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Jan
2020/06/07
Staying a productive developer is not an easy task. It's a stressful job that can make you lose concentration quickly or make you feel exhausted. Imagine you are driving a car with the handbrake on. You will use a lot of fuel and you will reach your destination much slower. A similar scenario occurs when programmers are not productive while coding. Therefore, it is very important to use certain methods and habits to improve your effectiveness.
Your first step is to choose a good code editor. There are many great options on the market, but it's hard to say which one is the best. It all depends on your goals and needs. It's worth trying different code editors to see which best suits your work.
It is worth considering what programming languages you use, you need a code editor that offers syntax highlighting and support for popular technologies. Does the editor have the right ecosystem of themes and plugins to provide the functionality you need. If you're making progress on a code-sharing platform like GitHub, the built-in Git feature might come in handy.
When you work on a project, ideas come up at the most random moments. Don't fall into the "I'll remember" trap because there is a good chance that you will forget it. Write this idea down on a piece of paper or in a notes app. Writing down these ideas will give you a lot to think about when you get stuck with a problem building web or mobile applications.
People cannot concentrate on the same thing all the time, and this is especially true for mental hard work like programming. You can find numerous studies on how long we can focus on a specific task, and then wander our minds elsewhere. There is no golden rule here, and each has a different time limit, so you'll need to experiment a bit to find out what's best for you. It's not worth following a strict rule, such as setting an alarm every hour to ring while you're focused on a difficult task. However, there is one important thing to keep in mind that the break must be a real break when you get up from your desk. Checking your emails or social media won't matter to your brain and won't consider it a break.
Scheduling tasks ahead of time can also greatly increase your productivity. You can create task lists and check completed tasks using the system or application. When scheduling tasks, you need to do some experiments and consider what kind of tools you will really need. You can certainly use more than one application to manage your tasks, but there is also the risk of using too many tools at the same time and compromising your productivity.
While not everyone likes to keep track of your working hours, running a time tracking app can help a lot if you have time management issues. This can increase your productivity, mainly because you can see how you've spent your time during the day so you can eliminate possible distractions.
Automating repetitive tasks is now a must for the developer. Preparing programming code for production requires many repetitive tasks. For example, as a front-end developer, you can use a task launcher to automatically perform routine tasks in code such as minification, image optimization, and more
Distraction is the worst enemy of productivity, so you must do whatever it takes to eliminate it. Unfortunately, distractions are sneaky, so it's not easy to catch them. For example, checking your email frequently, watching a new youtube tutorial, or chatting with co-workers might be viewed as work-related tasks, but if you spend too much time on them, you might find you missed a certain task.
Avoiding distractions in the workplace is virtually impossible, but you can implement specific strategies to minimize them. If you have a difficult task ahead, put on your headphones and turn off notifications when you need to concentrate very much.
If you follow our productivity tips, or at least some of them, you can use your working hours more effectively. Introducing new methods may prove difficult at first, but it will soon become a habit. Remember that experimenting is the key to productivity, not every method will suit you 100%, but another one can significantly increase your productivity
