What this (title) makes me think of is having and environment/tools that don't get in your way. Not so much a large step (e.g. a significant compile), but the small actions you're constantly taking.
A UI (editor, file manager, etc) that doesn't hesitate while it composes menus or context. "Intellisense" (whatever your flavor, if any) and references that are immediate.
When I work on a slower system, such small pauses accumulate into a "mental stutter" that changes the level of my overall performance. It isn't that I don't think -- a lot -- but that when I manage to form something in my head, I want to get it down with a minimum of of interference and distraction. Those pauses can be the "thousand cuts" of the death of that inspiration.
Perhaps that's one reason I still prefer to design on paper. There's nothing between me and my ideas except the speed of the pencil, and my ability to flip between pages (that have strong visual landmarks).
A UI (editor, file manager, etc) that doesn't hesitate while it composes menus or context. "Intellisense" (whatever your flavor, if any) and references that are immediate.
When I work on a slower system, such small pauses accumulate into a "mental stutter" that changes the level of my overall performance. It isn't that I don't think -- a lot -- but that when I manage to form something in my head, I want to get it down with a minimum of of interference and distraction. Those pauses can be the "thousand cuts" of the death of that inspiration.
Perhaps that's one reason I still prefer to design on paper. There's nothing between me and my ideas except the speed of the pencil, and my ability to flip between pages (that have strong visual landmarks).