- Get a solid nights sleep. Coding is mentally exhausting;
- Work out. Sitting in a chair for 8 solid hours is physically demanding;
- Don’t overdo it. Coding marathons lead to shit code. Shit code will haunt you for years;
- Be wary of the Zone. The Zone is a mental state where nothing but code exists. You feel focused. You feel like you’re racing! You’re not. Like a racehorse, you’re wearing blinders that prevent you from seeing what is going on around you. Which brings me to my next point;
- Walk away. Often. This one’s from personal experience. I like hammering on a problem until it is fixed. Quitting in the middle feels like giving up. It feels like failure. The irony is that when I walk away the quiet part of my brain has a chance to whisper some really good ideas to me. Ideas that solve the problem without wrecking the code. This happens when I enter ‘The Zone’ and step out;
- Be on good terms with your spouse and children. Nothing kills creativity more than worrying if your partner is going to leave you or if your children will grow up to hate you. Coding is demanding. Coding is addictive. You’ll be tempted to spend every waking hour thinking about it or fiddling with some new idea. There’s a time and place for that and it comes after your family, your foundation, is in order;
- In your own time, work on your own code. Do something fun. Do something pointless. Abandon with abandon. There is no pressure to finish anything other than the pressure you put on yourself;
- You’ll never know everything so don’t even try. Keeping up with the pace technology is evolving is nigh impossible. Know what you need to know and know it well. Then, dig a little bit deeper;
- Work in a quiet place. Wear headphones if your office is noisy. I personally never listen to music as I find it more distracting than helpful;
- Don’t rely on coffee or energy drinks to keep you ‘buzzing’. This is a clear indication that you’re too tired to do good work.
Happy coding :)
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