This blogpost was originally posted on my personal site at https://miko.ademagic.com/blog/dungeon-mode/
Hollywood loves to push the cliché. If y...
For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse
I think every one of us has our own Dungeon Mode". It could be in the dark, it could be with headphones on, or whatever. In the end, it is what you mean by *Dungeon. It's a way to be focused at all with no interruptions.
In my case, I used to have YouTube in the background with different kinds of music. Sometimes something more relaxing, sometimes more hard. It depends on the tasks I'm doing and my mental status.
We have to find what is our Dungeon Mode and use it. And, it probably will change during our lifetime as well.
Congrats on the article!!!
Thanks! You're right, everyone has their own version of an optimal environment that helps them enter that flow state, and different things work at different times. I do wonder if the nerd-in-the-dark stereotype "dungeon mode" we see on movies and tv just magically works for any/all developers. I didn't think it'd work for me, but somehow it organically grew into that, I was surprised that I ended up working like that.
If anyone tries I'd be curious to know the results! And thanks for your comment :)
My dark mode is at night. I don't if natural darkness combined with the silence make me be more focused. It's a different way of being in the dungeon 😉
interesting points! actually I do listen to some rock and reggae music to get in my "flow mode", like RHCP, Linkin Park, Lynyrd, Bob Marley, etc. it's pretty much the same, no cellphone, no talk, just screen and study lol
Thanks! I'm working on a post about "music to code to", I know everyone probably listens to different things at different times but I wonder if there's a correlation between which music works best and which doesn't. Keen on your perspective there as well :) will share when it's done
There's definitely a time & place for Dungeon Mode! I don't think I could make that my full-time job, but as a Developer Advocate there are often "heads-down" times when you're building things that are offset from the "social butterfly" times when you're presenting or chatting or whatever.
My home office is in my basement, and as much as I didn't want to at first, I do find that I like being in my little nook where everyone knows I'm not to be bothered.
there's definitely that element too. I'm sure by shutting myself off from passive distractions, I also give off a "Do Not Disturb" vibe around the house and people won't actively distract me either :) Overall, being able to be undisturbed is probably more important than "dungeon mode". Thanks for the comment :)
I try my hardest to ONLY work in “dungeon mode”. I find that it allows me to focus better on work when that’s what I’m supposed to be doing, and it also allows me to better focus on family time when that’s what I’m doing (which means not thinking about work). Basically I get higher quality, and more focused, time all around. This is compared to before where everything was a jumbled, stressful, and distracting mess that was not good for my productivity or quality of life.
Totally agreed! It sounds like what you're creating is the "disconnect" between working at home and living at home. I used to also go for a walk around my neighborhood as soon as I've finished work, just to break up the trip from one room to another. I've found that really useful too, and I can see the difference now that my home office is more integrated into the rest of the house. Thanks for your comment!