What do you do while you code?

[kikito]

It depends on my desired concentration level.

• Level 0: Have a video or twitter on the background. This is a "dick around" level. Throwaway code only.
• Level 1: Music (mostly without vocals, like film or videogame OSTs). Standard mode.
• Level 2: I listen only to 1 song, in a loop. I can do this for 1-2 hours tops. For problematic/difficult/boring code.
• Level 3: I put on my headphones but listen to no music at all. I do this when I'm tired but still want to program.

[Eamonn]

I can listen to a song for a few hours on repeat as well. I don't do it often(usually if I'm going out on a long walk I'll grab my phone and play something).

That's an interesting way of doing things

I often find myself having my headphones on, but with the intent of listening to music, though sometimes I forget to put some on because I'll be on a forum or something and I think "After this post, I'll play some", and that can go on for almost an hour sometimes :O I like music

[tepaterf]

I listen to game soundtracks, mostly. So, I just listen to the soundtrack of the game I'm most inspired by with my current project. :>

[CaptainMaelstrom]

I just listen to the soundtrack of the game I'm most inspired by with my current project

More and more I've seen the value in this. Sometimes I'll have trouble making art for a project because I can't see it clearly enough in my mind. But when I listen to music that matches the project theme or whatever, it solidifies what I want from my project.

I usually try to program in silence, but that requires it to be either very early or very late at night. I live in an apt in a very noisy part of town. When it gets too loud, I listen to music, typically stuff I know the lyrics to so it doesn't distract me so much. Does anyone else sing along and program at the same time? I find that it's really meditative, puts me in the flow channel and doesn't take up much mental bandwidth.

[Eamonn]

Does anyone else sing along and program at the same time? I find that it's really meditative, puts me in the flow channel and doesn't take up much mental bandwidth.

I sing along. All the songs I have in my playlist I've listened to at least 30 times(not including the times they were played in that playlist).

[ejmr]

Like many others here I also listen to music. It is extremely rare for me to not be listening to music while programming (or in general honestly). When working on the game my friends and I are creating I like to listen to the game's soundtrack. It is not yet complete, but there are enough tracks that I can leave it on repeat without it becoming repetetive. I've found this to be useful for helping keep the creative side of my brain focused on the game, often brainstorming ideas as a result of the music. It also creates an interesting back-and-forth with the musician on our team. Sometimes he'll send me a new track with some ideas he has; I'll listen to it over and over while coding, and in the process start to think that the music would be fitting for this character, or that level, or some scene, et cetera. And then I'll send him those ideas, he changes the music to incorporate that, and in that way we work together to refine our soundtrack to fit our game.