52 here, been a full time people manager for about a decade now. Coding manually makes me tired just thinking about it. When I think about embark on a new project my mind goes back to all the times I worked 12 hour days trying to get some basic system to function. I’m too old for that now, my back hurts if I sit too long and occasionally get migraines if I look at a screen too much.

Using AI has been really perfect for me. I can build stuff while I do other things, walk the dog, make lunch, sit on the porch.

Sometimes i realize that my design was flawed and I just delete it all and start again, with no loss aversion.

> I really don't know how to fill the minutes that AI takes to write code.

The AI should be spending most of its time helping you spec out new revisions to the codebase, the code-writing time is just the last step and if you've planned the work in depth, you'll understand what the AI is trying to do (and be able to stop and revise if anything is going off the rails). This is a healthier approach than "just spec out something else in the meantime" IMHO, but of course that happens too.

I really don't know how to fill the minutes that AI takes to write code. Maybe if AI gets faster I will be able to enjoy it.

I either switch between two projects, or I keep an eye on what Claude is doing, because it often gets off the rails or in a direction I don't like and then it's easier to just stop it there and tell it what to do instead.

That said, like many people here I have invested quite some time in becoming a skilled and experienced coder, so there is no denying that this whole AI craze makes me feel like something is taken away from me.

I might have felt like that when I was younger (almost 44 now, programming since 10), but over time I realized that the thing I enjoy is not really writing code itself, but coming up with ideas, solving puzzles, etc. LLMs are like insanely fast junior programmers, so they do the more mundane part of the task, but they need me to come up with good ideas, good taste, and solve design challenges. Otherwise it ends up as a pile of unmaintainable junior programmer code.

It is possible that LLMs might replace the other parts of being a good programmer as well, but for the time being it makes my work more pleasant, because I can work on interesting problems.

For me, coding since the 80s (but i knew then it didn't spark joy or anything - debugging was so annoying, learning new language syntax even more so...) I love AI. I am a product manager, i just see freedom to make things that are real and learn faster - does this solve a problem? Is it better than what we have now? and move on, disposing of things as i go because it's cheap. To fill the minutes, i might work on 3-4 or even 5 separate projects and even multiple worktrees within those. I feel busier than ever. I think the best part is it's not lazy and I am. There's so many things I don't have time or energy to go deep on that I can delegate. I'm jealous of real sw engineers because it's probably a huge force multiplier, while I can't call BS on it as much, but getting better.

"how to fill the minutes that AI takes to write code"

I usually review the code that's been written. Sometimes directly, sometimes by telling claude to bring things up piece by piece to explain choices as I review. Or I kick off one of the various maintenance tasks, validate my assumptions and expectations on how things should function, note the things that don't to be addressed. I'm going to have to do this stuff anyway, I might as well do it then.

Or I read something, or do something to clear my head. Sometimes because I need a mental break, because I find that the speed these tools having me working at can be taxing in different ways.

I think expectations of the "10x" variety whether you put that at 10 or 3x will have to be adjusted. Coding as fast as 5 developers is far far different than "A singly developer can produce as much as 5 others"

> I really don't know how to fill the minutes that AI takes to write code.

Think of it like being a project manager in a team. There's a lot you can do to help the project moving forward without touching one line of code

The trick is to have 3 terminals with Claude Code open at the same time. You won’t be able to follow more. Reviewing the stuff or plans written is harder than telling them to write it.

Multiple projects at once or at least multiple features. I am usually the limiting factor reviewing, not waiting on agents

I live with a feeling of nonaccomplishment, never having taken a project to completion thanks to my shitty executive function. The AI craze has robbed me of any hope that I might still meaningfully* achieve this in my career.

two AIs -- I use Claude Code and Kimi CLI -- I got them to build an agent relay so they can communicate with each other (one plans, the other reviews the plan; one builds, the other reviews the build) -- while one is working on one thing, I'll be chatting and exploring with the other one … they can build anything in any language so if you are a skilled and experienced code you should be able to guide a pair of coding agents no problem.

Otoh -- if there is this bifurcation among coders (one group super-excited, one group depressed and angst-ridden) then maybe we should be trying to figure out why people are reacting the way they are. Can you explain more about your situation? What do you code? Do you have hobby projects? Do you have free time? Etc.