How to stay productive as a developer

The principles in this guide are not language specific, but rather apply to any software development process.

Rule #1 for staying productive: Set goals for yourself and meet them.

This may sound like an oversimplification, but it really isn’t. If you don’t know whereyou’re going, how will you get there? I’m not saying that you should write out an entire project plan with a Gantt chart and milestones, but you should at least have a loose idea of what you’re going to do.

Some people work better with deadlines, others without. Find what works for you. The key is to meet those deadlines and to be able to consistently hit them. Even if the deadline is self-imposed, you should still meet it.

Rule #2 for staying productive: Focus on the task at hand.

This one is a little harder. Especially in our line of work, there are so many different things to do and new technologies to learn, it’s easy to get distracted. I’ll be the first one to tell you that you should always be learning. But there’s a difference between learning and distraction.

Learning new things about a technology that you know well is not a distraction. However, learning a new technology just for the sake of learning it and not using it in a project is a distraction. This especially true if you don’t have time to learn the technology and use it in a project.

Rule #3 for staying productive: Work with other people

This one is hard. Especially as most developers, I’m rather introverted and I like working by myself. However, in the software world, this is often not possible. Software is a very collaborative field, and you’ll often find yourself working with other people on larger projects. This means you need to be able to work well with others.

Rule #4 for staying productive: Avoid the ”Not Invented Here” Syndrome

This one is also hard. As a software developer, you will (rightly) think of yourself as an expert in your given field. You probably have a lot of great ideas and have a lot of great projects you’d like to do. However, it’s very important to be able to recognize when someone else has done a better job than you at something and when you should use their work.

This doesn’t mean you can’t ever re-invent the wheel. If you can do it better than what’s already out there, then by all means do it. But always make sure that it is better and that you’re not just doing it out of some sense of pride.

Rule #5 for staying productive: Avoid the ”Researcher” Syndrome

This is similar to the previous rule, however, this one is more about not being able to pick just one topic and stick with it. A lot of people (including myself) have a hard time picking a topic and just researching it deeply. This is a problem because you never finish any projects.

Rule #6 for staying productive: Avoid the ”Jack of all Trades, Master of None” Syndrome

On the flip side, some people (again, including myself) have a hard time focusing on one thing. You may have heard the saying ”Jack of all trades, master of none”. This is especially true in software development as there is so much to learn and no way you can keep up with every new technology or idea.

However, while it’s good to keep your options open and always learn new things, you should definitely focus on one particular topic and become an expert in that field.

This is a problem because you never finish any projects.

Rule #7 for staying productive: Learn how to say ”No”

This one is a little harder. As a software developer, people are constantly going to come to you with ideas and requests for help. While it’s good to be approachable, you also need time to work on your own projects.

Rule #8 for staying productive: Don’t check your email, phone or any other form of communication more than 3 times per day.

This one is important. As a software developer, you will be getting a lot of emails from people. Some will be from users and some will be from other developers. It’s very easy to get distracted by these emails and start answering them immediately.

However, this is a huge waste of time for several reasons.

First of all, if the person really needs a response, they will usually wait until you’ve checked your email again to send another message.

Secondly, other people will be expecting an answer from you as well. If you’re answering emails all day, you’re not getting anything else done.

Thirdly, if the message is important or urgent, they’ll leave a voice mail or send another email telling you that.

Finally, if you don’t check your email all day, you’ll be less stressed.

This is a huge problem for a lot of software developers. They get hundreds or even thousands of emails per day. Not only is this stressful and overwhelming, but it’s also hard to stay focused on any one task.

When you’re working on an important project, it’s best to turn off all forms of communication. This includes your cell phone, your work phone, your instant messenger and your email.

If you really need to get a hold of someone urgently, they’ll leave a voice mail or send you a text message. Otherwise, wait until they check their email again.

Your time is valuable. You’re not a secretary. Your users can wait an hour for you to reply to them.

In conclusion, you need to start taking your own advice. You’ve been struggling with motivation and focus lately. You’re starting to feel like a has-been.

You need to take a step back and re-evaluate your life choices. There are two paths in front of you: the easy way or the hard way.

The easy way would be to continue doing what you’ve been doing. No more wasting time on the internet, no more distractions, no more laziness.