Introduction
I work as a software engineer with a full-time position plus freelance contracts, totaling around 250 hours per month. Compared to the typical 160-hour workload, that's a significant amount of time in front of a screen.
Over time, I've developed habits that help me maintain both productivity and health. Here's what has worked for me, ranked by impact.
What Has Worked
1. Let AI Agents Do the Heavy Lifting
This is the most impactful change I've made. The key insight: minimize cognitive load to maintain quality over long hours.
My typical day starts around 10:30 AM and ends around midnight, sometimes later when deadlines hit. By 7 PM, my brain is noticeably fatigued—similar to an athlete losing stamina in the second half of a game.
I noticed that bugs in my code correlated strongly with late-night commits. The root cause? Mental fatigue leading to shortcuts and oversights.
Writing complex logic and tests from scratch requires peak mental energy. So now, I delegate the implementation to coding agents (like GitHub Copilot Agent or Claude Code) and focus on reviewing their output. Reviewing is cognitively lighter than creating from scratch, which lets me maintain reasonable quality even when tired.
Since adopting this approach, bug reports have noticeably decreased—though I admit I haven't measured this quantitatively yet.
2. Take Supplements for Eye Health
Earlier this year, eye strain became a serious problem. Staring at monitors for 12+ hours daily was catching up with me.
After trying several solutions, lutein supplements made the biggest difference for my eye fatigue. For general health, I take Ebios (a brewer's yeast supplement popular in Japan) which helps with digestion and provides B vitamins. Reducing digestive stress has noticeably improved my daily energy levels.
3. Use a Standing Desk
I switched to a standing desk a while ago and rarely sit while working now.
Prolonged sitting puts significant strain on your lower back. I didn't notice it much when I was younger, but recently I've started feeling the effects. Senior engineers have repeatedly warned me: "Your back will give out suddenly one day."
Now I stand by default and only sit during breaks. Prevention is easier than recovery.
4. Build an Exercise Routine
This one's obvious but essential:
- 3 days/week: 1-hour strength training at the gym
- Regular walks: About 2 hours of outdoor walking
- Monthly hiking: 5-6 hour climbs on nearby mountains
Physical activity is the most effective way to offset the stress of knowledge work. I used to try unwinding with video games, but that just added more screen time and eye strain.
Hiking has a bonus benefit: you're constantly looking at distant scenery, which helps your eyes recover from close-up screen focus.
Final Thoughts
None of this is revolutionary. But consistently applying these habits has allowed me to sustain a demanding workload without burning out.
Technical skills matter, but so does knowing how to maintain the body and mind that use those skills. I hope this helps someone else navigating a similar schedule.
What are your strategies for staying healthy with long coding hours? I'd love to hear what works for you in the comments.
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