8 tips for developers to stay productive and get a bad day back on the right track

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Mai Le

2022-07-25 09:52:18

vnext global 8 tips for developers to stay productive and get a bad day back on the right track

An unproductive day might result from a variety of factors. However, there are also many things you can do to stop unproductive processes and get your day back on the right track. Here are 10 suggestions from VNEXT Global that can help you and your delivery team become more productive. 

 

1. Make a plan  

Although working from home or having flexible hours can be fantastic options, they are not without their share of difficulties. Focusing can be challenging, particularly if other family members or other distractions are around when you should be working. You must establish some ground rules and have a productivity strategy in place in order to stay organized and make the most of each day. By setting up daily activities, you can track your progress and use your time wisely. Planning beforehand always yields the finest results. 

 

Determine when you are most productive and schedule the start and end of your workday accordingly. Be dependable. When your energy and willpower are at their peak in the morning (or whenever you start your workday), set realistic goals and give your most important task the greatest priority. 

 

2. Stay away from distractions  

A focused developer is a productive developer. 

 

The ability to complete difficult activities with few interruptions or diversions is another way to define productivity. Software development is a tough profession, and it can be challenging to stay focused and concentrated when there are so many outside distractions. Every interruption lowers the caliber of your job and increases the likelihood of an error. 

 

It just takes a few seconds to break the flow, but it typically takes over 2-3 minutes to get back on task and into the flow after an interruption. It will take a software developer about 10-15 minutes to get over distractions and go back to work. Because of this, every developer needs to learn how to manage distraction and distinguish between what is important and what is not. 

 

Taking calls, checking social media, responding to emails, being in a busy office, etc., may all be regular sources of distraction for you. Although letting go might not be easy, think about the amount of time it will buy you. 

 

Some of the ways to help you cope with interruptions include: 

  • Put your phone in silent mode  

  • Turn off social media notifications 

  • Turn off email alerts 

  • Create an auto-response to text messages 

  • Learn to say NO 

  • Don’t multitask. Focus on one task at a time 

  • Set a social media blocker on your computer browser 

  • Have specified times for answering emails, messages 

These adjustments will not only boost your productivity but also save you from suffering mental fatigue. 
 

3. Utilize proper platforms and tools 

Tools for team collaboration, project management, time tracking, automation, or distraction-reduction are necessary. To work more quickly and efficiently, developers might use a variety of platforms and tools. These are some suggestions from VNEXT Global: 

 

  • Distraction prevention tools: Escape, Cold Turkey, Dewo, or Freedom. 

  • Bug tracking tools: BackLog and MantisBT 

  • Code searching tools like The Silver Searcher 

  • Time tracking tools like Hubstaff or Jibble 

  • Project management tools: Monday.com, Trello, Jira, Asana, Wrike 

  • Team collaboration tools: Microsoft Teams, Slack, Trello, ClickUp 

  • Code management tools: GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket 

 

4. Take enough naps and rest 

According to studies, taking naps and short rests throughout the day increases productivity, job happiness, and general wellbeing. It can also: 

  • Boost creativity 

  • Help you focus 

  • Improve mental health 

  • Process and retain information better 

  • Reduce stress 

You can use our time management method, which divides your work into 25-minute working and 5-minute break. Try it now! 

 

Then go ahead and rest your eyes from the screen. Stand up, stretch, get some water, or talk to your friends or coworkers. You can stay focused both physically and psychologically, and produce greater work when you return. 

 

5. Take care of your health 

The little things that matter the most include getting enough sleep, eating healthily, taking care of your body, giving your head enough time to rest, living in a place you enjoy, having a variety of enjoyable activities, and making sure that your other muscles receive exercise in addition to your brain. 

 

6. Automate repetitive tasks 

Utilizing automation to its greatest potential is a fantastic productivity trick. You will save countless hours of coding time and job complexity by automating tedious and time-consuming procedures, which will greatly increase productivity. 

 

7. Keep constant learning  

You need to keep learning new talents if you want to stay productive. Your problem-solving skills improve along with your experience and knowledge base as you go. Additionally, you discover how to increase your productivity and which techniques and habits are best for you. 

 

Invest in your education and yourself. Investigate new tools that can facilitate and accelerate your workflow. 

 

Working on side projects or contributing to open-source projects is a great approach to advance your career. You'll pick up a lot of new skills, keep your mind active, and advance as a programmer. While working out, driving to work, cooking, or cleaning, listening to podcasts or audiobooks, you can read articles on blogs and in books, take classes, or consult mentors. In rapid technological development, you should stay knowledgeably updated. 

 

8. Prioritize your tasks 

Working on the wrong tasks at the wrong time is one of the major causes of our decreased productivity. When you discover a fascinating task that is due a month from now, and you work on it while other tasks must be done sooner, this is a type of procrastination. Additionally, it progressively reduces your productivity at work. 

 

Always try to work on the most critical and urgent activity on your task list instead of choosing the one you "feel interesting" to prevent yourself from getting into this trouble. Your to-do list won't seem as daunting once you cross those minor activities off your list. 

 

You stop waiting for the ideal time to act when you concentrate on prioritizing things according to their urgency. You begin to disregard your emotions and take an objective look at your to-do list. And you start working on doing your assignment on schedule and with great dedication. 

 

Final thoughts 

The aforementioned tactics will require time to implement. A healthy productivity plan takes time to develop, and it necessitates consistency, resiliency, commitment, and patience. Once it becomes second nature to you, a noticeable improvement will occur. 

 

But there isn't a single, universal strategy for productivity and time management. Every individual has a different personality and working method. What functions well for one developer could completely fail for another. Hopefully, reading this post will inspire you to create a strategy that increases both your production and efficiency. There are numerous advantages, including increased income for doing high-quality work with less effort, improved work-life balance, and internal happiness. 

 

If you are looking for a trusted IT partner, VNEXT Global is the ideal choice. With 14+ years of experience, we surely can help you to optimize your business digitalization within a small budget and short time. Currently, we have 400+ IT consultants and developers in Mobile App, Web App, System, Blockchain Development and Testing Services. We have provided solutions to 600+ projects in several industries for clients worldwide. We are willing to become a companion on your way to success. Please tell us when is convenient for you to have an online meeting to discuss this further. Have a nice day! 

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