4 Habits That Made Me a Better Developer

 

During my career I got to learn from many great people, here are a few principles I learned that really pushed me forward.

1. Write EVERYTHING down so you won't forget any steps, especially in larger tasks.
You will be able to look back at your workflow and reflect on where you can improve.
No need to bother your supervisor with questions they already answered.
You’ll have a boilerplate to-do list for similar tasks in the future.

One of the most valuable things a team lead can have is the ability to Fire-and-forget tasks, which means having full confidence that the developer will handle a task thoroughly end-to-end without further intervention. The only way to achieve this is by documenting!

2. Have a Positive Mindset

Sometimes, attitude is even more important than professional knowledge. When we experience a severe bug, instead of getting mad, our team lead always says “we learned a lot from this” — There is nothing more inspiring than this mutual growth mindset.
Get used to seeing every challenge as an opportunity. There will always be annoying tasks, but usually, those are the ones we learn the most from.

3. No Ego

I cannot stress enough the importance of this one. One of the greatest ways to learn is by getting feedback on your code through code reviews. This is where ego plays a huge part. Be open to criticism and remember that even younger or less experienced developers can teach you something new.

4. Always Keep Learning

How web development will look in 2050? Who knows. We do know that the only way to keep up is to always expose yourself to new technologies.
Find yourself a few sources of dev news, check them often, and share them with your co-workers. Initiate knowledge-sharing forums with your team, and always strive for healthy coding habits.