9 Simple Steps to Increase Your Productivity as a Software Engineer

Tiny productivity hacks for software engineers.

Dec 24, 2023

Hello Friend!

I hope you're all enjoying your time off! This week's letter is brief and to the point (—and hopefully valuable), designed to give you a boost in productivity when you return to work.

Whimsical illustration of a software engineer's productivity journey, featuring a Caucasian male in his 30s with brown hair and glasses, walking on a path of keyboard keys towards productivity milestones like a coffee cup, coding book, and checklist, in a cozy office with a sunny window view. — Image created by DALLE

There are tiny actions you can take every day to increase your productivity as a software engineer.

I have been doing those for a while and I witnessed increased productivity the more I stick them to my routine.

1. Leave your phone in a drawer.

Leaving my phone in a drawer on silent helps me forget about it all day. Since I work from home, I leave it in another room. If you work in an office, perhaps you could put it in a drawer.

2. Turn off notifications for your company’s chat application.

My company utilizes Slack, and I've turned off notifications for all messages, choosing to reply to people or threads when it suits my schedule. I find that switching contexts is highly unproductive. This isn't just my opinion; studies also confirm that multitasking is ineffective.

Focus your heart and mind on one task at a time. Aim to reach a flow state.

Switch tasks only upon completion, rather than working on multiple tasks simultaneously.

3. Review your code before asking others to review it for you.

Save both yourself and others the time spent on extensive reviews. I admit, I've been quite poor at this, but I'm actively working to improve. My PRs often contained typos, vague comments, unrefined logic, or insufficient unit tests.

The more content you have with your code, the smoother the review process will be, leading to quicker acceptance.

4. Don’t book 1-1s unless there’s an apparent reason.

Avoid scheduling one-on-one meetings just for the sake of it. Whether the meeting is with someone on your team or from another team, strive to have an agenda, even a brief one. The key is to ensure that neither your time nor that of others is wasted.

5. Avoid attending unproductive meetings.

This is self-explanatory, but in corporate environments, there are often numerous meetings that are irrelevant to your work, repetitive, or ineffective. It's best to bypass these meetings.

6. If a code review is stuck in a back-and-forth loop, schedule a 15-minute meeting to resolve it.

I consider this one of the most effective productivity hacks in software engineering. In large companies, a code review can drag on for weeks due to the lack of dedicated time for pairing to resolve issues, misalignment, and misunderstandings.

The quicker you recognize the need for a brief, 15-minute call, the sooner you'll find a resolution, leading to faster acceptance of your code.

7. Don’t wait, be proactive.

You won't encounter situations where golden opportunities are simply handed to you. You need to seize them yourself.

Don't hold out for the ideal moment. Instead, take on or claim the tasks you believe will aid in your growth. Share your rationale with your manager or team lead.

If you find yourself waiting on someone, don't hesitate to keep nudging them.

8. Don’t eat more than what you can chew.

Avoid taking on an excessive number of tasks that exceed your capacity to complete within the committed timeframe.

It's wise to recognize and respect your own limits. Pushing yourself too hard is not always beneficial. Understand when you've reached your threshold.

When you successfully complete the work you've committed to, no matter how small, you're seen as reliable. On the other hand, failing to do so can create an impression of laziness. Therefore, it's important to choose your tasks judiciously.

9. Consider moving teams or companies if you’re no longer comfortable, or if you are too comfortable.

There are two critical situations where considering a move to another team or company becomes essential. The first is when you are extremely uncomfortable, whether due to conflicts with your manager or colleagues, or any other reasons.

The second scenario arises when you become too comfortable: you're familiar with everything around the team and your learning curve has plateaued. This is the point where your productivity may begin to decline, and it's important to be aware of your options at this juncture.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it, let me know by hitting the like button ❤️ to help others find it on Substack, and share it to spread the love!