-
Daily list of what I am going to do.
-
Remove as many distractions as possible to focus on tasks. Turn off
email, turn off IM, etc… even if
for a set period of time and then
during a break check them. -
Take time to learn about other coding techniques, tools and programming wisdom. This I have found to be crucial to my development. It’s to easy to just code away and feel productive. What about what could be if you just had some more knowledge / weaponry under your belt to bang out that next widget. I know this one really sounds counter productive but it really isn’t. Knowledge/know how is our real currency. The more we know the more we can make a better decision about how something should be done and do it faster.
-
Take breaks and be aware of your
body. When we are tired we don’t
think as well and will make more
mistakes, become frustrated more
easily, etc… -
Learn to use the 80 / 20 rule to your
advantage. I don’t mean skimp or be
lazy. Often though we will work our
tail off for that 20% when it wasn’t
necessary. -
Set goals for yourself (daily,
weekly, bi-weekly). Make sure the
goals are also in line with those you
are coding for or you may find you
have wasted some time.
From a technical aspect consider:
- Consider Unit testing / TDD. I have found in
my own work that this actually saves
time. It takes a while to get the
hang of but with anything you will
get better. - Care for your code. Refactor it
(especially if you start unit
testing). The better your code is
the easier it is to maintain which
takes less time. The easier it is to
understand the faster you can change
/ implement features.