Productivity hacks for computer programmers.
1. Clean your desk.
Most developers work on a messy desk, and they have a lot of things on their desks, like calendars, papers, pens, etc. It is always difficult to focus when working on a messy desk.
During work, your desk has only a computer system and a notebook with a pen (to take notes). Practicing this way will enable you to focus on your task without distractions.
2. Close unnecessary tabs and software.
You should ensure that you open only those tabs and software that are necessary for your development.
When you open unnecessary tabs and software while working, it will take a long time to move from one tab to another tab, and one software to another software. The result is that you will be more confused and less productive.
3. Use the Pomodoro technique.
What is the Pomodoro Technique?
The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method that involves breaking work into 25-minute intervals, called Pomodoros.
Pomodoro involves setting the timer for 25 minutes and doing your task for 25 minutes with focus. After 25 minutes, take a 5-minute short break and relax your mind with something like drinking coffee, walking, or anything else you like.
After completing one Pomodoro, you should repeat it three more times, and then after take a 30-minute long break, and repeat the same process after a long break.
- Choose a task to focus on.
- Set your timer for 25 minutes, and focus on a single task until the timer rings.
- As soon as your session is over, mark off one Pomodoro and record what you accomplished.
- Take a 5-minute break.
- After four pomodoros, take a 30-minute longer break.
- Repeat the same process.
4. Plan before starting work.
The majority of people start work without a plan. When you start work without a strategy, you waste your time because you spend more time thinking about what to do next after finishing the current task. Remember one thing: a 5-minute plan saves 30 minutes.
Write down all the tasks you need to accomplish during the day before you start working. This will help you achieve more and feel more productive at the end of the day.
5. List out and separate regularly required code.
The programmers spend a lot of time finding a specific peace code that has been written multiple times in the past. In this process, they waste a lot of time doing nothing.
Do one thing to save this search time, create a new file in the project, and put the regularly required code there. This will allow you to write more code in less time.
6. Use a pen and paper to solve logical problems.
The developers deal with complex logical problems, and these problems consume a lot of mental energy.
It is always confusing to deal with a complex logic problem. Therefore, concentrate on a single aspect to reduce your confusion.
Take a pen and paper and write out every step that needs to be solved. For example, if you are looking for a prime number example, follow these steps.
- Take the input value.
- Check if the input value data type is an integer.
- If the data type is not an integer, print "Input value is not numeric."
- Check whether the input number is prime or not using business logic. (First, apply the business logic on paper and try a dry run.)
- Print whether the input number is prime or not.
Although the above example is simple, you can apply the same strategy to complicated problems.
7. Start with the difficult task.
The difficult task requires time and focus. But human nature is to avoid difficult things and go with the simple, and this strategy always does not work.
By taking on the simple things first, you get less time for the difficult ones, which ultimately delays your deadlines.
At the beginning of your work when you take on the difficult tasks, your focus and energy will be at their highest, so you can complete the task in less time.
8. Delegate tasks to your juniors.
It is perfectly OK to delegate your responsibilities to your juniors if you are in a senior position and have the authority to do so.
Allow your junior team members to take on simple but time-consuming tasks, and you can focus on your biggest priorities, so you bring more balance to the work environment.
It is practically impossible for some developers to delegate tasks to juniors, but if you can, it always helps balance the workload.
When you delegate tasks to juniors, make sure you explain clearly what you are looking for from them to accomplish otherwise, if something goes wrong it will increase your burden, and you will have to fix it.
9. Avoid multitasking.
Performing several tasks together is known as multitasking.
When developers multitask, they believe they are more productive, but remember one thing, “Multitasking is the biggest hurdle to becoming productive.”
You do not focus on one task at a time when you multitask, but when you focus on one single activity, you can finish it faster.
While switching between tasks, there is a high chance that you will make some errors, and this consumes a lot of energy.
10. Keep your system and software up-to-date.
As a result, when your system is slow, it continuously interrupts your work, or if the software is out-of-date, it always displays an "Update Software" pop up, which becomes frustrating.
Ensure that you add the latest hardware with the minimum configuration needed for your development software and download the updated software versions before you begin development.
11. Become an expert in your software.
Whatever software you use for your development, you should be familiar with its shortcut keys and features.
It is helpful to know all the shortcut keys on the keyboard of the particular software so you can save time.
Because many of us do not know all the features of using software, you use the old conventional way for doing some tasks, which also consumes a lot of time and energy. (For example: formatting your code).
For some software, you have to purchase it to unlock all features. If the software will last you for a long time and the price is fair to your pocket, then buy it.
12. Revise the programming language.
Programmers believe they don't need to revise concepts after learning a programming language, but they're wrong.
Whenever you acquire a new programming language, you need to revisit it repeatedly.
Here are some questions to ask when reviewing any concept.
How can I apply this concept to my project?
Would there be a better approach to replace this concept?
(Example: If condition ladder or switch are available to check a condition.)
Revising one concept before 30 minutes of starting each workday is a better approach to revision.
13. Break the problem into smaller chunks.
Breaking a big task into smaller chunks and solving one part at a time will help solve a big problem in less time.
Example: You are working on a login task in your project, and you break this problem as follows.
- Add a login button and input fields for the username and password in the UI design.
- Check the front-end validation.
- In API design, verify the username, check whether the credential is valid, and return the login response.
- Call API from the front-end.
- Reacts to login API response if successful navigates to the main dashboard or displays login failure message.
14. Know your most productive hours.
You can't be productive all day long. Most of the time, you notice you are more efficient at some hours and less efficient at other hours in the workday.
Individual productivity varies from person to person; some are more efficient at the beginning of the day, while others are more efficient after lunch.
Try to finish your most important task during your most productive hours and then take on a less important one during your less efficient hours.
This strategy can help you balance your workday and prevent burnout.
How do you know your most productive hours?
Track your productivity by the hour for the next 10-days, so you determine your productive hours, and then you can plan your workday around them.
15. Take a long holiday break.
There is lots of pressure to complete your project within the timeline. In this situation, you work a long day, and because of this, your efficiency goes down, and you will become less productive.
Take a long break after finishing your project. It may be one or two weeks.
In your break, you should not bring work with you; instead, you should spend time with yourself, your family, friends, and nature, and if you can, you should try to go on some vacation places.
The long break relaxes your mind and becomes ready with high energy for your next assignment.
16. Write a clean code.
The whole development team is responsible for writing clean code for your project. You will be ten times more productive if your code is clean.
Most developers focus on completing the project functionality, and in this process, they ignore writing clean code.
The result of messy code is that it is difficult to understand yourself and the entire development team.
The next time you take previous code for changes to add new functionality, it will confuse and disturb previously added functionality, so you are afraid to make changes. However, when your code is clean, it is easy to make changes and add new features.
To learn how to write clean coding, you can read “Uncle Bob” book “Clean code.”
17. Declutter your mind.
If you know what exactly you want to do and how to do it, you will be able to complete your task within the deadline. On the other hand, you aren't sure what you want to do? And where to begin? As a result, you will be confused and take longer to accomplish your task. But how do you get clarity? It's simple, take a pen and paper, write down the steps you want to do, prioritize them, and solve them sequentially.
People have a tendency to put everything in their minds, and when they put a lot in their minds, they become confused and forget the most important thing. To declutter your mind, use pen and paper for decluttering.
18. Get the help of your seniors.
As a developer, if you are stuck at any point and you've tried every possible step, you have also taken Google help to solve the problem, but you've still not found a solution, in which case you should stop wasting your time and ask your seniors for help. If your seniors aren't available, you can ask them about their availability and schedule a meeting. When you ask for help from seniors at that time, you should be very clear about what questions you are asking - otherwise, you waste your and their time.
You should write your questions and specific points on paper before asking for help, and be prepared with your computer to show your code to your seniors. After understanding your issues, they will suggest a couple of solutions and websites, which you should note, and then after work on your problem.