Developers are many things. They are innovators, knowledge-providers, problem-solvers, and even inventors. It could be extremely hard to maintain high levels of productivity and write high-quality code especially when the tech ecosystem is constantly evolving.
So the question arises is how to maintain productivity and keep adding value to your work amidst all these distractions?
Truth be told, there is no silver bullet that will make you a productive developer overnight. However, bringing in some changes to your working style and introducing new practices and tools can do wonders to boost your productivity.
Here are some easy productivity tips for developers to stay on track and deliver their best work.
#1. Use smart tools
Smart tools make life easier and hassle-free. They cut down half the time you need to finish a task. The real hard work lies in finding the right tool(s). If you’re already using one, consider replacing it for better results.
As a developer, you should be having smart IDE (Android Studio, Visual Studio), Code Editors (Sublime, Code), and other productivity tools to fasten your development speed, highlight typos within syntax, auto-suggest code blocks, and run tasks seamlessly.
#2. Schedule your tasks
Being productive is all about organizing your work schedule and staying on top of it. The next time you create your to-do list, don’t forget to do the following things:
- Break your tasks into a series of smaller bitesize tasks.
- Give a degree of priority to each task (Important, Urgent, etc) and set a deadline (For example, 1 PM on Monday).
- Schedule these tasks on Calendar.
- Tackle the highest priority first.
Remember to include some extra time in between two consecutive tasks so that the next one doesn’t suffer if the first one gets pushed or delayed.
#3. Know your most productive hours
Human brains are wired differently. Our daily habits play a crucial role in determining our working patterns. Knowing your brain activity levels can boost your productivity levels by leaps and bounds.
Be mindful of your most productive hours of the day i.e when you are super focused and efficient. It could be the first few hours for some while others might be at their most productive self later during the day. The point is to figure out what works best for you and then make the most of it.
#4. Automate the usual stuff
One piece of advice an uber-productive developer will share is to automate the simple stuff. It will help you to focus on the bigger and more important things than sweating about the daily repetitive tasks.
Here are a few things developers can automate: gathering and formatting data, running a batch of instructions, batch file operations, reporting, notifications, and automated checking.
#5. Get rid of distractions
According to Udemy's survey, nearly 3 out of 4 workers (70 percent) admit they feel distracted at work. Emails, Facebook notifications, phone calls, chatty employees, and a cluttered desk can distract even the most dedicated developer.
Close unnecessary apps on your phone and multiple tabs on your laptop. Get rid of items you don’t need from your desk to perform better. Keep headphones on to signal others that you are working and don’t want to be disturbed at the moment.
#6. Start using Scrum
Scrum is an effective agile development framework based on sprints and regular planning. Here, sprints are short periods of time that usually vary from one to four weeks dedicated to different steps involved in mobile app development.
It helps developers to create streamlined systems and processes enabling them to evaluate their workload better, thus improving their time management skills.
Conclusion
Apart from these, many developers also suggest to refactor code and write proper documentation along with avoiding premature code optimization. The point is to try as many things as you can and see for yourself what works best for you. Don’t expect quick results, upping your productivity requires consistent and focused efforts. Remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint.
All the best!
