More Flow, More Happiness

I usually spend only 20% of my workday programming, but this week I’ve been doing more of it and it’s been awesome. There’s something really rewarding about refactoring code — making it more concise, more logical, more consistent. More beautiful. This isn’t even new code; I’m just pruning the old stuff in preparation for coming additions. Jon Udell says good programming is like good writing: you need multiple drafts.

For me, programming is the way I get into flow. Sometimes writing can do it for me too. For my grandmother, I think it was quilting. I believe much happiness comes from creating something.