When you get a job request or you have a project in mind that you want to complete, it is very important to make a workflow that is suitable to your speed. To do so you need to use tools that help you increase the productivity and make the workflow easy and systematic.
Time management techniques for developers
time management is crucial for developers to handle the myriad tasks and projects we encounter daily. I have listed some of the most effective techniques i am using in my developer journey.
Pomodoro(Tomato) Technique:
This technique involves breaking the work into intervals, usually 25 minutes long separated by short breaks. This technique helps maintain focus and productivity. I have given the link to download the application i use which simulates the tomato technique.
Eisenhower matrix:
This technique is used to prioritize tasks based on their urgency and importance using the Eisenhower matrix which looks similar to the confusion matrix which contains the true positives, false positives, false negatives and true negatives. I have provided the link to the application which helps me maintain the tasks by following the Eisenhower matrix technique.
SMART goals:
Acronym for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-Based goals help to guide our work and measures progress effectively. I use the tool Todoist which also helps in applying Eisenhower matrix techniques but you can use another tool like the notion. I was unable to attach the link to download it but i recommend you to enter the keyword "Notion Download" to get the links to download notion.
These tools help me implement time management techniques in my workflow and keep a good balance between relaxation and work.
Enhancing focus and minimizing distractions
We all have faced situations where someone or something has always swayed us away from our work and getting the flow back is a major challenge for a developer as building an algorithm or a code needs a flow and when we are writing the code for the next step we have to keep in mind all the previous steps we have covered so that the next step is optimized. Since we have to keep so many things in our mind, getting distracted can be a major drop in productivity.
Create a distraction free zone:
I do that with the help of music. Well now people will ask me how do i find the mix of the perfect music for me to maintain focus and help me in productivity, well i have got your back. Check out this website, Focus@will contains all the music playlists that are made for the brain to focus, activate the brain to generate beta waves for thought and focus.
Time blocking:
Create specific time blocks with the job that needs to be completed within that specific time frame only without interruptions. I achieved this using the applications like Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook.
Two minute Rule:
Tackle small tasks and distractions immediately if they take two minutes to complete. Well it must be confusing like if i want to play an online game like Battle Grounds Mobile India, well each match at least takes 10 minutes if it is Livik or else 30+ minutes on the standard, so how do i tackle that? well the simple answer is do that in the brake time. Break times are the best to cover these long duration distractions. Talking to girlfriends/boyfriends, watching Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Snapchat, etc can be done in two minutes and we should not allocate more than 2 mins for them if you cannot stop the urge to watch your socials. I personally watch my socials once a day as being connected is a core part of being a developer. I use the time lock feature on the social media apps which monitor the time i spent on the app and when the 2 mins mark hits it notifies me and i close it.
