How to stay productive during Claude Code downtime? Looking for workflow tips.

What’s up everyone! I’ve been working with Claude Code quite a bit recently and I notice I waste a lot of time during the waiting periods. You know what I mean - when you’re waiting for code compilation, file processing, or system responses.

Instead of doing something useful, I usually just browse random stuff or scroll through messages. It’s pretty frustrating because these little breaks add up and kill my productivity.

Anyone have good strategies for filling these gaps effectively?

I’m looking for quick activities or tasks that I can jump into during short waits without losing my train of thought. Maybe some of you have developed routines or found ways to batch similar work together?

Really interested in hearing what works for other people. Any suggestions would be awesome!

Same problem here when I started using Claude Code more. I keep a notepad with quick 2-5 minute tasks - reviewing commits, updating doc comments, refactoring variable names. Having them ready saves you from figuring out what to do while waiting. I also keep a separate terminal open for file searches or grep since you can cancel those fast when Claude’s back. The wait time’s actually good for thinking through your next steps. Helped me catch bugs before writing them.

When Claude Code goes down, I skip trying to multitask and just prep mentally instead. I trace through what my code should do and think about edge cases or tweaks I want to make. Sometimes I’ll scribble quick notes about the logic or sketch the next function. Keeps me locked into the problem rather than jumping around. I also use downtime to clean up - close extra tabs, organize files, clear terminal history. Nothing that needs deep focus, but it feels productive and I’m ready to dive back in once it’s working again.

Batch your waiting periods - don’t start new Claude tasks right after one finishes. Queue up 3-4 requests at once.

While they’re processing, I knock out bigger stuff like writing tests or updating README files. Way better than cramming tiny tasks into random 30-second gaps.

I also keep a GitHub issues tab open. During waits I’ll reproduce bugs locally or add comments to tickets. Easy to drop mid-sentence when Claude’s back.

Just pick stuff where getting interrupted doesn’t matter. Skip anything where you’d need to rebuild your mental context.

i usually look over my old code or check on my team’s pull requests while waiting. way better than just scrolling social media, and it helps keep me in the flow. plus, you can just ditch it when claude is back.