Can a programmer work efficiently for 8 hours straight?

Question

Some people have told me that programmers can't really pull a full work shift efficiently, because they burn out after 4-6h
Then again, I've heard people who code for 10h.
Is it true?

I find myself burnt out after 6h or so...

Answer 1

One factor would be how efficiently you work. If you spend a part of the 10 hours drinking coffee, googling funny stuff or chatting with colleagues, it will be less hard than if you write line by line for 10 hours straight.

One would need some sort of study where there are two teams of coders doing the same task, one with 10 hour days, one with 6 hour days and see how the relation of work done to time spend is.

Might be an interesting read. :)

Answer 2

Based on my own experience, when I am interested in the program that I am writing, I can code 12-15 hours and will not even notice how the time passed.
But if I take a rest (for example, sleep), the part of the program that I could not write the last 2-3 hours, I write in 30 minutes.
In my opinion everything is curled from the peculiarities of a person. Someone can work effectively for more than 8 hours, and someone needs a good break in the middle of the working day for this)

Answer 3

Игорь Яковенко that point about not being able to write, for hours, but after sleep its easy... this is why I wonder if its possible to measure output of code so easily. Whats the code? Is it easy, or hard. Is the coder a seasoned pro in the area being coded, or a new team member. All affects the stamina.

Answer 4

Different types of jobs have different expectations of sprint times. CEOs are more efficient in short sprints - think days full of 30-minute meetings. More production-oriented jobs require a long period of focus. I'm not sure eight hours is that efficient in any case, but passion can easily drive someone well beyond that. Switching tasks throughout the day would also help efficiency.