, but swimming is nice because it is almost 100% impact free. Plus, swimming around underwater allows your brain to SEE from a different perspective and the creative side starts to wake up a bit more. This is nice when you have been staring at XHTML all day.

4. Relax. Every once in awhile during the day, step away from the computer for 5-10 minutes. Staring at a blank text document can be un-nerving to say the least. Take some time to refuel and get back to neutral.

There are really no hard fast rules, just do something different than sitting there staring at a monitor. Now if you are in the middle of a development high (that place where coding is easy and the code just seems to drip from your fingers) by all means keep going, but when your brain starts going, “Man! I don’t know how to do that!” Then you might be due for a break.

Cheerio!