Signs that you’ve been coding for way too long

As you might expect, programmers live to write code. They usually work really long hours slinging code when deadlines are imminent, if they get engrossed in a personal or whenever they get “in the zone.” However, like anything else, you can overdo it and spend a little too much time coding – and this can have strange effects on your life away from the keyboard. Here are some signs that you've probably been coding for way too long:

w You can’t stop thinking about code w
You know you've been coding for too long when your brain starts to insert thoughts of code at all the wrong times and in all the wrong places. It’s on another level when you start to dream in code and even send messages on your phone in code.

w You really lose track of time w
When you are no longer aware of the time of day or the fact that there even is a time of day, then you know you've been coding for too long. Many programmers you have been coding for too long find that there is no difference between night and day!

w You start having trouble with non-programming languages w
Your native speaking language has suddenly become less natural to you than your native programming language and you end up mixing common English words with programming terms. This is when you realise you've been coding for too long.

w You always start counting from 0 w
You know you've been coding for too long when you forget that not every list of things are elements in an array or that they need to be counted in the most efficient way possible. If you find that you count from 0 and not 1 then you may want to take a break!

w You try to use your favourite keyboard shortcuts in real life w
You make your girlfriend angry and the first thing that pops into your mind is Ctrl+z! When you use some of your beloved programming keyboard shortcuts in situations where there is no editor, code or keyboard involved then you know you've been coding for too long.

w You do other weird things no one else understands w
Its quite obvious you've been coding too long when you do other strange things, like:
- You dial an IP number on your phone
- You accidentally write yesterdays date on something and add “++” to fix it
- WhenYouStartWritingEverythingLikeThis

In general it’s a good thing that programmers love writing code, but if you’re doing one or more of these things, it might be time to step away from the computer and take a break.

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Written By: Christine Romans
CopyWriter at The Computer Guyz Cape Town