Maybe everything happens in waves?

Waves are central to the foundation of the universe. The quantum wave-particle dualism means that all matter, every single atomic particle, behaves like a wave.

I was out walking one day about a year ago when I looked at the ground and saw – it had just been raining – that the water on the ground didn’t stream like a continous flow, but as a number of small, tiny waves. I realized that, probably, it was a more efficient energy configuration for the water stream.

And that got me thinking. The most efficient military concept is to attack in a wave, pouring soldiers out in a mass concentration of strength. And we develop software in a similar way: we become more efficient if we concentrate during a limited time on a subject, finish it, and then switch our attention somewhere else. The focus becomes clearer, and we become more efficient.

So instead of working in a slow, steady pace – maybe it’s more efficient to behave like a wave. Concentrated focus, slack off, concentrated focus, slack off… for a multitude of projects. For business it might be best to focus on one thing to 100% during a limited time, and then switch focus (the switching itself being a time of preparation, rest, and catching breath), and then focusing on something else to 100%.

Incidentally, that’s kind of how the SCRUM process works.