Whatever type of your programming job is, a specific set of skills are imperative to sandpaper the overall personality of a software developer. These habits are no longer an exception — it has become a vital element required.
Imagine yourself being on an autopilot mode, brushing your teeth- having coffee- scrolling through emails for the day and the list goes on. How does it feel? Pretty monotonous/ boring, isn’t it? Now, what if when I say around 40 to 45 percent of programmers work on such autopilot mode on a daily basis. Being monotonous is not such a bad thing at all as it saves ample time and energy. For example- Mark Zuckerberg has a common habit of wearing the same clothes to work. Ultimately this helps in saving a lot of energy. Bill Gates has the habit of doing dishes every night, this helps in reducing stress, boost creativity and help the brain to wander and engage in creative problem-solving.
With the dawn of the digital revolution, the demand of software developers has raised like never before. Of course, nothing beats the ability to turn ideas into reality and proactive problem-solving skills.
Down below I would like to mention a few must-have elements that all kick-ass programmers share. These tidbits of wisdom are gathered to make you grow from a lowly grasshopper to a smart eagle.
Make the most of Google
Being a professional, you must know how to phrase search queries, review other developer’s code, and apply it to the problem that you’re trying to solve. In addition to this, try knowing about research tools available on the web for 2019.
Micro-decisions matter
While writing programs, it might feel that there are a billion decisions required to be made, even when it’s about adding a small feature. Let’s take an example, things like naming variables, calling functions, naming CSS properties, using a hash vs. using an array, and other seemingly small things can have a significant impact. Unfortunately, programmers whether new or experienced don’t pay enough attention to these such things. And that’s where they lack behind. During such situations developing a habit of creating patterns to help them name variables can benefit in the long run. After a while, you will reach a point where you don’t need to think about it because they always name things the same way.
Analyze the clues
Theoretical knowledge has always taught us that it’s terrible to fail. But when it comes to a life of a software developer, error messages act as a ray of hope. They offer clues, all you require doing is finding one. One should know that these messages are actually clues that lead you down the path to the right solution. Clues regarding:
- Plain texts sentence describing where the problem exists in the code
- Call stack; you need to understand the exact line of code that contains the error and the reason why that line of code is being executed.
Be responsible
Mistakes are meant to happen, and most of the time they aren’t related much to code it’s merely because of miscommunication between members. This means, there are multiple parties at fault in these situations. Act like you are in the driver’s seat. Most of the problems faced are the result of your behavior. Stop wasting your precious time blaming each other, processes and environment. Rather than fidgeting around worrying about what other people think, try focusing on how the situation can be controlled.
Be a leader/ not a boss
Can you spot the main difference between a boss and a leader? Bosses are people who make people work for them while leaders are the ones who other people follow or get influenced with. A software programmer must possess some leadership qualities featuring enough context to have an opinion that is highly respected.
Final Thoughts
It’s all about sharpening your saw. No matter how exaggerated this might sound, but we get so caught up in the day-in and day-out business of life that we rarely step back and ponder about our lives or even try to find any time to sharpen the saw. Learning is an ongoing process! So what are you waiting for! It’s time to grow and contribute to renewing ourselves as professionals.
