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# How to Optimize Non-Coding Time

Developers only code two hours a day, yet pull requests sit idle 80% of their lifespan. Stop optimizing code and start routing PRs to eliminate multi-day bottlenecks.

- **Speakers:** Yishai Beeri
- **Event:** World Congress 2022
- **Published:** June 15, 2022
- **Duration:** 26:35
- **URL:** https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/475-how-to-optimize-non-coding-time

## Summary

Developers typically spend only two hours a day actually coding, yet the industry overwhelmingly focuses on optimizing this fraction of work through shift-left or AI tooling. The real bottleneck lies in non-coding time, specifically the lifecycle of pull requests (PRs), which often remain idle for up to 80% of their lifespan. This idle time generally stems from transition delays during developer handoffs and distraction time caused by heavy context switching when reviewers lack clear information about a review's scope.

Moving toward a "continuous merge" state requires categorizing PRs rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach. By implementing routing frameworks like "ship, show, ask," teams can fast-lane low-risk changes—considering nearly 30% of PRs are historically approved with a superficial "LGTM"—while shifting complex asynchronous reviews to synchronous huddles or pair programming sessions. Furthermore, keeping PRs strictly scoped to single tasks encourages team members to pick them up within the crucial first hour. Catching this window dramatically increases the likelihood of a same-day merge before overnight delays compound into multi-day workflow bottlenecks.

Automating communication and providing upfront context can drastically reduce cognitive load for reviewers. Surfacing signals like estimated review times via chat integrations (such as Linear B's WorkerB bot) allows developers to optimally slot code reviews between existing tasks without surprisingly hitting a massive wall of code. Pushing this contextual data directly to where developers already naturally work—whether via browser extensions for GitHub, automated Jira issue linking, or upcoming in-IDE integrations that map file conflicts before a PR is openly created—ultimately eliminates shadow work and accelerates the overall path to production.

**Keywords:** developer productivity, pull request workflow, non-coding time optimization, PR routing, continuous merge, merge request lifecycle, ship show ask framework, transition and distraction time, estimated review time, code review bottlenecks, WIP load management, workerb integration, same-day PR, shift-left tooling limitations, shadow work elimination

## Chapters

1. **The reality of developer non-coding time and pull requests** (00:00) — Most developer time is spent on non-coding activities like managing pull requests rather than writing actual code.
1. **Understanding pull request cycle time and typical delays** (03:30) — Waiting for pull request pickups and extensive review cycles significantly delays delivering code to production.
1. **Analyzing the pervasive idle time in pull requests** (05:11) — Research across thousands of developers reveals that pull requests are completely idle for half of their lifespan.
1. **How transition time increases cognitive load and bottlenecks** (07:17) — Communication handoffs and large visual code diffs create hesitation and delay pull request pickups.
1. **The productivity cost of distraction and context switching** (08:52) — Interruptions during lengthy code reviews force developers to reload context, increasing the chance of further delays.
1. **Achieving continuous merge while maintaining necessary code reviews** (10:45) — Teams can streamline collaboration to approach continuous merge without entirely dropping the safety of pull requests.
1. **Optimizing the review process with meaningful communication and context** (13:06) — Automated notifications and estimated review times equip teams to prioritize and complete code reviews effectively.
1. **Applying routing strategies for different types of code changes** (14:50) — Using methods like ship-show-ask allows teams to treat trivial updates differently than critical feature merges.
1. **Maximizing velocity by keeping pull requests small and focused** (16:00) — Scoping pull requests to a single intent and providing time estimations drastically reduces the initial pickup phase.
1. **Implementing fast lanes and synchronous reviews for efficiency** (17:36) — Bypassing async waits for low-risk changes or jumping on quick calls for complex ones removes major process bottlenecks.
1. **Automating pull request context and issue tracking from chat** (19:08) — Smart bots and extensions enable instant approvals and ticket generation without leaving regular communication channels.
1. **Pushing contextual merge insights directly into the developer IDE** (22:21) — Upcoming IDE integrations promise proactive warnings about code conflicts and best times to request a review.
1. **Answering questions on review time estimation and pair programming** (24:49) — Audience questions cover machine learning models for estimating completion times and the viability of pair programming.

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