# Coder's Block **URL:** \ **Category:** Rails\ **Created:** [May 16, 2008, 2:51pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/coders-block/137801 "2008-05-16T14:51:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tcsnide)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 2:51pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/coders-block/137801/1 "2008-05-16T14:51:57Z")
What do you do to help combat coders block, or that momentary lack of creativity, when you have a good design in your head, but you just can’t get it down on paper, so to speak? Do you: -Write in run-on sentences? (like the above?) -Write things down on -actual- paper? (I do that often.) -Mock up screens/views in mspaint? Just curious. -Tom ---
**Author:** ![tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tcsnide)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 3:08pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/coders-block/137801/2 "2008-05-16T15:08:34Z")
Thomas Sullivan wrote: > What do you do to help combat coders block, or that momentary lack of > creativity, when you have a good design in your head, but you just > can’t get it down on paper, so to speak? > > Do you: > -Write in run-on sentences? (like the above?) > -Write things down on -actual- paper? (I do that often.) > -Mock up screens/views in mspaint? > > Just curious. > > -Tom A Whiteboard works for me, or if I’m too lazy to turn around and use that, paper. A picture is worth a thousand words… I took one of those online IQ tests a while back, and it classified me as a Visual Mathematician, which in retrospect, was pretty accurate. Visualize first, code second. ---
**Author:** ![tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tcsnide)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 3:15pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/coders-block/137801/3 "2008-05-16T15:15:32Z")
On Fri, May 16, 2008 at 05:51:00AM -0700, sullivan.t wrote: > What do you do to help combat coders block, or that momentary lack of > creativity, when you have a good design in your head, but you just > can’t get it down on paper, so to speak? > > Do you: > -Write in run-on sentences? (like the above?) > -Write things down on -actual- paper? (I do that often.) > -Mock up screens/views in mspaint? Talk to another developer, ideally in front of a whiteboard. Nothing makes things flow better than trying to explain them to someone else. If no other developer is available (this is why I dislike telecommute-only jobs), a family member, household pet, or bartender may be substituted. > Just curious. > -Tom > –Greg ---
**Author:** ![tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tcsnide)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 3:56pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/coders-block/137801/4 "2008-05-16T15:56:23Z")
play a few rounds of tf2. taking a break, no matter how short, helps me out a lot… you usually come back with a fresh perspective… even working on an unrelated project can help… ---
**Author:** ![tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tcsnide)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 4:30pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/coders-block/137801/5 "2008-05-16T16:30:02Z")
> What do you do to help combat coders block, or that momentary lack of > creativity, when you have a good design in your head, but you just > can’t get it down on paper, so to speak? > > Do you: > -Write in run-on sentences? (like the above?) > -Write things down on -actual- paper? (I do that often.) > -Mock up screens/views in mspaint? Write unit tests. Gee! I have an answer for /everything/, huh? ---
**Author:** ![tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tcsnide)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 8:35pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/coders-block/137801/6 "2008-05-16T20:35:26Z")
AndyV wrote: > I go along with Ar Chron and Gregory. I have a nice whiteboard next > to my desk and use it all the time to clarify my thinking on a > design. Often visualizing helps me a lot and I find that I’m more > inclined to use the board than paper (always feel guilty about > producing a sheet that I intend on throwing away). I… I… I…?? Whea use Pair Programming! There is no I in PAIR!!! ---
**Author:** ![tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tcsnide)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 9:23pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/coders-block/137801/7 "2008-05-16T21:23:12Z")
Ironically, I’m from Boston. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tcsnide)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 5:56pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/coders-block/137801/8 "2008-05-16T17:56:08Z")
I go along with Ar Chron and Gregory. I have a nice whiteboard next to my desk and use it all the time to clarify my thinking on a design. Often visualizing helps me a lot and I find that I’m more inclined to use the board than paper (always feel guilty about producing a sheet that I intend on throwing away). Talking it through with someone else helps a lot, too. I’d disagree that it has to be a developer, though. Often times trying to describe things to a non-developer can be much more illuminating. The very language that you use to describe it can take you in entirely different directions and help break through that last barrier to getting it on paper. ---
**Author:** ![tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tcsnide)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 3:30pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/coders-block/137801/9 "2008-05-19T15:30:32Z")
On May 16, 3:51 pm, “sullivan.t” [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > -Tom Smoke a cigarette. Just try not to get addicted to coders block. ---
**Author:** ![tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tcsnide)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 4:05pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/coders-block/137801/10 "2008-05-19T16:05:57Z")
o\_O wrote: > Smoke a cigarette. Of what? ---
**Author:** ![tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tcsnide)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 1:41pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/coders-block/137801/11 "2008-05-19T13:41:05Z")
| You do what suits you and how you will translate your ramblings at a later date. Some people like pictures (me) others work better from text. But, I would never, ever, ever us anything that begins with MS for development (mspaint). Surely that'd be a new form of oxymoron ;) Use Gimp or a simpler Open Source graphics package ;) hehehehe (off soap box) Disclaimer: Technically speaking, I'm always wrong! --- On **Fri, 16/5/08, sullivan.t _\_** wrote: > From: sullivan.t \ > Subject: [Rails] Coder's Block > To: "Ruby on Rails: Talk" \ > Date: Friday, 16 May, 2008, 1:51 PM > > > ``` > What do you do to help combat > coders block, or that momentary lack > of > creativity, when you have a good design in your head, but you > just > can't get it down on paper, so to speak? > > Do > you: > -Write in run-on sentences? (like the above?) > -Write things > down on -actual- paper? (I do that often.) > -Mock up screens/views in > mspaint? > > Just curious. > > -Tom > > ``` >
> > ``` > > Sent from [Yahoo! Mail](http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mailuk/taglines/isp/control/*http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=52418/*http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html). > > > A Smarter Email. > > –~–~---------~–~----~------------~-------~–~----~ > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "Ruby on Rails: Talk" group. > To post to this > group, send email to removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid > To > unsubscribe from this group, send email to > removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid > For more options, > visit this group at > [http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk?hl=en](http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk?hl=en) > > -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~–~— > ``` | ---
**Author:** ![tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tcsnide)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 12:09am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/coders-block/137801/12 "2008-05-20T00:09:07Z")
When I worked at home I would talk problems through with my dog, who would often end up running away to get his toy. Now that I work at a Real Job ™ we have a ping pong table which gives a nice break. Sometimes we just bounce ideas off each other. – Appreciated my help? Reccommend me on Working With Rails [http://workingwithrails.com/person/11030-ryan-bigg](http://workingwithrails.com/person/11030-ryan-bigg) ---
**Author:** ![tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tcsnide)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 1:22am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/coders-block/137801/13 "2008-05-20T01:22:25Z")
🙂 Ryan, I use my wife for the same thing (bouncing ideas off). She’s gotten really good at feigning interest and understanding. But eye contact plus a nodding head is easier to talk things through to than a wall or a mirror or a stuffed monkey (Go Ximian!). -Danimal On May 19, 4:08 pm, “Ryan B. (Radar)” [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) ---
**Author:** ![tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tcsnide)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 10:24am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/coders-block/137801/14 "2008-05-20T10:24:12Z")
In my head, I used to just explain it to my sister. But I’ve found it’s better to write an email to somebody and then not send it. Later, I can read the email and maybe get some value from it. Nowadays I use a simple note-taking system. There is post-it note software from 3M (who makes the paper post-it notes) that suffices. many others. I sometimes find I’ve written more text than I care to read. So my plan isn’t perfect. F ---
**Author:** ![tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tcsnide)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 10:24am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/coders-block/137801/15 "2008-05-21T10:24:11Z")
It’s strange, but often I start to write a post for this forum, and generally by the time I’ve finished explaining the problem, I either realize I’m being dumb or I have the way to go. And of course as often as not, once I have written down the problem, I then have the best keywords to do a search on the forum and find that someone else has already done something similar. Otherwise, a walk round the park and doing something different or just sleeping on it seems the best way for creative thinking. I am doing a jigsaw puzzle at the moment, and it is very noticeable that frequently I look for a specific piece, but cant find it. But when I move on and look for another piece, the previous piece I previously wanted just jumps out at me. The subconscious mind is an amazing thing. (Getting frustrated is definitely not the way to go he reminds himself!!) Tonypm ---
**Author:** ![tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@tcsnide](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tcsnide)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 4:40pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/coders-block/137801/16 "2008-05-21T16:40:45Z")
Tonypm, This isn’t strange at all. In fact, I bet it’s fairly common. Just recently this happened to me, but I went ahead and submitted the post anyway. I was trying to do some complex pagination… turns out that just posting the description helped me to see some good search terms and I found some examples of exactly what I needed. So it’s all good! In fact, I’ll go a step further. If you have a problem that you write a post about… then end up solving it… consider still making the post (and the solution!) if it might be of value to others. The whole “rails community” deal and all. 🙂 -Danimal