All good developers need time to decompress. This ability to decompress comes in 2 basic flavors.

The first obvious method would be getting away from the mundane routine of coding. This form of decompression is common to most jobs. Developers like anyone else can benefit from some time away. This can come in small doses, like 20 minutes of web browsing here and there, or in longer form, like a vacation. A lot of developers are able to decompress by surfing the web. This is because the web is a passion for us. Even though we may be are on YouTube watching a video clip, we are also taking in subtle ideas about all the sites we are visiting. “Does this site implement comments in a unique way?” “Would it work for us?” We notice features, navigation choices, GUI elements and are constantly tucking them away into our mental toolbox.

When we find ourselves working on a project where we may be able to implement an earlier idea we saw, we try it. Developers enjoy being creative and applying new concepts and ideas to our work, no matter what the project.

The second way most web developers decompress will come as a bigger surprise to non-technical managers. As I mentioned, web developers are passionate about their trade, and a good developer enjoys working on new ideas. This may mean working on something we have not been assigned to, or re-tweaking code that was written a while ago. Even writing code for personal sites. Google embraces this notion and encourages their employees to use 20% of their workweek for side projects. And it has paid off for Google. Many features you use in Gmail, and Google Calendar each day came from developers own R&D time, and not through committee or assignment. While this may seem like more work, or a distraction to others, this is a huge perk for developers, and results in increased productivity and creativity.

Just like a writer, developers can get a creative block, and need time to step back and come at the problem with a different mindset. Its that creativity that will help your site or application in the long term. If you allow your developers to decompress and in turn build their knowledge base, they will have the clear mind, creativity and skills to tackle their regular projects more efficiently.

photo by Subnet24

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dev team, experiences, philosophy by bill breen