Will Meditation Make You a Better Programmer?

Do you know that meditation can improve programming skills to a huge extent? Read this article to understand how will meditation make you a better programmer.

“Meditation is like a gym in which you develop the powerful mental muscles of calm and insight”

–Ajahn Brahm

When we encounter the phrase “Meditation“, our minds immediately conjure up images of spiritual saints. We visualize them seeking to transcend the world and attain independence.

That is, without a doubt, a widely used style of meditation.

Meditation, on the other hand, is not restricted to that. In everyday life, meditation provides significant benefits for everyone, regardless of our profession.

Meditation can significantly improve programmers’ performance.

While it may appear odd, meditation is a wonderful tool for helping you become a better programmer.

It is necessary to deconstruct the concept of meditation to comprehend its importance in the life of a programmer.

We must consider it as more than a way of achieving autonomy from the world. In this article, you’ll learn how meditation can improve you as a programmer.

This blog will introduce you to the concept of meditating and programming.

Read till the end.

Table of Contents

Concept of Meditation

The disciplined activity of resting, walking, standing, or lying down is known as meditation.

Depending on who you ask, meditation can mean a variety of things. It alludes to the idea of sitting down and focusing on the current moment in this post.

It is not a religious practice, despite its association with Eastern religions. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Christian, a Muslim, a Mormon, a Jew, or a follower of another religion.

It’s a method of mind training that will alter your outlook on life.

When we say “meditation,” we’re often referring to a technique for cultivating conscious awareness of the present moment.

Especially If you’re a programmer who wants to reap the benefits of meditation, you’ll need to strike a balance between these two extremes.

Meditation should be viewed as a simple endeavor to become more observant of oneself and one’s surroundings.

Most of the time, we are engrossed in many elements of life. Unfortunately, we are unable to devote sufficient time and work to each of them.

Meditation can be the tipping point that allows people to achieve the correct balance by allowing them to become more aware of what is going on.

Want to read our article about the most important life skills for kids? Check out this article.

An Interrelation between Meditation and Programming

When it comes to programming, we often need to pay close attention when creating programs and producing code that does not repeat itself.

Imagine it as being “in the groove” or the “fluid” state, as some call it. This is the point at which you completely immerse yourself in your text editor and ignore everything else. Your mind is focused solely on the current moment.

In this mode, you can fully enjoy the “coding high” of programming functions that make or do things to accomplish a larger purpose.

Meditation helps a lot in improving coding skills, as mentioned by towardsdatascience.com

As previously said, meditation is a technique for improving your level of present-moment awareness. We can now teach our minds to live with more awareness if we practice meditation regularly. This is something that may be applied to any aspect of life.

Because of the degree of concentration required for designing software, this also applies to programming.

As programmers, we must meditate and spend time focusing just on our breath. We’ll be able to apply that knowledge while coding, allowing us to focus more intently on our applications.

Brief Summary: To crunch codes, programmers require a high level of concentration and attention.

Any programmer working on development or testing has a hundred thoughts running through their heads. They all tend to divert their attention. That’s why, it will be simple for you to work if you practice meditation.

Programmers and Stress

When folks hear about meditation, they often assume, “We don’t need meditation in our lives.” And in certain cases, they are correct.

However, here are some of the instances that programming may be negatively affecting. Stress is always there in a programmers life because it is a hard task:

It is Difficult
It’s Monotonous
It’s Long Term
It’s Creative
It’s Sedentary

Benefits of Meditation for Programmers

Meditation could be the weapon you need if you’re looking for ways to become a better coder because of the benefits it provides:

Boosts Concentration Level

To initiate with, any programmer’s professional success is dependent on their ability to focus, pay attention, and concentrate.

It would be nearly impossible to brainstorm on the codes you need to crunch if you are restless and find it difficult to concentrate. But don’t worry:

Meditation can help you improve your attention span significantly.
Meditation can help you focus on the present and prevent your mind from wandering by assisting you in connecting with yourself and becoming self-aware.

Mind Development

It would be ordinary for a coder to engage in and solve complex challenges. Frequently, a variety of issues arise, and you are unable to prioritize your duties.

By envisioning each work and beading everything with a single thread, meditation allows your brain to assimilate a variety of information.
Furthermore, mindfulness, which is a result of meditation, is an important component of strategic thinking. It will improve your cognitive capacities.

Also, read more about Critical Thinking Skills

Develop Self Awareness

Have you ever been stuck in a scenario where you’re writing code and have no idea what you’re doing or why you’re doing it? If that’s the case, don’t panic; it’s very typical.

Despite your enthusiasm for coding, you may find yourself at a fork in the road when designing particular software. But, for the most part, we are oblivious to the cause behind this:

Meditation can assist you in achieving this level of awareness.
It will help you in the debugging process.
Meditation can assist you in becoming a better programmer by allowing you to reflect and get insights into yourself.

Keep reading to know more about how will meditation make you a better programmer. You can also check this article to know about our mindfulness program.

Healthy Lifestyle

Finally, there are physical health benefits of meditation, particularly for programmers. Software development and testing is effectively a one-person show, with programmers rarely leaving their desks.

This frequently results in health issues such as body pain and other aches. Meditation can assist you in avoiding this.

Chronic diseases can be prevented with just half an hour of meditation and breathing control.

Meditation can also help programmers control their blood flow, which is useful not only physiologically but also makes individuals happier and more energetic. As a result, meditation can assist you in becoming happier and more enthusiastic.

Tips regarding how to get started

Here’s a checklist of things you can do right to get started:

Determine how much time you can devote to meditation. I would recommend a time frame of 2–10 minutes. If you add any more, you may become overwhelmed. It’s preferable to begin slowly and gently.
Decide where you’ll do it – a quiet room is usually the best option. It can be done in a chair or while sitting on the ground.
Set a timer for as long as you want to meditate. You won’t have to keep checking the time every 15 seconds this way.
Sit down and inhale deeply through your nose and exhale through your mouth.
Slowly inhale and exhale, observing the air as it enters via your nose and exits through your mouth. Each breath is counted as one inhale and one exhale. Count ten breaths, then begin again.
When your mind wanders, come to a halt, accept it, smile, and then restore your attention to your breathing. This is the most crucial stage.

Your mind will inevitably wander, but you must not punish yourself for it. It’s natural behavior, but we need to inform the mind that we’ve noticed it and then return our attention to the breath.

If it feels nice, try it two more times the following week. Then, the following week, add another day. You might also try increasing the amount of time you spend meditating.