222 pomodoros in two weeks
For the past two weeks, I increased the amount of focused work I did by 25 minutes per day. All work was centered around my goal of becoming a better programmer. I studied machine level representation of programs, successfully completing the Bomb Lab and Attack Lab from the CSAPP textbook. I built a raytracer that supports texture mapping, various materials (metal, diffuse, glass), camera adjustment (positioning, depth of field, field of view). I started writing a bitboard chess engine. I started reading the Designing Data Intensive Applications textbook. I started reviewing the Crafting Interpreters textbook that I read last year.
All of these projects have a varying level of difficulty but they're all bringing me closer towards achieving my goal. Rotating between multiple projects made it easier to avoid burnout. I worked on whatever I was excited/willing to work on that day.
This work was done as part of the Futureland daily pomodoro challenge. It started as a group of friends tracking how much work they get done each day. You start with a target number of pomodoros to complete within 24 hours. If you miss the target, you're eliminated from the challenge. Each day, the target increases by one pomodoro. Last person standing wins.
I sharpened my own definition of what it means to do focused work. I decided that watching videos doesn't count. Exploring internet rabbit-holes doesn't count. Time spent reading only counts if it's a textbook. That doesn't mean that I don't want to watch videos or go down internet rabbit-holes anymore, its just how I make sure I'm actually getting stuff done.
The hardest part of this challenge is consistency. At the limit, slight variance in sleep quality, diet, work environment, and other factors make the difference between having a relatively easy day or fighting a battle. Striving for consistency made me more aware of what variables I can adjust to produce better work. I have ideas about how waking up earlier and going on more walks can be helpful, but I could only properly evaluate their effectiveness towards the end of the challenge.
The second hardest part of the challenge was time management. Since it went on so long, I found myself having to say no to earlier commitments. Some days were really hard because if I found myself unfocused and behind schedule, I would need to cancel evening plans to be able to complete the challenge. At the same time having evening plans also served as a motivator for getting work done early instead of stretching it out across an entire day.
This challenge first served as a ramping up exercise for the work I plan to be doing for the next few months. Then it turned into a limit test. I plan to continue studying the fundamentals of computing and letting my interests guide me towards what's next.