I would like to tell you a small story.

I was trying to understand a bug. I spent maybe 5 pomodoros on it. Pomodoro is a technique that helps you to stay focus.

I couldn’t find the root cause of my bug. I was quite frustrated. I decided to stop my session of pomodoros and left my work for the day.

I went to my beautiful cat and started petting her. I was starting relaxing when at a sudden I got the solution to my bug.

What can you learn from that?

Focus is not always good

I like very much the technique of Pomodoro. It helps me to keep focused. Focus is not always bad. But for sure, focus is not always good. It’s good to let your thoughts drift away. It gives you relaxation and helps you to step back. It can also improve your creativity and imagination. Developers and data scientists need both of these skills.

Many ways to let your mind wander

Pet cats

Cats are precious creatures. They deserve your attention. And you deserve the affection and quietness they bring to you.

Take showers

Many ideas come from this moment when you’re alone letting your mind roam.

Sleep

Very often, you’re not able to fix a bug. You go for a full night of sleep. And as soon as you wake up, you suddenly find the solution to your problem. Sleeping is important. Not sleeping enough brings to a human debt.

Test meeting walks

I’ve never tested that but heard this concept in one of my English lessons. The idea is to organise a meeting with someone. But the location of the meeting is not in a closed office, but in the streets or in a park where you decide to walk and discuss freely your problems or your ideas. During the pandemic, it’s a difficult thing to try but I like the idea.

In a conclusion, many books and people value focus and Pomodoro. I also value all of that. At the same time, you’re not executors. You need creativity, imagination, and distance with what you do. You need that more than I could have thought at the beginning of my career. This is why you also need to let your mind wander.