I’ve used these tips to create courses, write books and build apps, websites & digital products at a rapid pace.

Below you’ll learn 13 programmer productivity tips that actually work.

Make a plan to implement these tips and you’ll be able to explode your output.

Get 2x More Done Using These High-Level Developer Productivity Tips

Software Engineers and Lead Developers Need to be Extra Productive

As a software engineer, you have to take care of many varied tasks each day. You also hold a lot of responsibility. This means you need A+ productivity to get everything done and make sure you keep bosses, coworkers and clients happy.

1. Stop Wasting Time

The average office employee is wasting more than eight hours per work week.

What if you could reclaim that time and use it to finish your coding projects more quickly?

Procrastination can happen for different reasons. But in the end it comes down to pushing through The Resistance (as Steven Pressfield calls it) and working on your stuff no matter how you feel.

Use the following tips to give you a strategy for the fight against procrastination.

2. Prevent Unnecessary Task Switching

Let’s say you’ve just finished a difficult coding task. Your head is on fire; but there’s another tough assignment waiting down the line.

You commit yourself to it, but after a while, you say “Well, this one is actually not so urgent; I’ll get back to it later.” Then you start doing something easier because you’re mentally drained.

After a few hours, you go back to the committed task, but you feel absolutely puzzled because you don’t remember what you were supposed to do. This means you now need to take some extra time to get back on track.

This is an example of context switching and is something that can lose you a lot productivity as a programmer.

A study conducted by the American Psychology Association reveals that shifting between tasks creates mental blocks that can cost 40% of your productivity.

3. Laser-Focus Your Efforts with WIP Limits

Work-in-Progress limits will help you fight overwhelm and ensure higher quality work.

If you have multiple projects in the pipeline, and you need to wait for something for Project A, it could be tempting to start on Project B. But in the end, this will lead to you working on all projects at once: You’ll constantly be task-switching.

To prevent productivity snags from happening, you should limit the number of work items you’re handling at once.

Limiting work in progress has the potential to speed up your work by slowing yourself down.

If you’re able to process four tasks in the span of three days, then your WIP limit would be four for that specific time period. From here, you can use the information as a rule of thumb and prevent overburdening yourself.

4. Take Control with Management Tools that Fit Your Work

Being stuck in problem-solving is the most common cause of unhappiness in developers, reported by 186 participants.

Time pressure came in at number two, with 152 participants reporting it as something that makes them unhappy at work.

You can relieve this pressure by scheduling your tasks and managing your time well.

There’s different tools that can help you manage your time as a coder and also your workflow in different areas like web development.

I use KanBanFlow to schedule my weekly and daily tasks. I love that it has an integrated Pomodoro timer as well.

Crucial Tips to Improve Your Coding Productivity

5. Pomodoros Boost Productivity

The Pomodoro method is simple.

You set up a timer that has dedicated work sessions and dedicated rest sessions. The basic setting is 25 minutes work to five minutes rest. Totalling up to a half-hour period. You finish four 30-minute cycles and then take a long break and start over.

The Pomodoro method is the best for coders who have a hard time focusing on their work or are trying to get into a good work pace to meet a deadline, with dedicated rest to avoid burning out. You can completely optimize the time periods to fit your work.

6. Use Code Snippets

As a beginner programmer, I’d advise you to try and write all your code yourself – to make sure you’ve learned how to do it. If you’re already proficient though, there’s no harm in going to Google, finding other people’s code snippets, and including them in your programs.

You can speed up the process so much if you do that. Of course, we’re talking about copying snippets here, not whole programs. And always make sure you understand what you just copied.

You – or others using your code – should be able to come back to it and still be able to make sense of it all.

7. Avoid Code Clutter

To build on that argument, following clean code principles in your work will also make you more productive: 

• You’ll waste less time sifting through messy code 
• You won’t have as many bugs to fix 
• You’ll finish each program more quickly and be ready for the next – with less stress 

8. Use the Best Software Tools

Get the best productivity-boosting software tools for coders to help yourself work faster and more efficiently. An example would be the Silver Searcher, an app to help you sift through code.

Developing software to its deployment can be a complex process with lots of single tasks. For most of these tasks, tools exist to batch them or otherwise make them require less effort. 

If you want to be more productive when developing software, these can be a godsend.

9. Learn to Type Lightning Fast

When you’re a fast, efficient typist, you spend less time between thinking that thought and expressing it in code.

This is what Jeff Atwood said in his 2008 blog post ‘We Are Typists First, Programmers Second’

Get the code out of your brain faster. Produce more code in less time. If you’re not a fast touch typist yet, it could pay off to work on that.

10. Detox from Digital Distractions

When you’re starting to work on an important coding project, turn off your phone. Put it where you can’t easily reach it.

If you often find yourself losing focus and opening random websites or social media apps – block those while you’re working on your project. Focus on your work as much as you can. It’ll get easier over time. And when you’re starting to feel drained – don’t give in to the urge to randomly browse the internet. 

Take a real break instead. 

How to be a Productive Programmer (& Stay Healthy)

11. Take Productive Breaks

If you take frequent real breaks, you’ll be a more productive programmer. What’s a real break?

• You get up from your chair
• You move around
• You take deep breaths
• You go outside for fresh air
• You close your eyes to give them a break

12. Stay Sharp – Mentally & Physically

A sound mind in a sound body. The cliché is true.

Take care of your fitness as a developer, and you’ll gain the mental clarity to solve tough problems, the energy for long coding sessions, and the strength to sit pain-free for many hours if you need to.

13. Avoid Burnout

In your quest to be as productive as possible, don’t run yourself into the ground. Follow the tips we laid out – scheduling your tasks, setting limits, killing energy drains, and taking enough breaks – and you’ll stave off developer burn out.

Caveat: If your workload isn’t huge, but you still have zero motivation for weeks on end, the issue isn’t with the amount of work, but maybe with the type of project or job you’re working right now.

Your Next Step to Impressive Productivity

I invite you to check out my free ebook ‘Peak Performance Habits for Software Developers’.

It teaches you the 7 simple habits I used to become a 7-figure developer:

The post 13 POWERFUL Productivity Tips for Developers appeared first on Simple Programmer.

Out of all the things and technologies I’ve learned in my software engineering career, the single thing that made me the most money, bar none, was soft skills.

They’re hard to measure – but you know ‘em when you see ‘em.

• Being good with people. 
• Being a powerful public speaker. 
• Being able to hang in there when things get tough, physically and emotionally.

In short, all those things most people don’t focus on!

Great soft skills set you apart as a software developer. They open doors for you. And thus, they multiply your income potential.

They’re the most valuable thing in programming I could teach you.

Let’s dive in.

1. Goal Setting – Achieve Your Dreams As A Developer

Setting goals as a developer seems pretty obvious – right?

Yet so few programmers ever define goals for their career. 

Why?

My guess is for one of two reasons:

1. Many software developers are afraid to commit to a long-term vision. They want to keep their options open. What if I commit to the wrong path? What if I don’t like where it takes me? Scary questions indeed.
2. They haven’t given it much thought at all – and just follow the path that’s laid out for them. It’s more difficult to create your own path. So we just don’t do it.

But every step you take without a clear direction is a wasted step. Don’t randomly walk through life without a purpose for your career!

Take these two main actions to improve the soft skill of goal setting:

• First, set a big, exciting far-off goal for yourself. Where do you want your career to be in 5-10 years?
• Secondly, make small goals that take you in the direction of that bigger goal, step by step.

2. Communication & Speaking Skills – Level Up Your Career

If you think your main job as a software developer is to write code?

You better think again.

Your job as a programmer – just as in about every industry – is to deal with people.

And how do you master your relationship with people? By mastering communication.

Start practicing your communication skills at work each day:

• Connect with a coworker. Maybe someone you haven’t talked to much in the past.
• Explain one concept or project to someone. Try to be engaging, educational and easy to understand in your explanation.
• Pitch a new idea to your boss. Make it sound as enticing to him as possible. 

Talk to more people (besides your computer)

I dislike the introvert vs extrovert label.

Don’t say ‘I’m shy, because I’m introverted’. The two are not connected. Stop that shit. It’s an excuse. 

Just do it. Feel the fear and do it anyway.

If you get into the habit, you’re going to become a better communicator. You’ll make a ton of connections.. and you’re going to see the effects of that.

Become a Persuasive Public Speaker

Public speaking can give you authority, bring in support for your projects, and open all kinds of doors for you as a developer.

In most companies there’s chances for you as an employee to give talks or presentations to the team.

Take those opportunities! Also practice your public speaking outside of work: You can do this at code camps and local user groups. Get this soft skill dialed in and transform your programming career.

3. Attractiveness & Charisma – Switch Your Life to Easy Mode

Engage Others & Spread a Positive Attitude

If you’re:

• able to put a smile on your coworker’s face
• motivate them to keep going when it’s challenging
• make them feel good about themselves

they’ll love you for it. 

As a result, people will like being around you. They’ll speak highly of you to others. And whenever they hear of a new opportunity, they’ll think of you first.

Dress Well

It’s a simple fact of nature: Dress well and everyone will treat you better. 

So take that chance and become the rare well-dressed software developer out there! A clean, cool, matching wardrobe can take you far. 

Like it or not, people like to judge by appearances. Don’t be shy – use it to your advantage!

4. Social Dynamics Awareness & People Skills – Gain Support & Avoid Pitfalls

Even if writing code is the part of your job you enjoy the most:

If you want to be a good software developer, you have to learn to deal effectively with people’s psychology.

Here’s 3 secrets to become popular at work by mastering social dynamics:

1. Everyone wants to feel important

When dealing with another human being at work, start by putting yourself in their shoes. Be empathetic and try to see where they’re coming from.

People want to feel seen, heard, and appreciated. 

But they rarely ever do.

If you’re the one taking the time to do that for your coworkers – guess who they’re going to like and trust more than everybody else?

Isn’t this being manipulative? 

No, it’s called having empathy and actually seeing and appreciating the human you’re talking to.  

2. Never criticize & avoid arguments

Let’s be real: As a software developer or engineer, you’re often the smartest person in the room.

This doesn’t mean you should tell everyone what they could do better. Even if it’s true.

At all costs, avoid being the know-all guy. Just get your validation from doing great work! It’s a law of human nature that most are not ready for honest feedback.

If you really need to offer constructive criticism, think about how you can do it so it doesn’t lead them to resent you for it. If you can, make it sound like their own idea.

Also: When dealing with people, praise works ten times better than criticism.

The same goes for getting into arguments of any kind. In 99% of cases it doesn’t help – only makes things worse. Take the high road by avoiding those pointless arguments.

Instead, spend the time creating something valuable.

3. Think about what the other person wants

What does your boss want?

What are your coworker’s goals?

In every interaction, relate what you’re saying to how it will benefit them.

If they see how you can improve their bottom line or status, they’ll like you more and actually listen to what you have to say.

5. Negotiation Skills of a Pro – Get What You Deserve

Master the developer’s soft skill of negotiation, and you’ll make a lot more hard cash in your lifetime.

Know your value

As software engineers and developers we create so much value for any company we’re working with.

If you know your work is quality: Don’t be shy to aim for top-notch pay. They’re making a large multiple of your salary with what you’re providing them.

Face the fear of rejection

If you ask for more, you have to be prepared to sometimes hear ‘no’. As humans, we feel the pain of rejection just like we do physical pain. So most people try to avoid it.

But if you stare fear in the face, and do it anyway – you get access to big potential benefits others miss out on.

Learn effective negotiation tactics

The person with the greatest need always has the disadvantage.

So if you have several options for getting a new job or client, you can negotiate from a stronger position than if you sent in your resume with everyone else and you’re now dependent on them saying yes.

Be smart

In price negotiations, the first to name a price loses.

If you’re negotiating your salary as a programmer, for example: Get them no name the range they have in mind for this position. Now you’re at an advantage – you can price yourself accordingly.

Reputation is powerful

Also consider this: The better job you do of marketing yourself and building a reputation, the easier it will be for you to negotiate.

I’ve worked with software developers who were able to double their salaries based on nothing but building up a bit of a personal brand and online reputation.

Finally, consider reading a book or two on how to negotiate better.

6. Emotional Mastery – Keep Yourself Calm & Controlled, Always

As a programmer you’re constantly battling against deadlines, confused coworkers and demanding bosses. You’re expected to do your best work while stressed to the max.

This is where emotional mastery for programmers comes in. This soft skill is a superpower.

If you can learn to stay calm in this storm of new tasks, revisions and presentations, you’ll become indispensable to those you’re working with. Which means you’ll be able to move up the career ladder more quickly.

But above all, you’ve learned to not let anything disturb your cool.

That’s priceless.

7. Responsibility – Propel Your Career

Always strive to take on higher responsibility in your work. With great responsibility comes great power. Don’t cower from responsibility. Instead seek out more of it. 

• Volunteer for that next project. 
• Lead that team. 
• Give that presentation. 
• Make that call. 

You’ll grow as a developer, as a leader, and as a person. All while opening up ample career and money-making opportunities for yourself.

8. Creativity – Unleash It & Create Opportunities

Use your creativity to write better code and have a better career.

Programming is both an art and a science. Coming up with creative solutions means you’re better at your craft. 

And when it comes to projects, strategies, and problems – if you’ve developed the soft skill of creativity, you’ll be able to find new, exciting and workable solutions for all of these.

Imagine how much more valuable this makes you in the eyes of your employer or client.

9. Productivity & Time Management – Become Stresslessly Successful

Coding is a fun, but hard job. Your colleagues need help, bosses or clients are in your ear, deadlines loom. Pushing a programming project to completion isn’t easy.

That’s where excellent programmer productivity soft skills will save your day.

Take smart notes

Whether it be notes on your next project, code snippets you’ll need later, meetings, or ideas. Be sure to write it all down in an organized way

Know your most productive hours

Structure your day so that you’ll work when you’re at your sharpest & most energetic. For some people this is in the morning, for others in the afternoon. 

Caveat: This might only work for you if you’re a freelance developer or a remote worker who isn’t bound by a company schedule.

Schedule your week

Know exactly what you need to do at each moment. You’ll save so much brainpower because you don’t have to scramble for the next task all the time. Take some time before each new week to do all the thinking and strategizing. Then during the week you’ll only need to execute.

Live and die by the (Pomodoro) clock

Set yourself a (short) amount of time for your next task. Let yourself have a break right after. Repeat the sequence multiple times. The Pomodoro method lets you get a lot of coding done quickly without burning yourself out.

Dial in your fitness & nutrition

Getting more done as a programmer starts with improving your fitness and following a good diet. 

You’ll think more clearly, you’ll be able to concentrate for longer, and you won’t be as tired at the end of it.

10. Humble Confidence – Couple Your Self-Belief with Openness to Learn

Sometimes it’s okay to be soft –

When allowing yourself to learn from feedback. 

Are you convinced your way is working? Then it’s good to have faith and confidence in that.

But never let that confidence become delusional. 

Even smart people can be wrong sometimes. Or they could at least do better. 

Is a credible source (a coworker you respect, a boss who’s successfully been in the game for decades) giving you feedback? It’ll do you good to at least consider it. 

If you’re able to learn from others without having it impact your self-esteem – that’s a great trait to have.

11. Teamwork – Win Together With Everyone Else

The soft skill of being not a ‘lone coder’, but a team player means that you actively contribute to completing tasks, managing projects, or meeting goals. 

Teamwork lessens the time it takes to develop a project, and it also helps in generating more ideas, as more brains are immersed in the same work.

12. Writing – Become Clear in Word & Thought

Start writing (more than just code).

Start a programming blog.

It’s one of the best ways to improve your communication skills.

Writing forces you to organize your ideas. 

• You’ll become a better communicator in general. 
• You’ll be able to organize your thoughts better.
• You’ll be able to talk to people more effectively.

13. Marketing Skills – Sell (Yourself) Without Shame

Marketing & Sales are not bad.

Learn how to sell, and how to market (yourself especially) as a developer.

You can’t look at this as a dirty thing. Don’t wait for people to find your value. It doesn’t work that way.

The person who is bold and takes action and is confident, wins. They win because they’re heard.

The world will give you what you want. But only if you ask for it – and you act accordingly. That means that if you want something, you’ve got to stand up.

It’s not about being arrogant, or being an asshole. It’s about recognizing your value. And be clear about your value!

When you’re in an interview, and they ask you: How are your C skills? If you’re confident, you don’t say, uhmm, I’m okay, pretty good I think, … you say, I don’t want to toot my own horn, but I’m pretty damn good!

14. Learning – Never Stop Leveling Up Your Life

And the last soft skill you need to succeed as a programmer (but far from the least important – in fact it’s a crucial one): 

To be willing and able to Always Keep Learning.

There’s a bunch of mistakes you can make when you want to get better to improve your career. If you want to avoid those pitfalls – and learn about the superior tactics you can use to get good as fast as possible – I invite you to check out my free email course:

The post 14 MUST-HAVE Soft Skills for Software Developers (LEVEL UP!) appeared first on Simple Programmer.

If you’re a software developer? You’ve picked an awesome profession.

There’s so much growth to be had as a programmer. You can make great money either just coding or being a software engineer. Your options are limitless. 

But… that wealth of options can also be overwhelming. 

Where do you even start?

Problem #1: You don’t know which goals to set in the first place as a developer

There’s different directions you can go in with your goals. 

And there’s different types of goals. 

1. Language goals 
2. Career goals 
3. Personality goals 
4. Money goals…

Which goals make most sense for you to set? 

Which can you realistically achieve? 

Which should you attack right now – and which should you leave for later?

Which goal will get you the most money and success when you achieve it?

Problem #2: ‘Programmer Goal Overload’ has you confused and unfocused

Are you suffering from too many goals at once – a.k.a. Goal Overload?

My goal here is to give you some structure. So you can pick the right goals. 

So you’ll actually achieve them.

It’s fun to think about all the possible goals and fantasize how great it would be to achieve them.

But if you can never give enough focus to any one of those goals –  because Goal Overload has you stuck – how does it help you to keep thinking about every potential goal out there?

Goals are great, though. I’ve successfully used goal-setting to achieve a bunch of stuff:

• Code apps
• Write books
• Create courses
• Build websites
• Become fit, healthy & wealthy

Your success as a programmer – whether it be becoming a software engineer in the first place, moving up the career ladder, writing the best code, making lots of money – I want to help make all of that simple for you. 

You start by mastering setting goals the right way. 

Let’s dive in.

The 4 Pillars of Powerful Programmer Goals: The Fulfilling Future Exercise, Infinite Improvement, The Non-Stop Value Formula, Powerful Habits

How do you advance your career most effectively? You do that by first setting goals that make sense for where you’re at and where you want to go.

Here are the 4 types of goals you need to have for maximum impact, money, and happiness as a programmer:

1. The Fulfilling Future Exercise

The key to success in life is to be fulfilled with the work you’re doing each and every day. 

Do you get excited about writing gaming code for 8-10 hours on a Monday and then repeating it for the next four days? Or are you passionate about the thought of working on machine learning systems at Amazon?

What type of work (that you’ve had a taste of, or KNOW it would be perfect for you) excites you the most?

Visualize your ideal life as a programmer. 

You’re spending most of your working day doing your favorite activities. Of course even those aren’t 100% enjoyable. They might be quite tough actually. But they allow you to express your gift, have maximum impact, and give you long-term fulfillment.

After you’ve created the idea of your optimal developer lifestyle, strive to get closer to it every day. Set intermediate goals on the way there. Pick tasks that’ll move you towards your vision. Reject those that pull you away from it. 

Use the 80-20 rule.

“Am I doing the 20% of tasks that are getting me closer to my goal?”

Focus on those and you’ll get 80% of the results – by only doing what matters. You’ll also make sure you’re 100% on the right track. So you’re not climbing a ladder, only to find out it was leaning against the wrong wall all along.

Instead, your actions will be perfectly aligned with fulfillment and success.

Finally, live each day as much as you can as if your goal had already come true. 

That’s how you’ll speak into existence your vision of your most fulfilling life as a software developer.

2. Infinite Improvement

When doing your goal-setting, don’t just focus on the outcome: As in, ‘I want to create an amazing tool that helps thousands of people and makes me millions of dollars.’

Also set goals for leveling up your skills. Because that’s when one leads to the other. 

If you’re so competent and complete as a programmer that you can:

• tackle tough coding problems without flinching
• strategize masterfully
• present yourself, communicate & negotiate like a pro

that’s when you’ll be able to actually achieve those awesome high-level goals. 

Because you’ve turned yourself into the kind of person who does. 

Work towards improving your skills, and with each passing day you’ll be inching closer to your goals.

By the way: I have a whole course on becoming that elite-level programmer. It’s called “5 learning mistakes programmers make”. You can grab it here for free:

3. The Non-Stop Value Formula

The vision, the skills… those are important to focus on when setting your goals as a programmer.

What else is? Having a positive impact on others.

Setting goals that impact others is not altruistic. It’s selfish – because it’ll accelerate your own success as a developer. You’ll get better skills, more exposure and higher status, faster. The money will soon follow.

So how do you set goals that impact others?

You do it by staying connected to the real world while you’re building yourself up. 

• Build stuff in public.
• Have people actually use it.
• Help others with any new programming skill you’re learning. 
• Apply your new soft skills to give valuable presentations. 
• Put your coding skills to the test by working with others on their projects. 

Impactful goals are those that have you connect and contribute – as opposed to goals about making you better in isolation. 

The latter are much easier to quit on as well.

4. Powerful Habits

Break your programming goals down into weekly & daily goals – because habits are more powerful than goals.

Once you’ve created those productive habits, achieving your long-term goals is as simple as executing those habits day after day. 

Luckily, while it’s hard work to first establish a new habit, it gets easier over time to keep them going. That’s the power of habits – use it to turn achieving your goals into a simple, repeatable process. 

You’ll finally feel that your goals are within your reach.

5 SMART Programmer Goals Examples – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant & Time-Bound

For any new goal it’s best if you follow the SMART goal setting formula. 

And to write them down. By writing down your goals, you have a 42% better chance of achieving them.

SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. 

A SMART goal is a really specific way of writing down your goal, a key component of improving your chances of achieving any goal.

Which one is a SMART goal?

1. I want to work out more.
2. I will go to the gym three times per week for the next six months.

It’s the second one. 

This goal gives a clear breakdown of what you’ll do, how you’ll do it, and over what time period.

Just saying you want to work out more doesn’t give you any idea about how you intend to do it. And most importantly it doesn’t hold you accountable.

You could work out for five minutes, one day of the week, and if that’s more than what you are currently doing, it’s technically achieving your goal.

However, it’s probably not going to get you the desired outcome of why you want to work out more.

Now that we know what a SMART goal is, let’s look at 5 SMART goals you can set to become a better programmer this year:

SMART Goal #1: Spend Three Nights per Week Creating Your Own Website if You Want To Make a Career Change

If you’re currently employed but looking to branch out on your own and build your own programming business, it’s great to have your own programming blog showcasing your skills.

You’ll need to dedicate some time after work to specifically work on the site and commit to a time-frame where you will have it done.

S—The goal is to build a website

M—Three nights per week

A—A challenge, but easily doable

R—Relevant if you want to start your own business

T—Three months

SMART Goal #2: Take an Online Course for a Specific Programming Language Twice per Year

If you’re a competent Java programmer, you could look to broaden out your skillset by learning a new programming language. A great way to do this is to commit to doing some online courses to improve your knowledge. 

Online courses are something that we think about doing but never really commit to.

Set a goal to do two per year. And a top tip is to find one that you need to pay for, as you’re much more likely to commit to it.

You can decide on any programming language in which you think you need to improve your skillset.

S—The goal is to learn a new programming language

M—Two courses that I pay for

A—Challenging but attainable

R—Relevant if you to build your programming skills

T—One year

SMART Goal #3: Spend Five Hours a Week Learning How To Develop a New App Over the Next Six Months

Building a new app takes time, and if it’s not your full-time job, it can be hard to find the time needed to work on it. 

However, taking the time to learn how to build a new app broadens your programming skillset and will make you more valuable to employers and clients.

Set yourself a goal that over the next six months you will spend five hours every week working on your new app.

This is a SMART goal where you can adjust parts to make them more relevant to you. 

For example, if you know you can easily work for five hours a week, increase it to 10. Or if you think it will only take you three months to develop, shorten the time frame.

S—The goal is to develop an app

M—Five hours per week

A—Hard but doable

R—Relevant if you want to build a new app

T—Six months

Smart Goal #4: Dedicate Two One-Hour Blocks of Time To Increase Productivity Every Day for Three Months

Programming requires intense concentration. If there are lots of distractions going on, properly focusing on the work you need to do can be really hard, and productivity can drop.

In Cal Newport’s bestseller, Deep Work, he suggests one of the best ways to concentrate on your work is to block out times to do specific intense work. This is a time where you just work on a specific task you have set yourself. For example, if you need to write code for a specific part of a website you’re developing, you do that, and only that, for the one-hour time block.

Turn off your phone, close down your emails, and avoid the internet if you can. Schedule an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon for periods of intense focus. The reason for choosing an hour is it’s long enough to really focus and get plenty done, but short enough to not be intimidating from the start.

Again, this part of the SMART goal can be reframed to suit you better. If you know you concentrate better for shorter periods of time, reduce the time period. Twenty-five minutes can be a good place to start; that’s the time frame used in the Pomodoro productivity technique.

You’ll be surprised at how much you get done.

S—The goal is to do intense work

M—Two one-hour blocks every day

A—Challenging but doable

R—Relevant if wanting to increase your productivity

T—Three months

SMART Goal #5: Spend One Hour at the End of the Month To Plan Your Time for the Following Month

As the saying goes: “Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.” Plan out your month and you’ll get dramatically more done each month.

Most successful people in the world will plan out their months ahead of time so they know exactly what they need to do to achieve their goals.

Give yourself an hour at the end of each month to plan what you intend to do for the upcoming month. 

This can involve looking at what key tasks you need to complete, blocking out time to get them done, and making a to-do list of the less urgent tasks.

Also, use this time to refer back to your goals to make sure you are making progress toward them every month.

S—The goal is to plan for the month ahead

M—Once a month

A—Easily attainable

R—Relevant if wanting to be more organized

T—One month

Let’s now get into 21 developer goals for you to go after – so you can become the highly paid, fulfilled programmer you want to be:

21 AWESOME & EFFECTIVE Career Goals for Coders and Software Engineers

Short Term Programmer Goals

1. You’ll make your own learning curriculum

This is where you make sure you’ll progress towards your goals. If you fail to do this, it’s too easy to get lost and abandon one, multiple or even all of your goals. 

You can’t just set goals by themselves. You need to outline exactly how you’ll get there.

So, set aside a number of hours per week that you’ll dedicate to learning. Pick a number of hours you know you’ll be able to hit. Don’t go overboard! 

Now, decide which resources you’ll use during those hours, and how you’re going to study them – for example by thinking about a problem, sketching it out, writing and debugging the code, documenting your results in a written report, etc.

2. You’ll create a weekly & daily schedule

For every activity that’s important to your programming career, outline it in a similar way.

Figure out what needs to happen each week to keep you chipping away at your goals.

Then, break it down even further: Into little chunks of work you can put into a daily list of tasks. Now you just need to focus on completing your daily schedule. 

And you’ll automatically get closer to your goals as a developer.

3. You’ll start your portfolio website

Never underestimate the power of your portfolio. 

Build stuff you can be proud of. Doesn’t matter what. A blog website, photo slider, Web Scrapper. To-Do app, Resume portfolio, etc.

Once a client sees your portfolio and the amount of stuff you’ve built, is when he knows what you’re capable of. Your work speaks for itself.

In the free course How to start a blog, you’ll get guidance on how to start building your portfolio site so you can start attracting more clients by showing off the quality of your work to the world.

4. You’ll take on a freelance coding project to develop yourself and make extra income

Now you’re getting paid to learn! 

And after you’re done, you can add the completed project to your portfolio. 

You can even get a testimonial from your client, building trust with your audience, so you’ll more easily get the next, better-paid freelance project.

5. You’ll give a talk on a technical topic you’re passionate about 

You can do this at any meetup, conference or event. You’ll gain communication skills, get your name out among potential collaborators or employers, and gain that momentum to keep taking your programming career to the next level.

6. You’ll write a valuable article or report that people love to share

For some, this can launch them into a completely new career outlet: Writing for a living. 

If your article was a hit, why not expand on it and make it into a whole book? Today, with how easy it is to self-publish a book, the world could be your oyster.

7. You’ll study one new coding book

You don’t need to read all the books. But studying just one book deeply can take your programming skills to a whole new level.

Again, you’ll set aside an amount of hours to dive into the knowledge and solve the problems presented in the book. If you do this, you’ll get a hundred times more value out of it than if you were to simply read through dozens of books.

In the article on top programming books, you’ll find a good selection of books. Pick one that sounds like an exciting challenge for you to tackle. 

Commit to that and see how your coding skills benefit.

8. You’ll upgrade your debugging skills

Set a goal to get better at debugging this year. 

Vow to approach every bug with a formula:

1. Hypothesize: Where do you think the problem could lie? 
2. Experiment to prove or disprove your hypothesis
3. Repeat until you’ve found the bug

Optimizing your debugging process could be a worthy goal for you as a programmer – it’ll make you more effective at churning out functional code, in a repeatable manner, more quickly.

9. You’ll get better at project-based interviewing

If you’re looking to find work as a software developer, get ready to crush those project-based interviews.

Make a goal to thoroughly research the interview process and topics, to tackle a number of new programming interview questions each day, and to frequently hold mock interviews with your friends.

You want to get to a point where you can easily solve most of those Leetcode-style questions thrown at you. 

That’s when it becomes only a matter of time until you’ll be getting a highly paid programming job.

10. You’ll start doing soft skills challenges

Programmers with good soft skills are invited for more projects, rise up higher in their company, get more recognition, and overall become more successful, wealthy and happy.

So install the worthy goal of improving those skills. 

Turn it into a challenge: 

• How many new people can I reach out to this week? 
• When can I practice and deliver an impactful speech in front of people? 
• How will I start negotiating like a pro to get what I want during my next meeting?

11. You’ll gather at least one new piece of feedback each week

Most programmers fail to achieve their goals because they don’t even know what they’re doing wrong.

When it comes to our work, we all have blind spots. It’s just human.

Those who can rise above their ego, ask their peers or higher-ups for honest feedback, and accept and implement it, are the ones who’ll become successful.

12. You’ll improve your problem-solving skills

“The biggest mistake I see new programmers make is focusing on learning syntax instead of learning how to solve problems.” – V. Anton Spraul

Set a goal to solve one new problem each week. It’ll help if you pick different platforms to solve problems on. 

Create and improve on your problem-solving framework: The system you use to assess, structure, and ultimately overcome every problem. 

Soon enough you’ll be able to use this system with every challenge you face, be it related to programming or not.

Long Term Programmer Goals

13. You’ll create a personal brand

Want to rise up the ranks as a programmer – make better connections, get better jobs, multiply your income? 

Start building your personal programmer brand ASAP.

• Let people know which area you’re specializing in as a developer
• Write your biographical elevator pitch: Who are you and how are you helping me?
• Create your portfolio website
• Build your LinkedIn profile
• Start sharing content around your area of expertise
• Join a community – or start your own!

Once people know you as an expert on their topic, they’ll start coming to you with offers.

Building a personal brand is a proven way to rise above the masses as a programmer and snatch the best opportunities. 

14. You’ll learn a new language (one at a time!)

A classic goal for any developer is to learn a new programming language. And the best way to do it is strategically. 

Pick ONE language at a time. Conservatively estimate how long it’ll take you to learn it. Create a weekly schedule. Purchase any resources if necessary. 

Follow through with your daily learning habit, and soon you’ll have achieved your goal.

Professional Goals for Software Engineers & Developers

15. You’ll complete a new certification

Courses, bootcamps and certifications can be a quick way to level up your programming skills and increase your professional status at the same time.

You could set a goal to complete one or two new of these per year.

Over time, this will put you in the upper echelon of developers in terms of coding knowledge, skills and accolades.

If you’re at a job, put that professional development budget to good use and have them pay for any cert or course you take.

16. You’ll prepare for & apply to your dream job

Two things separating you from your dream job as a programmer: You need to set a smart goal to actually go for that job, and then do the work to make that goal come to fruition.

If you have a strategic plan for getting there, and you’re executing on that plan – it’s only a matter of time until you’ll get that job.

17. You’ll take responsibility for one new project at work

If you want to increase your influence at work and climb the ladder – set a ‘leadership goal’ specifying how you’ll start a new project, and collaborate with others to make it succeed, creating a positive impact in your company.  

18. You’ll start mentoring someone once or twice per week

It’s unclear who learns more when you work on this goal of mentorship – the mentee, or you as the mentor.

To teach successfully, you need to know the topic by heart. 

Apart from giving back and helping someone in their programming career, you’ll deepen your own understanding. 

In short, this goal helps you become both a better coder and a better human.

Financial Goals for Programmers

Want to earn more as a programmer? Get the free course ‘7 Reasons You’re Underpaid As A Software Developer’. You’ll get my best strategies for moving up the ranks and making more money.

19. You’ll start investing your money into assets

Once you make good money as a programmer, a worthwhile goal is to start putting any extra money to work for you.

A great way to do that is to invest into assets.

I’ve made great money investing in real estate, but you could choose other assets to invest in as well, like businesses or websites.

Make a goal to set X amount aside each month to put into new assets. Once these assets start paying you back without much upkeep, you’ll be glad you did!

20. You’ll apply for a raise each year, citing your accomplishments

If you’re someone who sets and achieves new goals every year? Then you keep increasing your value for the company you’re working for: 

• Those difficult jobs you finished. 
• How you improved team collaboration by managing projects and mentoring new hires. 
• Your better productivity because you leveled up your skills. 

So you have every reason to ask for a raise at each opportunity. 

21. You’ll start commanding an elite hourly rate

Whether you’re at a job or you’re working as a freelance developer: Make upping your hourly rate one of your major goals. 

This is most simple when you’re freelancing: Simply set your rate higher after each bout of successful projects. 

Don’t accept less. Because your results are speaking for you, you will get hired even as you become more expensive.

Start planning your week around your goals

Want to know how I plan my week to get as much done as possible? Here it is.

I use a tool called Kanbanflow to plan out my week based on Pomodoros.

Using this technique I am able to be extremely productive, avoid distractions and know exactly what I’ll be able to get done each week.

Now go Crush your Goals – Become a Finisher!

If you want to accomplish your goals, you need to learn to finish what you start.

It really is as simple as that. Become the kind of person who always finishes what you start.

Getting 50% done is worthless and 90% done is worthless and a big waste of time. You only get benefits from doing something when you reach 100%. Getting to 100% is all that matters. 

• Not all the work you put into it leading up to that point. 
• Not your initial enthusiasm. 
• Not even the time you spent. As soon as you spend it that time is gone.

The only way any of those things have any chance of showing a return on your investment is by reaching 100%–taking the big rubber stamp that says “done” on it and stamping it right across your work in dark red ink.

Ultimately it comes down to this: 

You have to decide that you are tired of having a closet full of half-completed projects. You have to decide that finishing is important to you and that despite how you feel, despite how bleak the outcome may seem to be, once you start something you will finish it–barring some extreme circumstance.

It’s not an easy journey, but once you decide to embark upon it, you’ll start to see rewards you never imagined possible.

My life completely changed once I became a finisher. Yours will too.

To start leveling up smarter and faster, get the free guide: 5 Learning Mistakes Software Developers Make

The post 26 Developer Goals That ACTUALLY WORK – with SMART Examples appeared first on Simple Programmer.

Project management is tedious, especially when you lack a project management workflow to set into action. Workflows not only allow you to better visualize the flow of different project elements but also to track the progress and report it efficiently.

However, setting a project management workflow comes as a challenge for most project managers. Don’t worry, we’ve got your back! Take a look at our project management workflow strategy guide and see how you can save time and money by understanding this concept and applying it to your projects.

Project Management

Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve specific goals within a specified time frame. It includes the identification, prioritization, and allocation of resources and tasks, as well as their execution and control.

In a nutshell, project management aims to produce a finished product or service that meets the client’s requirements and is delivered within the agreed-upon time frame.

Workflow in Terms of Project Management

A workflow is a set of activities necessary to complete a task or process. In project management, a workflow is the sequence of steps a team takes to complete a task or deliverable.

There are many different ways to create a workflow, but the most important thing is to ensure the workflow is clear and concise. Each step in the workflow should be clearly defined, and the team should clearly understand what needs to be done at each stage.

Creating an effective workflow is essential to the success of any project. By creating a workflow that makes sense for the team and task at hand, project managers can ensure that the project is completed efficiently and effectively.

Differences Between Workflow and Project Management

More often than not, project managers confuse workflow with other things. To get things started in the right order, first you need to understand a few critical differences between workflow and project management:

• Workflow is more concerned with the individual steps involved in completing a task or series of tasks, while project management is more concerned with the overall completion.
• Workflow is typically more linear, while project management can involve multiple concurrent tasks.
• Workflow is also usually less formal than project management and can be adapted more quickly to changing circumstances.

Similarities Between Workflow and Project Management

Similarities in workflow and project management help you find the points where you can synergize both entities for optimal results. Workflow and project management share many similarities that you can use to your benefit:

• Both are concerned with the efficient execution of a series of tasks. 
• Both seek to optimize the use of resources and minimize waste.
• And both seek to improve communication and collaboration among team members.

By understanding these similarities, organizations can more effectively utilize both to improve their operations.

Project Management Workflow

The project management workflow is the process by which a project manager oversees and coordinates the various tasks and activities involved in completing a project.

Project management workflow includes developing a project plan and schedule, assigning tasks and resources, monitoring progress, and ensuring that the project is completed on time and within budget. A well-managed project is typically characterized by clear goals and objectives, efficient communication and coordination among team members, and a high level of organization.

An effective project management workflow is essential for ensuring that a project runs smoothly and is completed successfully. By following a clear and concise workflow, a project manager can keep track of all the different elements of a project and ensure that everything is progressing as it should.

Importance of Project Management Workflow

There are many reasons why project management workflow is essential. Perhaps the most important reason is that it helps ensure that projects are completed on time and within budget. 

A well-managed workflow also helps to improve communication and coordination between team members, which can result in a more effective team. Additionally, project management workflow can help identify and track project risks, which can help avoid potential problems down the road.

Project management workflow helps you break down and visualize the various tasks involved in project completion. It helps you meet bigger goals little by little. You can not only track your employee performance, but also reward the employees who have shown exceptional output. Moreover, workflow helps you save time, money, and effort. You can reuse the workflow by adding little tweaks depending on the nature of other projects that you take on. Boost your project performance, enhance employee satisfaction, ensure everything is in order for your stakeholders, and beat the competition with an organized project management workflow.

Step-by-Step Guide: Create an Efficient Workflow for Project Management

There are a few key steps to creating an efficient workflow for project management:

• First, you need to identify the tasks that need to be completed and break them down into smaller, more manageable steps.
• Next, you need to assign these tasks to specific team members and set deadlines for completing them.
• Finally, you need to track the project’s progress and ensure everyone is on track.

By following these steps, you can ensure that your project is completed efficiently and on time.

Methods to Create an Efficient Workflow for Project Management

There are a variety of methods that can be used to create an efficient workflow for project management:

• One method is to use a project management software tool to help track and manage the project. This can be beneficial as it can help keep all project information in one place and make it easier to track progress and deadlines.
• Another method is to create a project plan and schedule. This can help ensure that all tasks are completed on time and that the project stays on track.
• Finally, it is important to communicate regularly with all project stakeholders to ensure everyone knows the project status and tasks.

Using these methods makes it possible to create an efficient workflow for project management.

Best Practices for Using Project Management Workflow Systems Effectively

Here are a few key things to remember when using project management workflow systems effectively:

• First, it is important to have a clear and concise project plan. This will help ensure that everyone involved in the project understands the goals and objectives.
• Second, it is important to use the strategy to its full potential. This means utilizing all of the features and functions that the system has to offer.
• Last, it is important to be flexible and adaptable when using it. Things will inevitably change throughout the course of a project, so it is important to be able to adjust the system accordingly.

By following these best practices, you will be well on your way to using project management workflow systems effectively.

Signs of an Inefficient Project Management Workflow

Have you ever come across a poorly performing project manager? Poor project management is usually because of disorganized workflow. A few key signs can indicate an inefficient project management workflow:

• One sign is if projects regularly go over the allotted budget or timeline. This can be a sign that the project manager is not accurately estimating the scope of work or that there is too much wasted effort during the execution of the project. Extended time means less time for new projects and potentially dissatisfied clients, which leads to the likelihood of less revenue.
• Another sign is if there is a high turnover of project managers on a single project. This can indicate that the project is not well organized or that the project manager is not a good fit for the team.
• Lastly, if a project is constantly being put on hold or delayed, this can be a sign that the project manager is not prioritizing the work properly or that there are too many competing demands for the team’s time and resources.

Advantages of Project Management Workflow in the IT Industry

There are many advantages to using a project management workflow in any IT industry:

• Perhaps the most obvious benefit is that it can help increase efficiency and productivity by ensuring that all tasks are properly organized, and that team members know their roles and responsibilities. This is so important because project management is all about juggling limited resources in the most efficient manner to bring fruitful results on time.
• In addition, a project management workflow can help improve correspondence and collaboration among team members. Misunderstandings and potential conflict between team members can be avoided by keeping everyone on the same page and ensuring that everyone is aware of the latest updates. This is important because a harmonious team is a productive team.
• Another benefit of using a project management workflow is that it can help improve the final product’s quality. By ensuring that all tasks are correctly planned and executed, and that team members can give their input and feedback at each stage of the project, the chances of errors and problems can be significantly reduced. This is important because client satisfaction can bring you more business and help build authority among competition.

Overall, the advantages of using a project management workflow in the IT industry are numerous. Project management workflow can be valuable for any IT team.

Benefits of Using a Project Management Software for Project Management Workflow

Using project management software to manage your projects has many benefits:

• It enables you to keep track of all the different aspects of your projects in one place. This can be a great help when it comes to ensuring that nothing is forgotten or overlooked.
• The software can also help automate some of the tasks involved in project management. This can free up your time to focus on more critical tasks.
• Additionally, it can help ensure that tasks are carried out more efficiently and accurately.
• Finally, project management software can help improve your team’s correspondence and coordination. This is because all team members will have access to the same information and tools. This can make it easier to coordinate efforts and avoid misunderstandings.

Project Charter

A project charter template can be used to track progress and ensure that the project remains on schedule with a document that outlines the scope and objectives of a project. It is typically used to define the roles and responsibilities of project team members and to set expectations for what will be delivered. This can be particularly useful when you are about to sign the project with your client.

With a charter template, you can allocate responsibilities to team members and collaborate with them in real time. You can visualize the scope and other factors of the project with its useful tools—collaborate on an infinite canvas, import data from multiple sources, comment on specific aspects, and view the full version history.

Are You Ready to Set Up Your Project Management Workflow?

Project management workflow is essential for any project manager, by helping to plan, execute, and track the progress of their project. Using a project management workflow strategy, project managers can ensure that all stakeholders are kept informed of the project’s progress and that the project is completed on time and within budget. A project management workflow not only saves you time and resources but also helps you ensure internal and external stakeholder satisfaction. This helps you in attracting more business and managing everything effectively.

The post Your Complete Guide to Project Management Workflow appeared first on Simple Programmer.

That is why developers with an excellent mastery of time management are the most valuable in any industry.

Using time in an efficient way improves your work quality and requires self-discipline and competence.

You’ll face all kinds of challenges if you don’t organize your time properly.

For example, you’ll have to rush coding sessions if you spend too much time on unnecessary activities. In addition, poor time management also leads to overwork, burnout, and costly mistakes.

To help you avoid these challenges, I’ve compiled a list of proven techniques for establishing an optimal coding routine. They will ensure you feel balanced and content whether you’re building a simple website or a complex software program.

1.  Manage Your Time

There are a variety of time management techniques that use specific principles and formats to help you structure your day. We will go over a few of the most popular ones. Remember, you don’t have to choose just one technique and stick with it. Think of them as tools that you can combine and adapt to your needs. We suggest choosing a few techniques that appeal to you and testing them out to see how they work for you, then making your decision.

The Eisenhower Matrix

The first step to making a good to-do list is to prioritize. The Eisenhower matrix, also called the priority matrix, is a decision-making technique that helps you prioritize your tasks by dividing them into four categories:

Important and urgent: These are time-sensitive tasks that attract severe consequences if not executed before the deadline. For example, critical bug fixes in soon-to-be deployed programs.

Important and not urgent: Tasks without critical deadlines but crucial to your overall project. This category may include tasks for goals that you set for yourself such as learning a new programming language.

Not important and urgent: Time-sensitive tasks that you can delegate to others. These include essential client emails and progress report requests from your colleagues or supervisors.

Not important and not urgent: Tasks and activities that disrupt your workflow and don’t contribute to your project. These include unnecessary meetings and spam emails.

The Pomodoro Technique

Minor distractions can derail your entire workday and leave you achieving close to nothing.

Researchers from the University of California, Irvine, found that you’ll likely take 23 minutes to fully resume work after an interruption.

The pomodoro technique can be used to keep you focused and manage these interruptions more smoothly.

The technique involves breaking down your work schedule into pomodoros also known as  25-minute time periods.

Fun fact: ‘Pomodoro’ means tomato in Italian, and this technique was actually named after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer originally used to time work and rest periods.

Here’s how it works:

• Make a list: Create a list of tasks you want to accomplish (maybe using the Eisenhower method to help you prioritize)
• Timer: Set your timer for 25 minutes (this way you can focus only on work and not worry about the clock)
• Work: Focus on one task per pomodoro (if you finish a job before the 25 minutes is up, move on to another)
• Rest: Take a five-minute break after the 25 minutes are up
• Longer breaks: Take an extended break of 15-25 minutes after four to five pomodoros
• Rinse and repeat!

Time Mapping

Time mapping involves blocking out periods of time for tasks in advance. It gives you a visual map of your time. Usually this is done for a weekly schedule but can also be applied daily. A time map relieves the stress of making decisions regarding the next task to handle. It helps you move from task to task without pausing and thinking about the next thing to do.

For example, when you finish a coding session with time to spare on your calendar, you might be confused about what to do next.

Also, it helps you avoid Parkinson’s Law. The law states that tasks expand to fill the time allotted to them. This means you’ll find a way to keep working until you exhaust the time assigned to a particular task.

Knowing the next task to move on to gives you a sense of direction and urgency.

You can use a pen and paper to create a time map. However, using spreadsheets and calendars works best. There are plenty of calendar apps that have this function. You can use colors to code your activities according to type and priority.

The ABCD System

This priority system allows you to rank your tasks according to importance and urgency. The goal is similar to the priority matrix but the approach to categories is a bit different. You can try out both and see which one best fits your needs.

You will split your tasks into 4 categories:

• A: Task of the day: Your most important task that must be completed today. If needed, you can add up to 3 tasks here but it’s best to keep it to a minimum.
• B: Secondary tasks: Important jobs that would be nice to get done but are not as essential as “A” items.
• C: Not important: These are usually small and easy tasks that don’t really contribute to your goals but still should get done eventually.
• D: Delegate: These tasks should be handed over to someone else who can do them faster and better, or simply has more time on their hands.

After you’ve created your ABCD list, take another look and see if there are any tasks you can completely remove. Some people create an additional “E” list for these tasks, but you can simply erase them.

2. Plan Your Week

As we mentioned, time management is a significant part of your job as a developer. So, it makes sense that you allocate some time to it as well.

Sacrifice some of your off time to plan your days and weeks. For example, you can block out time in the evening to draw up your schedule for the next day.

You can also dedicate some time on a Saturday or Sunday to plan your week or even the coming month. Set aside an hour to first list your appointments, then prioritize your tasks for the week. After this, you can make a time map. Alternatively, you could just use your to-do list for the week and use the Pomodoro method while working.

Prioritize Your Tasks

Being productive and being busy are two different things.

Doing whatever you see in front of you is a recipe for rushing things at the 11th hour.

For example, postponing a critical bug update to reply to emails that flash on your screen is not an ideal way to work.

This behavior can leave you physically and emotionally drained.

Categorizing your daily tasks according to priority allows you to focus on what matters most. This way, you’ll beat deadlines and produce quality work.

You can use any of the time management techniques above to prioritize your tasks. Always ensure you make it a ritual to rank your jobs instead of simply listing them.

Break Up Your Day

The midday slump has become the bogeyman that almost every worker must confront. Some of us go through our fifth cup of coffee before 2 pm and struggle to handle any more work.

The secret to conquering this challenge is breaking up your day.

Working for hours without breaks is one of the reasons you lose energy and motivation before midday.

Breaking up your work schedule into chunks helps you recharge for the next task.

This way, you’ll get to midday and still feel fresh.

Sounding familiar? The pomodoro technique is especially effective in this case. Sticking to 25-minute work periods followed by five-minute breaks gives you the required structure to defeat the afternoon slump.

Schedule Time for Non-Coding Activities

Non-coding activities like client calls, meetings, and emails can consume a significant chunk of your time. If you end up focusing on them too much, they could leave you with an insufficient amount of time for coding, causing you to rush work and make mistakes.

You can do your best to minimize external distractions, but some responsibilities like meetings, calls, and emails are also critical to your success.

Meaning, you have to organize your time properly to accommodate these activities.

I recommend that you reserve these activities for periods when you’re least energetic and deal with lots of interruptions. Let your team members know when you’re available for meetings, and schedule client calls ahead of time.

Tackle Complex Tasks During Your Peak Productive Hours

Everyone has daily peak productive hours—two, three, or four hours when they’re most energized and focused. They’re also called golden hours or peak work times.

Identifying these hours allows you to allocate and prioritize your tasks properly. You can schedule the more challenging jobs that require critical thinking during your productive hours.

For example, if you’re struggling to figure out where a code has gone wrong, you need to do it when you have more clarity and focus. This may mean putting the project down and coming back to it in the morning when you’re in your most mentally productive state.

Finding your golden hours can be tricky, especially since they can fall in your lunch period or outside your regular work schedule.

So, to find them, change up your work schedule and record how much you get done. Try out working during your usual lunchtime or later in the evening and see how you feel. You can use a mood journal or even just a note app for recording your energy levels. There are also apps designed specifically to track work activity.

Split Large Tasks Into Smaller and More Manageable Pieces

When you look over your to-do list and see a giant 100-hour task, you may find yourself mentally exhausted before you even start. Often, this is how procrastination—the enemy of all project-based workers—starts. For this reason, breaking up large tasks into smaller chunks is important when planning your week or even month. This allows you to focus and get work done without procrastinating.

One way to do this is to work backward and make a timeline. What needs to be done before release day? What about the week before release day? Set time-based goals for small tasks that will add up to conquering that mountain of a project.

Splitting large tasks or goals in this way will end up saving you a lot of time.

3. Identify Time-Wasters

Time-wasters are activities that distract and interrupt you from your coding tasks. They can be social media engagements, domestic chores, emails, or meetings.

There are various ways to identify time-wasters. You can try to catch yourself when you find you are distracted and take note of what you were doing. Alternatively, you may use special apps both on your computer and phone if you suspect you are getting distracted by notifications and sites like YouTube.

Don’t only take note of distractions, but also of small tasks that often end up scattered throughout your day. How much time did you spend talking on the phone and answering emails? What about answering questions on GitHub? Track how much time is spent on all tasks for at least a few days. You may be surprised what you learn about yourself when you look at the data.

Use Time Tracking Apps

Time trackers allow you to monitor how much time you spend on specific tasks. The data you glean from these tools will help you optimize your work schedule.

One way to do this is to identify tasks you’re good at and those you struggle with. Then, you can reserve those challenging assignments for periods where you’re less distracted and tackle the more relaxed tasks when you’re just getting started or feeling tired.

A helpful way to figure out how to best manage your time is by using time tracking data to discover unnecessary and distracting activities. This way, you know what to avoid and can schedule those activities better.

Time trackers also calculate billable hours and automatically create pay sheets. Freelancers can use a time tracker that automates their invoice creation using tracked billable hours. This takes the dull and time-consuming task of manually calculating hours out of your hands so you can spend time on the things you’d rather focus on.

Companies, however, may opt for employee monitoring apps that can create each worker’s monthly timesheet, especially in remote work situations.

This saves you the time of manually calculating your billable hours and creating invoices.

Write a Script for Repetitive Tasks

Repetitive tasks can become tedious over time. If you find yourself doing many of these tasks, consider writing a simple script to automate them. This way, you can turn multiple steps into one—saving you both the time of doing the task and the mental energy of repeating a monotonous activity.

For example, you can write a script to launch another program or execute specific codes using keyboard shortcuts. You can also write a program that you can call up using a hotkey to perform mass file operations.

Task automation software is another option you can try out. Apps like ClickUp and Zoho allow you to automate meeting reminders, recurring tasks, and deadlines.

4. Use Collaboration Tools for Programmers

Coding-centric collaboration tools allow developers to work on projects, view each other’s work, and comment and edit in real time. In addition, these tools save time with reviews, bug-checks, and troubleshooting.

You can also use project management tools to streamline your workflow, especially when you work with a team of developers. Also, if you’re prioritizing your tasks using one of the methods we mentioned above, this is a great way to delegate tasks to others.

Cloud-based version control platforms like GitHub allow you to collaborate with other developers and store, manage, and track changes in your codes. In other words, you can work in real time with other developers and save time sending work back and forth.

Project management tools like Jira are designed for developers to manage design and coding workflows and allow developers to comment on tasks and provide feedback. The continuous feedback in real time saves time later on in quality assessments when it comes to bug fixes.

Carefully Document Your Process and Leave Comments in Your Code

When talking about working with others, we have to mention the importance of documenting your work. Many coders get a bit lazy and skip this step, however it is incredibly useful for time management. Use a technical document to chronicle and explain your technical process and decisions.

This way, you don’t have to field answers whenever you update a GitHub tree. It also reduces how much knowledge you have to transfer when you hand over the project. In addition, you can start using comments more proactively to explain specific lines of code and clear up any potential confusion. Finally, it’s still a useful rule to follow even if you don’t plan on sharing your work. If you take a break from a project, you may return to it and find yourself lost as you try to sort out what you were doing and how. Having the process written out will save valuable time by letting you jump right back in.

This method ensures your colleagues understand your decision-making and are able to provide appropriate feedback. Comments will also help other developers to find bugs in your code and fix them.

5. Feel Your Way Through It – Don’t Burn Out

Everyone has a different work pattern. Indeed, you should figure out the time management techniques that best suit your coding style. That said, you don’t have to force yourself into a strict process.

Test out different approaches to prioritizing and planning and take note of what works and what doesn’t. You can always tweak the methods to match your needs as well.

Tracking how you spend your time is a good starting point to figure out what wastes your time as well as when your golden hours are.

Overall, this process is not a quick one, so don’t rush or stress about it. It’s all about experimenting and learning what works for you.

The post 12 Battle-Tested Time Management Techniques for a More Productive Coding Routine appeared first on Simple Programmer.

Indeed, in the World Quality Report 2020-21, Capgemini states that about 70% of development teams work under pressure, deploying products daily and hourly. But how can this be done with no harm to quality?

That’s precisely what I’ll show you in this post, so that you can be faster than your competitors without sacrificing quality, all while you avoid professional burnout.

Some Words on Development Speed

In software development, speed is not a simple concept; after all, the definition of speed itself may vary depending on the perspective.

For instance, with Agile development, some experts describe the concept of speed in terms of various patterns. On a basic level, these patterns are represented by such units as a sprint (extreme and moderate), a marathon, and an interval. Let’s look at each of these speed patterns in more detail—eventually this will help you choose the one that is most relevant to your specific needs.

Extreme Sprint

Extreme sprint is a speed pattern that best suits some critical situations—for instance, when there is quality loss, unhappy customers, or similar things requiring immediate attention. When working in the extreme sprint, the team puts aside all additional tasks and reduces the work in progress (WIP) for each of the development stages. This helps to lower multitasking and focus on the specific problem, thus finding the ways to resolve or mitigate it.

The main disadvantage of the extreme sprint mode is that it is too difficult to implement and maintain continuously. It’s like a demolition derby with developers working extremely long shifts (over 10 hours), which may take a toll on their productivity and health, cause them to experience daily burnout, and consequently, reduce the quality of their work.

Such an approach to speed can hardly be a long-term strategy in any company, because it makes the development process too unpredictable and unreliable.

Moderate Sprint

The moderate sprint is another modification of the sprint pattern. Despite its name, it nonetheless remains dangerous and unstable regarding project management. Here, we won’t see extreme overwork. Developers work regular eight-hour shifts and try to use their productivity to the fullest with minimal disruptions. In other words, coding is the only thing they do to increase work production.

However, over time this may also become a problem. The reason is that in such working conditions, when the developers’ focus is limited only to coding, productivity inevitably drops, and no one may even notice that something is wrong.

This lack of reflection is due to the team members working like hamsters in a wheel and doing the same routine tasks day after day. At a certain point, team members begin to burn out and work unenthusiastically, which inevitably affects the quantity and quality of the performed tasks.

Unfortunately, teams can work in such an ineffective mode for a very long time; in the long run, it may dramatically reduce the ROI of the entire software development project. After all, it may take up to several months or even years just to identify and acknowledge the problem.

As a result, though moderate sprints may still be effective if they are used in just a pinch, they are not a sustainable long-term strategy.

Marathon

Unlike sprint modes with their extremes, the marathon speed pattern relies on evenness and endurance for the sake of long-term sustainability. The key idea is to balance between high productivity and the highest speed possible without compromising developer creativity and morale.

In this speed mode, teams work regular shifts and have time to solve complex tasks—or just stop and think. Is it an ideal speed pattern? It is. Although it can hardly ever be found in real-life practice.

Be as it may, in such a relaxed mode, the risk of being outperformed by competitors runs high. After all, while your teams are spending time planning, hypothesizing, or meeting, your competitors release new features or releases, attract new users, and increase profits.

To mitigate the collective downsides of the above speed patterns, we can make the more effective and logical choice—to utilize the interval mode, which combines all patterns described above.

Intervals as an Optimum

Don’t limit the team to a certain pace, but instead make use of the best features of all the speed patterns. The interval speed mode makes use of sprints and marathon runs with regard to the team’s priorities and challenges at a given project stage.

Given all of the above points on patterns, intervals can be one of the most optimal speed modes, regardless of the scale and complexity of your software development process.

Here is an example of a potential combination of several speed modes within one interval. These sprints and marathons should follow each other, with the cycle ideally repeating over and over again:

• A speedy sprint. In this mode, the team performs WIP and puts all additional activities—such as meetings, learning sessions, or company events—on hold. They fully concentrate on delivering value: coding, QA, creating documentation, and deploying. This sprint duration is about a month. Some experts would recommend closing it up with a period of self-reflection and relaxation—for instance, you can spend a week for experience sharing and planning for future activities.

• A mindful marathon. When a marathon follows a sprint, the development pace is higher than in a regular marathon. That is the time to code calmly, reduce tech debt, learn new skills, or polish the existing ones. This period lasts for about three months. And then another sprint comes.

Alternating between sprints and marathons, the team can speed up the development process, alleviating the negative effects of the two approaches. Besides, unlike sprint and marathon modes, intervals extend to all project teams, not only developers. Potentially, this can help you improve employee communication and thus establish a more cohesive and synchronized software development process.

If you want to make your development even more productive, check out the books Agile Software Development, Principles, Patterns, and Practices by Robert C. Martin and Agile Estimating and Planning by Mike Cohn—they will provide you with specific recommendations and the most effective approaches to Agile development (and continuing the interval conversation in more depth).

Full-scale Consistency

Regardless of the scale of your particular project, as well as the development model and speed modes you prefer, software development always remains a complex combination of interconnected tasks, ranging from requirement gathering to software testing and post-release support.

To optimize the whole development process, teams use DevOps and continuous testing, specific practices centered on fast development, product evaluation all through the delivery pipeline, and rapid cross-team feedback.

However, restructuring the work amidst a project is a complex matter. That is why it makes sense to recur to external help—DevOps consulting and continuous testing services to split the implementation activities into small parts while paying due attention to engineering teams collaboration. Qualified vendors have well-established approaches, experience in DevOps adoption, and risk management.

Besides, under their guidance in terms of industries, methodologies, and the object of implementation, the team can dive into the process and build a maturity model for continuous testing that focuses on the business risks right from the early project stages. Ultimately, this can help you put developers into a sustainable interval mode that will be beneficial in both the short and long term.

Time to Pick Your Speed

Speeding up the development process is a complex matter that has become an eternal challenge in software development. After all, you need to not only write quality code and achieve the project’s business goals, but also be faster than your competitors. Although there is no one-size-fits-all advice, software development specialists may offer a range of tips that can help you mitigate the difficulties.

As such, it is best to alternate between sprint and marathon speed schemes to take advantage of the benefits that the two approaches offer, namely minimal downtime and long-term sustainability.

This way, you can leverage the benefits the two approaches offer—minimal work disruption and long-term sustainability. When used one after another, both these approaches allow the team to reach the balance of optimal speed and endurance in the long term.

The post How To Solve the Software Development Speed Challenge appeared first on Simple Programmer.

Contrary to what the name suggests, design systems aren’t just for designers. They are for everyone working on a product—be it developers, project managers, or copywriters.

In this article, I will explore how working with design systems will speed up the development process and simplify the lives of developers. We will take a look at what a design system is, its purpose, and its benefits for developers.

What Is a Design System?

A design system is a collection of design elements organized on a single platform to facilitate a consistent and scalable design process. It can be thought of as a structured and documented library, specific for a product team, that contains all the resources they would need to build the product.

Developers can compare it to a component library, but design systems are more than that. A design system is a collection of both tangible and intangible elements like documentation, design principles, style guides, and patterns.

Similar to how a component library records all the building blocks of a UI, design systems record design elements like fonts, colors, images icons, and so on. But a design system goes one step further and documents their details, usage context, and other related information.

The Purpose of a Design System

In today’s digital world, users have multiple touch points for interacting with digital products. In this scenario, maintaining visual consistency across all channels is key to building user trust. Especially in domains like healthcare or banking, where users share sensitive information with digital platforms, an inconsistent user experience will create bad impressions.

Since multiple designers and developers would be involved in a product development team, inconsistency often creeps in due to personal choices and differing values. These inconsistencies can add up to adversely affect the user experience of a product.

The purpose of a design system is to solve this issue by acting as a single source of truth of the design resources. By providing a standard framework, it aims to make the design process fast, easy, and convenient.

Understanding design systems helps developers code better. Knowing their way around design systems will empower them to translate the design and prototypes into code accurately. Moreover, it is easy to access resources from a central location whenever required, which makes the development process faster.

Benefits of Design Systems

Design systems offer developers many benefits. Let’s take a look at the seven most important ones.

Single Source for Design Tokens

The smallest part of a design system is the design tokens—such as spacings, borders, shadows, and so on. Designers and developers use design tokens to create components.

Design systems provide a single source of truth for the tokens, enabling designers and developers to collaborate better. Moreover, when any changes are made to the tokens, it is easy to update and reflect the changes in design. Therefore, building consistent components and maintaining them are easy with design systems.

Central Component Library

In most companies, multiple development teams may work on the same application, building its different parts simultaneously. Although design is not the forte of developers, they often have to make on the fly design decisions.

Different development teams may make different design decisions, and since design is not their strength, these decisions may not always be the best ones. These seemingly small changes could make an application’s user experience inconsistent.

A central component library relieves developers of this burden, allowing all development teams to access components from the same source. A unified user experience can thus be created through a shared language. This helps to bring visual consistency, streamline the design and development process, and make development faster.

Reduced Code Maintenance

For even simple design changes, like a color change, upgrading the assets in production takes a lot of time. Much of the valuable time and effort of developers are lost here.

With a design system in place, product development and maintenance becomes easy. It offers a collaborative space where components can be developed, upgraded, and tested in isolation for various conditions. Code maintenance is thus time-efficient and simple with design systems.

Manage Designer Handoff

Design kits inside the design system provide assets such as brand guidelines and brand resources. Design systems on the developer side and designer side could be mapped through design kits. This facilitates the designer-developer handoff and helps to handle any handoff issues.

As a result, developers can always have the latest design versions via the design system, as it contains the updated record of all design components.

Helpful Documentation

What sets design systems apart from style guides or pattern libraries is that a design system provides comprehensive documentation. From design details to guidelines and how-to’s, documentation covers all aspects.

Such documentation is highly beneficial for developers, as it helps them understand how to use design tokens and component libraries. Furthermore, when onboarding new developers to a team, the design system provides a comprehensive introduction.

Better Design Consistency

When a design system is implemented, developers load and update components directly from this central repository. This ensures that the production components are consistent and there are no design mismatches. All design tokens, components, and patterns are recorded in the system, leading to better design consistency. Thus, overall design quality is enhanced.

Brand Language Guide

Design systems provide a brand language guide, that is, a guide on how the product communicates with the users. These can be really handy for developers, because they sometimes find themselves in a position where they have to write microcopy, such as the alt text or button labels.

Though these are small bits of copy, they have a huge impact. A brand language guide can help them choose the right words easily and convey the message in proper brand tone.

Equipping Developers to Work Better

Design systems equip developers to work better by reducing their direct dependency on designers and enhancing collaboration. Developers can refer and download whatever design elements they need straight from the central reference system. There is no need to ask designers or wait for their response. This enables them to build with speed.

The standard system transforms the way designs are created, managed and built. It empowers everyone in a team to build responsibly and efficiently while maintaining quality throughout.

The words of Alex Schleifer, VP of Design, Airbnb acutely sum up the essence of design systems: “Here’s the simple truth: you can’t innovate on products without first innovating the way you build them.”

The post How Design Systems Can Benefit Developers appeared first on Simple Programmer.

However, the more time you spend on the communication tool, the faster you will drift away from your most important tasks.

At the same time, it’s a little challenging to get rid of email completely. So how do you create a balance?

In this guide, we’ll look at a few tips for managing your email and staying on top of your day-to-day routine.

1. Unsubscribe from Unnecessary Newsletters

This might be obvious, but it doesn’t hurt to start with the basics.

On average, professionals have around 200 emails in their inbox and receive an additional 120 every day. It’s next to impossible to read or respond to even half of these emails.

Programmers are no different. You want to learn from other experts in the field. But as you keep dishing your email address to every other sign-up form, your inbox quickly becomes a jumbled mess.

Soon enough, you’ll have to dig through a pile of newsletters just to get your all-staff weekly emails.

That said, go through your email subscriptions and mark uninteresting newsletters that you’ve never opened. Unsubscribe from the lists and give your inbox some room to breathe.

2. Snooze Your Email App

Reading every message as soon as it lands in your inbox prevents emails from piling up. While that can work for other professions, programming is quite different. When you start working on a high-value project, you don’t want to be distracted by any sound, even a pin drop.

Snoozing your email app while working helps you maintain that state of flow for as long as you can keep it going.

Once done with the project or when you take a short recess, you can now peep into your inbox and shoot back a few replies before getting back to work.

For some people, snoozing their email may be going a little too far. Instead, they check their email at certain intervals during the day.

Both strategies are essentially the same thing. But with the latter, you have to be thoroughly disciplined to avoid the temptation to check your email when it isn’t time.

Either way, alert your team or boss that you’ll be away from email for some time during the day so they won’t get annoyed if you fail to reply. They can call you or use instant messaging if it’s an urgent issue.

3. Use the One-Minute Rule

The one-minute rule works for programmers who can’t snooze their emails but are disciplined enough not to be whisked away by the email notifications.

The rule of thumb is simple. If you can reply to the email immediately, do it. But make sure it doesn’t take you more than one minute.

This rule avoids clogging your inbox with unnecessary emails that you would have replied to earlier.

Why? Leaving the emails in your inbox won’t give you peace of mind while working. You’ll keep reminding yourself that you have unfinished work in your inbox.

To avoid this “torture,” just reply to those emails, but don’t take longer than a minute for each one as that will destroy the flow you’ve established.

4. Organize Your Inbox with Labels

Deleting emails is the easy way. However, it can prove too costly if you delete an essential thread that you need to check again in the future.

For example, you don’t want to get rid of an email thread with an angry client who had a complaint that you haven’t fixed yet.

If this happens, you’ll find yourself in a tight situation with your boss. And if no one else saved the client’s email, you’ll have to use an email extractor to search for the email address, contact them, and begin the whole process again. This is both a waste of time and degrading.

To avoid all the stress, simply organize your email inbox. Keeping your inbox organized allows you to prioritize, group, and sort emails on one label.

Once you’ve created your email label, any future communication will be stored in it. No email will go to the primary inbox. As a result, it will be easy to find emails, saving time and boosting productivity.

5. Turn On the Email Preview Feature

The email preview feature comes in handy if you’re on a deadline and don’t want to miss out on important emails.

The feature allows you to peek at the first lines of a message in a separate window. This means that you don’t have to read an entire email if it’s unimportant. Plus, it reduces the chances of opening an email with a virus.

To turn on the email preview feature on Gmail, click settings once you’ve opened your Gmail account. Click see all settings and head down to the inbox tab.

Scroll down to the reading pane and select your split pane mode. Once done, click save changes.

6. Track Emails That Need Follow-Ups Using Calendar

Some of your emails need follow-ups if the recipient doesn’t respond within a stipulated time. On the other hand, you might receive emails that don’t need an immediate response or you may need to get clarification on the matter from your seniors before replying.

Regardless, you need the help of a calendar integration with your email service provider. So how does it work?

First, move the emails to a designated folder in your email. Once done, add a reminder on your calendar app that includes the folder location and the date you want to follow up.

This will help you not forget to reply to important messages and prevent your inbox from becoming clogged with messages you haven’t responded to.

If you’re using Outlook, you can seamlessly connect it with the Outlook calendar. In Gmail, open the email you want to add to the calendar. Click the more button and create an event.

7. Create a Template for Similar Emails and Replies

It takes a long time to reply to emails, especially when receiving dozens of them every other day.

For example, you might get a zillion emails for meetings you’ve been invited to by people you don’t report to directly or complaints from users who don’t know what they’re trying to say.

If you’re a senior programmer, you’re likely to receive emails from your juniors asking for clarification on an ongoing project or coaching requests from people you don’t know.

While all these emails are important, they’ll eat up half your workday if you reply to everybody.

Instead, set up email templates to reply to everyone while maintaining a personal touch. For example, rather than sending emails to decline the meetings, customize a template and send them to everyone at once.

You’ll spend a fraction of your precious time and still reply to every sender with a personalized message.

However, remember that some replies might need special attention. So be sure that you use templates only if the issue is not essential.

Keep Your Day Productive

Programmers are the busiest people in the office. Everyone in the organization depends on you to create, maintain, and improve their computer and software operations.

Since you have a lot on your hands, email shouldn’t take even a slice of your time. If it does, you need to leave habits that deprive you of productivity. Try some of these tips and see how it goes.

The post How Programmers Can Effectively Manage Their Email Inbox and Improve Day-To-Day Productivity appeared first on Simple Programmer.

With that in mind, programmers, probably more than anyone else, are best placed to know what’s hot and what’s not when it comes to productivity software.

Here at Timetastic, we’re constantly discovering new tools and apps that help our programmers be more productive and become better coders. Like all developers, my team loves testing new products, so I asked them what their favorite discoveries over the last twelve months have been. I’m sharing their answers with you so that you can perhaps discover a new favorite yourself.

Matt Roberts, CTO

I’ll start with Matt Roberts, our CTO (chief technology officer). As my co-founder, Matt’s been here with me since the start and, as well as working on the code at Timetastic, he helps decide what features we add and the overall direction we take at Timetastic.

Matt’s obsessed with coding, learning new languages and techniques. He gets a real kick out of making simple, usable things that other people find helpful. Here are his favorite apps—note that, as a Mac user, the list includes apps exclusive to the macOS.

Raycast

For anyone who’s used Alfred on the Mac, Raycast will probably look familiar. At first glance, it looks a bit like Alfred and, indeed, Spotlight, but Raycast is much, much more. You can use it to quickly launch apps, run scripts, and position apps at pre-defined spaces on the screen.

You can run system commands, and it’s got a built-in clipboard manager. Once you set that up and realize you can KEEP your clipboard history and bring things back from it, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it.

It’s also better than Alfred because it’s free, faster, and easier to customize to do all manner of cool things.

Better Touch Tool

Better Touch Tool is a total Swiss army tool, and it’d be easier to explain what it doesn’t do rather than what it does. The tool came about as a way to completely customize your touch bar if your Mac had one and has evolved into a multitude of ways to personalize your Mac and supercharge its capabilities.

Some of my favorite things about this software are the added custom swipe gesture. This built-in window manager allows me to easily send apps to the left/right/center of the screen, its text expansion ability (like Espanso), the ability to remap the keyboard, and the customizable area around the notch new Macs. It’s a beauty.

Paw

I wanted to get rid of Postman for a handful of reasons and found Paw. The software is Mac-only and is a lovely-looking API client that allows you to build sets of API calls like Postman used to do, but without all the bloat. It’s best suited to creating a set of defined API calls with meaningful descriptions rather than just as a tool for ad-hoc use.

DevUtils

DevUtils has lots of nice handy offline things like regex testers, json formatters, base64 en/decoders, all in a nice and simple app that sits in your taskbar until you need it. It saves you from those times when you need to google for “regex testers” and the like.

Cleanshot X

Cleanshot X is an absolute game-changer for taking screenshots and recording videos on Mac—perfect when you want to share progress with your colleagues. The program integrates so well it replaces the built-in shortcuts, so you can edit your screenshots and annotate them. Bonus, it’s great at recording video, too.

Gareth Terrace, Developer

Gareth has been with us for five years, and alongside his app development role, he takes on technical bits of the website and deals with the security side of Timetastic. In short, he’s a  tech and engineering tinkerer at heart who likes a spot of woodwork or a fight with home automation.

When I asked him about his favorite tools, Gareth said he preferred to stay away from the big ones people often use—for example, VS code, Sublime text, or Cloudflare. So, here are his favorites.

Insomnia Rest client

Postman used to be the gold standard for mocking out and testing HTTP calls or doing any work with 3rd party APIs. However, it got bloated and isn’t as simple and easy to use without an account.

The Insomnia Rest client brings back the simplicity and ease of Postman. It’s got a nice dark theme, a very easy-to-use UI, and it gets out of the way. For now, at least, it lets you get on with testing your endpoints rather than trying to navigate the app to do so.

Omatsuri

Omatsuri is a collection of Web-based tools for doing things you sometimes need to do in the front end of a web app: compressing SVG, base64 encoding, generating gradients, etc. Nicely designed, easy-to-use, elegant tools that do one thing and do it well. It’s open source too, so it should stay current and relevant as tech changes.

Seq

Logging in your app starts out as a “nice to have” and, as you grow, soon becomes an essential “why on earth did that happen” tool. We switched to Serilog for logging and Seq for viewing logs years ago, and it’s brilliantly simple. It has really powerful and fast search, and it can handle any production log load without lagging behind.

Set up Serilog’s “Sinks” so you can route your logging output to wherever you need it most. Output development data to the console and production data to Seq, and you’ve got a nice way of tracking bugs, errors, and issues both locally and in production.

Most of us have a local Seq instance too, so we can view historic development logs.

Logging has got a lot of attention lately thanks to the Log4j vulnerability, and Seq has proved itself time and again in production while we’ve investigated everything from performance to strange concurrency bugs up to simple browser issues.

Having a real-time trace of all activity on your systems is essential. Any new project I am involved with will use Seq.

Windows Power Toys/dev toys

Microsoft PowerToys gives you some nice, easy-to-use tools for file renaming, window rearranging, picking colors, and all sorts more. If you’re a Windows power user—and if you’re a developer, then you are—use this software.

There’s also DevToys which has more specific dev-based tools so you can test RegExes, convert and encode URLs, JWT, and Base64. It’s a one-stop for more or less all of those one-offs you need to do once every so often but can never find that “decent tool” you Googled a year ago.

Jo Humphrey, Developer

Last but most definitely not least, we have one of Timetastic’s newest recruits, Jo Humphrey. Jo joined the Timetastic team in November and works mainly in the front-end, on both the web and mobile app. Here are Jo’s favorite tools.

Flameshot

Flameshot is a tool for taking screenshots and editing them before sharing. I like it because it starts on load, so it simply lurks in my toolbar until I need to invoke it and is simple/intuitive but also packed with features.

I mostly use it for taking a snippet of a small area of my screen, highlighting a section of that (or drawing an arrow), and then copying it to my clipboard for instantly pasting somewhere else like Basecamp or Slack.

It’s much better than taking a screen-wide capture and then editing manually. It’s also open-source, which is always a bonus.

Espanso

Espanso is a text-expander tool, i.e., it listens out for keyboard shortcuts and then replaces the magic word with some longer text you’ve prepared in advance. It can be much more powerful than this too, e.g., dynamically inserting the current date, or you can add packages to make adding emojis really easy. It’s a neat way to be able to use code aliases that might be limited to just the terminal in other places.

It’s cross-platform, so it works in browsers, word editors, the terminal, etc. I use it to cut down on the things I type quite a lot, like git commands, sign-offs on emails, etc. Again, it’s open source!

Numbered bookmarks

Numbered bookmarks is a VSCode extension, and it’s great! You can drop bookmarks on different lines of code by doing Ctrl+Shift+<number> and then navigate between them quickly using Ctrl+<number>.

They’re colorful, easy to use, and save a lot of time scrolling between frequently used files.

Pop

It’s probably worth mentioning Pop, that us developers have started using a lot. It’s high-quality video, easy to use, and has cool features like drawing on each others’ screens, whiteboard, and taking control of someone else’s screen.

We use it here at Timetastic for techy chats and pair-programming type tasks. I’ve also started using it in my free time in place of social Zoom chats, since it doesn’t have a 40-min limit, and is free!

It’s useful for chatting with the grandparents too, because they don’t need to install anything or have an account—you can just share a browser link.

Good Tools for Better Programming

As you can see, there are plenty of tools out there to keep your programming team productive, connected, and working together smoothly. As I said at the beginning, programmers need to be able to concentrate and focus. To be able to do that, they need the right tools. Who better to recommend tools for programmers other than the programmers themselves?

Many thanks to Jo, Gareth, and Matt for taking some time out of their busy day to let me know what their current favorite tools and apps are.

The post 14 Productivity-Boosting Software Tools Loved by Developers appeared first on Simple Programmer.

A programmer’s job may be a dream for many.

Burnout is way too common when it comes to programmers. About 83% of software engineers reported burnout. Among these, 55% said that they felt burnt out to a great extent.

You can then segregate your tasks into these four quadrants and take them up based on the chart below.

And if you’re a freelance developer or a remote worker, you should invest in the right furniture as well. The reason here is that a lot of remote workers (nearly 59%) tend to work from home.

The post 7 Ways to Prevent Daily Burnout as a Programmer appeared first on Simple Programmer.