The part about knowledge applies for programming too. I have noticed myself being far more productive when I have sketched out the general approach I am going to take with a problem on a paper first before actually writing any code. Once you start coding, you get lost in the low-level intricacies and this sometimes makes you lose sight of the overall goal.
True, but don't you find the sketching out process taking whole fun out of the process? I mean, once you know what you are going to code (or write), doesn't your motivation to (mechanically) implement it go down a bit?
I am curious because it happens to me usually, and I like to discover and explore as I go along instead of doing careful initial planning.
You must be extremely good at predicting any challenges in your designs. I'll sketch out my data structures in advance, but implementing the algorithms for processing them is rarely as straightforward as anticipated. Sketching it out helps me solidify the high-level ideas - but then I like programming by the "meet in the middle" model: a combination of bottom-up and top-down. I know plenty other programmers who prefer one or the other.
It really depends. If you see programming itself as something that gives you joy - then planning something out of course will remove some of the exploratory joy out of it.
However, there are also times when you have a larger goal in mind - say to build something of immense scale and power. In that sense - the micro level picture takes a backseat.
To me - shipping is the ultimate goal, so I don't see planning as taking the joy away from programming - it only gives me more satisfaction.
