Octoverse Spotlight 2021: The Good Day Project—Personal analytics to make your work days better

The Good Day Project, an internal GitHub investigation, explored what factors contribute to developers having productive and satisfying workdays, emphasizing the importance of minimizing interruptions and balancing meetings to achieve a state of flow. Developers reported having an 82% chance of a good day with minimal disruptions, but this dropped to 7% when interruptions were frequent. The study highlighted the benefits of daily reflections and using the SPACE productivity framework to gain insights into developers' work patterns beyond mere activity counts. It was found that developers appreciated the personalized feedback from the project, which helped them recognize patterns and improve their daily work experiences. The research emphasized the significance of focus time, showing that days with fewer than three meetings and limited interruptions were more likely to be classified as "Flowing Days," leading to better productivity and well-being.