Coding matters: Bleh mode

Photo of a black and white cat sprawled out in sleep in an exhausted pose.

I’ve been feeling bleh. The dictionary has words like "apathy" or "lethargy" or "low mood". But "bleh" sounds like it feels.

We all feel bleh at times, and for different reasons. Physical tiredness, lack of sleep, mental exhaustion, anxiety, stress.

And, of course, that almost-end-of-year fatigue. That’s a real thing. Checking back on the blog, I realise I felt this way a year ago too.

A slight detour in time

Feeling bleh is part of being a modern human. I wondered if cave people felt bleh. I imagine they went from joy at finding food, to terror at finding a sabre-toothed tiger.

It seems evolutionary psychologists believe that early humans also experienced depression and anxiety.

Dealing with bleh

Usually I can kick myself out of bleh-mode quite easily. Bleh-mode makes me unproductive, and I need to be productive.

I often use the Pomodoro technique method. That uses timed, focused sessions to work on a task. It’s how I get personal tax returns done on a Saturday afternoon. (I wrote about it in last year’s bleh post: "Coding matters: The missing get up and go".)

But I’ve felt too bleh to set a timer. I got side-tracked by my Kindle, but then I felt guilty for not working. So I chose to sort out my inbox. It is low priority. But it is easy to do, and needs to be done.

You can find many suggestions. Like going for a walk. But I want work-related ideas that make me feel productive. What works for me may not work for you. But here are some ideas that came up:

  • Enter or update data. I’ve already updated all the finance stuff, which is my first option when I’m bleh.

  • Update project plans or to-do lists. This is another of my favorites. I’ve done my to-do list for the next 6 weeks.

  • Organise your digital or physical files. My inbox is looking better, but I still have a way to go.

  • Organise your workspace. I like this one, but I know a few people who would find it terrifying.

  • Do simple coding tasks, like fixing minor bugs or making small updates.

  • Do basic research to gather data. That doesn’t work for me. I need to evaluate information as I research, and that needs mental energy.

The scroll of weird

Remember my post about The Scroll of Doom. That way lies more bleh. But if you do go down the rabbit hole, look for some good news. Or some weird news. I found a few weird stories to share:

  • Russia has fined Google more money than exists in the world. Big Tech needs brakes, but this is absurd.

  • According to the infinite monkey theorem, a monkey pressing keys on a typewriter will eventually write the complete works of Shakespeare. Mathematicians in Australia have done calculations to disprove that. There go any hopes for monkey labour.

  • Pascal Bornet has written a book called "Irreplaceable: The Art of Standing Out in the Age of Artificial Intelligence." I understand we need books like this. But it’s weird to read that we have to be "human-ready". Being human is our only choice.

How do you deal with bleh? It might help if you share your comments on the the blog post.

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