Begin with a healthy, positive work environment, free from distractions. This is vital to increasing productivity within the workplace. Aim to keep your workspace free of clutter, and reduce distractions by turning off your social media notifications as soon as you start working. Basically, remove access to all websites and emails that will distract you. A messy desk makes for a cluttered mind, and the inverse is also true; a clean workspace makes for an organized mind. (View Highlight)
Keep all documents organized in their proper folders with up-to-date versioning. By prioritizing and updating everything, you will help your development process. Keep tasks organized for the team too. Try using technology to automate these processes. By enabling yourself and your team to stay productive while being able to report and monitor your progress, the team will be empowered to become more efficient.
Carry your organizational habits through to the end of the day too, to help prepare for tomorrow. Before you leave the office, or before you start the week on Sunday evening, make a list of high-priority tasks for the next day. This will keep the whole workweek efficient. (View Highlight)
Before you start working, plan out how you want to handle the task at hand. Lots of programmers spend lots of time in front of whiteboards before they ever start typing. If you determine patterns early on and write modular code this will allow you to increase usability to simplify your process. If you plan out smaller functions that can complete one task, then it’s an easy way for programmers to make their code efficient and reusable. By taking the time to think in these abstract ways you can transform problems and develop patterns into solutions you already have. (View Highlight)
Avoid Overworking
If you work past your ‘productive point’, then you are just wasting your time. Crunch time is an area you can’t avoid in the tech industry, but it’s also the most taxing on your brain power. If you spend your time fixing mistakes you’ve made previously because of overworking, it might be a sign you need to take a break and recharge before returning to the screen to code.
Being able to alternate between taking breaks and working will benefit not only your efficiency but your mental health too. It’s also very important to take actual breaks, such as taking a quiet walk or stretching. (View Highlight)