Day 54

Today was a good coding day.  Yesterday I hardly got any work done, however today I got so much work done that I sort of caught up to where I hoped to be.  Why did I do so much better today?  It wasn't extra caffeine:  I only had one soda, two coffees and one energy drink all day.  Trust me, that is significantly below average.  My hands aren't even shaking.  Although I have accidentally stayed up until 5 am.

So.  If it wasn't the caffeine, why did I get more work done today, especially after a morale-busting 3 day slump?  The only noticeable things I changed are:

• no TV
• no errands beyond food/coffee runs (no bicycling, going to the store, hanging with friends, nothing) 
• no music

The lack of music element is interesting.  Normally, I play Epic Music.  And by Epic, I mean that literally.  Like most of the songs are from soundtracks for movie trailers and, well, movies.  For example one of them was used as background music in an episode of Top Gear that features a fighter jet chasing super cars.  The artist that makes the bulk of the stuff I like is called Two Steps from Hell.  Its the only music that does justice to the magic I work with a keyboard, and unfortunately, I've listened to it so often, over and over again, that it is ruining my concentration.  All 20 hours of it.  I've heard of people having trouble concentrating while listening to music.  The lack of words was supposed to mitigate that.  It would seem, though, that listening to the songs until I am sick of them is also distracting.  Or, perhaps, listening to any music at all is distracting.

Today?  Mostly silence.  And I got a shit ton of work done.  I suppose I will experiment with Silence some more.  Actual silence though, as opposed to the hit single Silence by Delirium which is basically the best song every created by humans.

I would be happy to share my playlist, but I don't want to post the link in such a public place;  still scared from having YouTube ask me over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and wait did it stop? no...and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again if I want to use my real name.

Anyway.

The lack of TV...this one is also perplexing.  I thought I had some good experiences with TV shows and/or movies giving my mind a break, allowing me to return to coding faster.  However, watching TV may also harm my attention span, making it harder to maintain concentration.  So it could possibly be providing short term gains at the cost of a medium term detriment.  I don't know.  Shit, man, I was supposed to be in San Francisco this weekend...forgot to buy a plane ticket until the day before though, and then they were too expensive.

Anyway.

Time evaporates beneath my feet, like sand in an hourglass.  It feels like I just returned from my trip to New York City a few days ago, however according to my Wall of Progress, where I write down my daily accomplishments, its been nearly thirty days since I got back:

I don't quite have as much to show for it as I'd like.  That scary blue post-it note on the right is the physical position of the notecard I'll be placing after the last day I am able to work on the project.  Which...is actually right about the time I'll have to take all that down and move out.

The loneliness is kind of driving me crazy.  However, at the rate that I perceive the passage of time these days...this entire adventure is going to be over in the blink of an eye.