You probably have experienced flow state: also known as “in the groove” or “in the zone”. You cruise along doing something with total focus. A lot gets done in an hour. It’s not just a work thing: people skydive or downhill ski to feel that flow for a while.
Software development relies on flow state. There’s a lot to keep track of, and it’s hard to get much done without 110% brain power. Intense focus is fragile, and it doesn’t take much to break it. Programmers often complain about how bad interruptions can be, because it kills concentration and flow. Recovery can take 15 minutes or more.
TurtleSoft started having problems last November, when a dance studio moved in the the office suite below. Not to mention a day care center two floors down. It’s an old building, transparent to noise. Now there is music, voices and tap dancing at random times, loud enough to break flow.
Progress on the new accounting app still continues, but it’s lagging. Rock and roll in earphones helps some, but it’s too distracting for flow state.
TurtleSoft started in 1987, in a rural farmhouse. It was quiet. Flow could go on for hours. After the business took off, at times there were five employees squeezed into the spare bedroom and hall. Not great for flow, so TurtleSoft moved to downtown Ithaca circa 1993. More space, and no need for employees to reverse-commute.
There always were relatively cheap (and quiet) offices for an online business, but I think that may be over. Between the Internet and Covid, there’s less reason for people to rent space just to sit at a computer. Office buildings are shifting to other uses that aren’t as quiet.
TurtleSoft will soon go back to its roots, and become a home-based business again. Not rural: it will be nice to have things within walking distance. Ithaca has become too pricey, so it’ll be a fixer-upper in a nearby town.
The move is already underway. Most of the office is now in boxes, and my house was listed yesterday.
Expect chaos for a couple months during the move, then it’ll be back to easier flow state and faster progress.
Dennis Kolva
Programming Director
TurtleSoft.com
