Ask HN: How do you spend your time when waiting for build?

I read Hacker News and other IT news sites.

Meditate ,

I keep some ebooks/PDFs or long form articles open for this purpose. Preferably something lightly technical that I can read a few paras at a time and highlight as I go along. Ideally the piece should be self contained and not link out to other places, and something that has stood the test of time, so that I stay invested in finished it.

I've skimmed and re-read a few books this way. And even the occasional paper.

I reply to messages or check out what's going on in the group chats.

You could read 4chans technology section.

I generate Bitcoin in my head

Contemplating how we got to a situation where my save/compile/run loop takes longer now than in the 80s when I was using floppy disks.

Half kidding, but I spend it working another issue/bug or writing comments/docs.

Take a short walk, stretch, get a glass of water, use the restroom.

Resume review. We're hiring a frontend so I parse through them.

I look at the console output. It's like watching TV ;-)

I dislike checking my email / web surfing while waiting for compiling. It creates delay in my mind to get back into the code if there is a problem, or if I want to add the next part to the code.

Usually I will either update my story notes or start working on the next part of my code.

I do commit, push and build frequently though. Make it work > make it right > make it fast.

That's a short window. CI takes many minutes for me so I keep a window open in view on my desktop and either start working on other things or contemplate what was just done taking a mental step back. That can sometimes uncover extra cases or clear up concepts that can then make the structures or performance better. A quick game of something is also a nice mental distraction/break. A brief walk outdoors would be best but I haven't a place to go--a coffee shop or around the block could work.

Chess puzzles.

Sometimes tidying up my office. I just like to make sure everything is straight, at 90 degrees or 45 or parallel to the wall. It's not some OCD thing, just a matter of style. 5S is usually used for workshops, but I think it applies very well to the office.

I try to spend that time either:

A. Doodling a system diagram.

B. Updating documentation of what I am doing.

C. Meditating in order to keep my mind clear.

In practice, I sometimes check hackernews.