10 principles of Zen-tao programmers

The 10 rules of a Zen programmer

On a cloudy morning, I sat at the desk and started to think about how to work efficiently. Before I became a freelancer, I worked very hard for a long time, but with little effect.

I started to learn Zen in 2006. I immediately realized that the ancient Zen masters knew how programmers should work hundreds of years ago. Although I hate articles like "How To Be a better programmer", I still want to share some of my ideas. It serves as a reminder for me. If you have any ideas, please leave a message.

　　0. Focus on focus

If you decide to start your work, please do your best. Do not do a few things at the same time. Only one thing at a time. If you work with multiple threads, you may not be faster. Multithreading can exhaust you, cause errors, and consume more time for conversion tasks. This is not limited to programming, it is a general rule.

Kodo Sawaki said: If you need to go to bed, go to bed. When you try to go to bed, do not think about the program, simply go to bed.If you are programming, focus on programming.Do not daydream. If you are tired and cannot program any more, go to bed. Even the famous multi-threaded Superman Stephen uhrenbacher decided to work in a single thread in the future. I also had a similar experience with Stephen, and finally I wrote time & bill, a time tracking tool. The purpose is to track my time with only one key. The result is terrible: I often move to another task after only a few minutes of focus. Now I am much better. Similar to Pomodoro Technique, I plan some work hours and focus on them. No chat, no sleep, no view of new games in the appstore.

　　1. Stay awake Keep your mind clean

During programming, you need to clear your memory. Let go of other things in your head. If you are troubled by other things, do not let them affect you. In most cases, the trouble will automatically disappear. However, if there is a lot of trouble, you can't forget them and don't work. Try to clear the distractions. When you start to work, let the external world stay away from you.

Is there anything exciting in the email list? Ignore it. You will have a chance to see this exciting thing later. Turn off the applications that can fill your head immediately: Turn off Twitter, Facebook, and e-mails. You should mute your phone and put it in your pocket. You may say this is the same as the first one, focusing, very close, but there is another one,Do not use these tools during meals or before starting work. They will connect you to the external world and distract you.

Think about it: most of the time when you get up, your head is awake and there is no distractions. If this is not the case, it may be helpful to do some exercises (I will run long distances ). If you feel that you have no distractions, go to work. You can do well. When you stop working, you can fill your head with distractions. You will see that the hard work of the whole day has been left behind by you. This is a great experience. Twitter and CO consume most of your energy. You may think: It's just one minute. You are wrong.

You have realized it.

　　2. Keep beginners thinking beginner's mind

Remember the days when you were a new recruit. If you are still a newbie, remember this time. You are always eager for new knowledge. Imagine yourself as a new person every day.Try to look at those technologies from the perspective of a new person. In this way, you can better accept corrections, or release new features without playing cards as usual. You can also learn many good ideas from new people.

　　3. Leave yourself at your own risk of no ego

Some programmers have a big problem: Too self. But we don't have time to develop ourselves, and we don't have time to become a rock star.

Who decides to be a programmer? You? No, is that someone else? Maybe. Can you compare Apple with bananas? No. You are an individual. You cannot compare your aspects with other individuals. You can only make one-sided comparisons.

You have something amazing, and you cannot be complacent. How powerful is Java? Cool. Another Java is really worse than you, but he is better at bowling than you. Java is heavier than bowling? Depends on the situation. Maybe you can rely on Java to make more money, but that person may enjoy a lot of fun because of some bowling friends.

Can you be complacent because you are a geek?Programmers who are too self-conscious will not learn from others modestly.

Kodo Sawaki once said: you are not that important.

Think about this sentence.

　　4. Do not consider career goals there is no career goal

If you want something and don't care about your current life, you have lost the game. Do not imagine what career goals you will achieve in the future.

After 20 years of work, become a shareholder partner? Why not work hard for interest? It can be interesting to work hard. Zen says,No food for one day.

We don't have to wait for 20 years to be happy. You can be happy now. Even if you are not a shareholder partner, you are not driving a Porsche. Things will change soon. You will be ill, you may be fired, and you may be self-exhausted (if you follow all these rules, I think the possibility is very low ).

Before all these things happen, please work hard and work happily. Don't just stare at the achievements in the school, don't think about a job you don't get.

After all, you will eventually reach a certain position. You may have some precious memories and may have a good job that has been brilliant for 20 years. Every day is a great day.

If you feel unhappy in your current company, leave now.Don't stay in a job that's getting you happy.. Of course, this may only work in the rich countries, and people can choose to leave. But if you live in such a good environment, do it. Don't regret leaving. You don't have time to waste. You may die tomorrow.

　　5. Stop arguing about shut up

If you have nothing to say, do not waste time quarreling with your colleagues. This is not to say that you are weak. You have to work every day,You don't need to worry about other people.. Imagine what a good working environment it would be if everyone did this. Sometimes this is impossible. But try it. You will like it.

If you are not at your own risk, it is easy to avoid quarrel, but to focus on what you really want to say. Don't confuse yourself with experience. Remember: you are a new person. If others have good ideas, let's support them.

　　6. Be careful \ be aware of mindfulness. Care. Awareness

Yes, you are at work. But you are breathing at the same time. Even if your work is difficult, you need to listen to your body signal. You should learn good things for you, such as food. You should learn to take care of yourself and pay attention to your environment. After all, the water you drink will flow into the river again. Because you only live for yourself,You will leave the world alone. The earth is still running without you.

Don't work in environments you don't like. Don't do the unpaid work, it means you won't be happy, you have to leave your bed in bed. Stay away from things that make you unhappy. Does a non-return job sound like a fantasy? Think about people who are doing open-source projects in prime time. If you subscribe to some items in the email list, you may already know how popular it is.Don't do this if you're not happy.. I know that many people do open source projects, but they do not like them. Using Time bill, I tracked my time spent on open-source projects, and I wasted too much time, especially for projects I don't like.

Some people think that they will be happy only when they have time to entertain themselves and can have Xbox at night. Although sometimes enjoyment is very good, it does not mean that you are happy all the time in your life. If you want to avoid situations you don't like, try to avoid them (as I mentioned above), but sometimes you have to deal with things you don't want to do. For example, manually copy and paste the data in the manager's Excel file to phpMyAdmin. These may take a few days, which is boring. You are bored, but sometimes you have. You can't resign at will because you encounter a boring task. Zen masters will not escape their work. They get up at four o'clock (sometimes earlier, sometimes later, depending on Customs), start meditation and work (they think work is also meditation ). They will clean the restroom, or make gardening. If they are saifan, they will cook. They will concentrate on their work. No matter what they do, they will do it with all their hearts and feel happy and satisfied.Because every moment, even cleaning the restroom, is their life for them..

That is to say, if you need to copy and paste an Excel file, do not cry. Just do it. Don't waste your time complaining. They will pass. Try making the best copy and paste.

If you have a heart disease, people may say, "Oh, he has been working for too long and he often works for me for free late at night ." No one will guide you to another world. The last step is to let us go.You cannot change anything in the world. Nothing works.So you need to take care of yourself, every moment. If you die, you will die. If you live, you should live well. There is no time to waste.

In zen, "heart" is a large word (in any form of Zen ). I cannot fully express what it means. It is very difficult to understand the different meanings of the "heart. It may be easier for you to understand the word "meaning. You need to be aware of everything you do. Otherwise, you are wasting time. Of course you can do this by yourself, if you like.

　　7. reject the boss there is no boss

Yes, the boss pays you. He tells you what to do, and he can also fire you.But there is no need to give up your own life.Is ill for your work. In the end, your boss cannot control you. Maybe you are out of control.-Please do not take this path.

Return to your boss: If you allow it, it can make your life worse. But there is a solution. If he wants you to do something that you are not happy with, or something that violates your principles,Resolutely say no. What will happen? In the worst case, he will fire you. So what? If you live in a Western country, if you are a programmer (if you are reading this article, you are probably a programmer), you will find another job.

I am not saying no to a task like copying CSV data into HTML. I am talking about 80 hours of work a week. Or you think your child needs more attention. Or you are forced to fire other people just because your boss doesn't like them. Or you are a consultant, but you need to write a program for a nuclear power plant or tank (some may say how nice it is to work for a nuclear Power Company-but this violates my principles, and only one example), you can say no.

　　8. Do something else

A programmer is not only a programmer. You should do something unrelated to the computer. In your spare time, you can go sailing, fishing, diving, meditation, military art, and play (shakuhachi, a musical instrument ). No matter what you do, use the remaining energy, just as you do your best at work.Interests and hobbies are not just interestsIt is also a symbol of who you are. Do not let others say that interest is not important. Now we can have our own hobbies. I have recorded some CDs and written several sci-fi books (I have never published them, so I need more exercises and writing ). All these things can be used to experience what kind of person I am. They eventually lead me to learn about Zen and write this blog. Recently I have been practicing. These are part of my daily life.

　　9. Nothing is irreplaceable. There is nothing special

A flower is very beautiful, but it is only a beautiful flower, nothing more special. It is not uncommon. You are a programmer. Maybe you are great, but nothing unusual. You are just like me, a living body on this planet.

You want to go to the bathroom, you want to eat, and you want to go to bed. After a long time (hopefully so), you will die, and everything you create will follow. Even after a long time, the pyramid will disappear. Do you know the name of the person who built the pyramid? If you know, is this very important? Not important. There is nothing special about the pyramid.

The same is true for programs you write.Banks make money through the software you write. But when you leave, no one will remember you. This is not a fault, it is a rule of time.You don't need to worry. If you believe this rule, you will realize that the previous project is very interesting. Now you just need to continue and focus on what else to do.

If your company goes bankrupt for financial reasons, don't worry. The lifecycle will continue. We don't really need an Xbox, a car, or anything else. Most people in this world live in a hot spot. They don't care about Xbox, because they are more eager for food and water.

So why are you unique? Just because you are lucky to live in the West? Because you can program? No, you have nothing special. You should make your sense of yourself disappear and relax. Enjoy the fragrance and color of flowers. Do not be too sad when winter comes, or be too happy when spring comes. This is a natural law. It's also so embarrassing when someone denies your program. Because the company is not that important.

　　Statement

I am not a Zen master. I am only studying and practicing. If you think you need more in-depth understanding, ask your local Zen masters. Of course I can try to answer this blog, but I am just a beginner. In any case, I would like to see your comments. If you like this article or use the link of this article to push it, I will be very happy. Thank you for reading!