FEW TIPS TO HELP YOU BECOME A BETTER DEVELOPER

This post will be of more use to Developers who are new in the industry and still find it hard to be 100% focused, need tips on how to be more efficient and productive or get the best out of themselves productively. I myself can say i’ve vastly improved generally since i started to stick to these rules, i decided to share them since it might also be helpful to anyone else.

BE LESS RANDOM

1. Applies to everyone, but more to Devs who work from home.
2. Start work at the same time everyday.
3. Take a break at the same time everyday.
4. Structure and consistency is extremely important to success.

STOP WASTING TIME

1. Cut down on checking irrelevant things online during working hours, i.e social media, news articles etc. It decreases your overall productivity and hinders your focus.
2. Turn off all notifications that aren’t related to what you’re currently working on.
3. Look into apps and extensions that can limit your time on certain sites.. Screentime is a really good one i would recommend to anyone.

WELL PLANNED PROJECT STRUCTURE

1. If you work for a company, follow the workflow, most companies use agile methodologies like Scrum, kanban etc..
2. If you freelance or work remotely, create a strict template/framework for your projects, since all projects are different, you may need multiple templates.
3. Chunk your works into smaller task to make them easier for you to approach and complete, and try to automate certain parts of your workflow.

USE PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOLS

1. Find the right tool for you, don’t keep every little task and todo in your head. There are great tools out there you could try out such as Monday.com, trello, etc..
2. It is not advisable to use client or management emails as your project management system.

CODE FASTER

1. You can make use of snippets and text editor extension / plugins to make your coding a little more paced personally i would recommend emmet is a good one and their are many more out there, also practicing keyboard shortcuts will help.
2. Find tools that help speed up certain tasks and practice typing faster.
3. Try looking into bug trackers, testing frameworks and browser extensions.

TRY TO TAKE BREAKS & DON’T WORK TOO MUCH FOR A LONG PERIOD

1. Overworking can cause burnout, loss of ambition and drive.
2. Make sure you take consistent breaks, breaks can help you clear your head and solve problems.
   I would suggest 5–10 minutes break every couple of hours.

MINIMIZE DISTRACTIONS

1. If you work from home, set certain limitations for friends, families, TV etc..
2. If you work for a company, let your busy time render you scarce and limited to coworkers, and try to be as strict on that as possible.
3. Most importantly create a peaceful and productive work environment that works best for you.

ALWAYS BE LEARNING

1. Don’t get complacent just because you’re working, learn new things at every opportunity you get.
2. Keep your passion for what you do.
3. You can take advantage of certain time like in the car, rides, gym.. to learn from an article, Social media post, a video tutorial you stumble on online or even a talk on radio. No knowledge is wasted.

All of this are not easy to achieve but taking the right steps and taking them into consideration and finally implementing them one after the other will help you achieve your goals in no time and at such an unimaginable pace. I myself find it hard to adhere to all of this rules but i do the best i can and it helps me a lot. Once the consistency is there you will find yourself used to this and they will eventually become a habit.

Thanks for reading. Happy coding!