To have a sharp mind, take care of your body
Paying attention to your body and taking the time to keep it in good shape benefits your mind enormously. Thus, it will help you become not only an effective but also a healthy and happy developer, too.
Know your tools – and hone them
Software development is much more than churning out code and learning new programming languages or frameworks, which is a fact I'm also trying to prove with this book. All good craftsmen know their tools inside out. We, software developers, are craftsmen, too, and should do likewise. Tools everywhere
Take regular breaks
You know the feeling. You've been pounding at an issue for hours and haven't made any progress – yet, it feels like you're almost there. When you finally get up, your back is sore, your mouth is dry, and your problem is still unresolved. You
Break it down
There is a simple practice that takes little time but has significant benefits. Before you start working on a non-trivial task, write down a list of items that you need to do to accomplish the task. Breaking up the big task into smaller pieces will make it easier to start,
Dive into other people's code
Being able to read other people's code is a force multiplier for becoming a stellar software developer. When using open-source software, you'll undoubtedly need to examine code someone else wrote to better understand it. Many times, you get to that point when you're debugging
Be curious about your craft
"Be interested" sounds like telling you to fall in love with a particular person. I'll grant you it's similar, but being curious about the aspects of software development is much simpler. Which is great because it's essential for your career as a
Write it down - use notes to keep a second brain
There is only so much stuff you can keep in your brain. Sometimes, when I'm keeping track of all the information needed to understand a certain problem, I run out of memory. My FIFO*-based brain throws out the first piece of information to make space for the
Avoid distractions - and focus intensely
It's a cliché, but it's a cliché for a reason: if you want to solve challenging problems, you need to focus for an extended period. The fiercest enemy of sustained attention is our devices. They are all connected to the internet and are inexhaustible sources of
Get a quick win
We have a tough time starting but just as hard a time not finishing what we've started, especially if we have had even a tiny bit of success. You'll eventually lose motivation when you've set out to do something that takes a long time.
How I write articles
"How does Balint write these articles?" asked probably nobody, ever. So you didn't ask, and I still delivered. Below is my current method of writing. 1. Write a crappy first draft I put words down almost as they appear in my mind. As Stephen King says,
You can do it - just start
The saying "If you think you can win, or if you think you cannot, you're right" has a lot of truth to it. Staring at a computer screen with a daunting task ahead can feel overwhelming. You have to think about, code, fix, test, and refactor
Write a forum post
You can use a simple technique that gets you unstuck when you've been banging your head against the wall because of a problem you can't figure out. You tried everything to debug it, changing one thing at a time to see if it affected the outcome,