DMGNerdspace Immersion
Ned Batchelder points out a fantastic post at Devizen titled "Programming Can Ruin Your Life" Reading it, I recognize all the patterns in myself: obsessing about details, trying to think about everything at once. Thinking of every process, from cleaning the bathroom to opening a pack of gum, as an opportunity for finding the perfect algorithm. I have trouble "just getting on with it."
I call this state of mind nerdspace immersion, and it's tough to shake when being good at getting into nerdspace comes naturally, and helps me earn my paycheck. Getting out of nerdspace is sometimes hard, and always my first task upon leaving work.
Nerdspace is a cool place to hang out for a few hours a day, but you can't spend all your time there and still be happy. All the habits of great coders are rooted in discontent and relentless drive to do better. Not the greatest things to carry with you twenty-four hours a day.