Timothy Pitchell: boring, unstructured or advisors, frustrating, difficult, lacking in personal meaning or intrinsic rewards
create rewards system
single task, context switching takes 15 min
artificial deadlines
set Slackbot or other reminder for topics, if none, cancel meeting
remove social media, limit it with Stay Focused and do not disturb
don't check news, it's ok
less than two minutes, do it
clipboard manager, password manager with 2fa filler
next actions, later todo lists to get this out of your head and free space so you're not worried about forgetting, review often and prune
set goals OKR style
create List of goals each morning, start with hardest
batch distractions
noise cancelling headphones, listening to music good
get good at typing
perfect is the enemy of good
focus on strengths
Use mundane tasks to your advantage by practicing something you're actually excited to get better at, whether that's becoming more proficient with your text editor, practicing strict TDD or automating the task outright using a language you're interested in.
consolidate inboxes, forward emails to slack for one less place to check
don't do, delegate, do now, do later
aliases, zsh, oh my zsh
learn ides shortcuts, top extensions
reschedule/eliminate meetings (Clockwise, Geekbot), cancel meetings if no topics, cut short when done, schedule for 15-30 min
async communication
GitHub cli
bash and other scripts (depdater, sbt-vertex, skripts)
forest's read doc article
protect most precious resource, time, can never get more
pair programming
think of smallest possible task to stop procrastination, stop while path forward is clear (breadcrumbs) to ease and speed up getting started again
The phases of a software project are, roughly speaking: defining the problem, designing the solution, implementation, testing, fix bugs, lather, rinse repeat. The "defining the problem" phase doesn't feel very productive but it's super important. Building the wrong thing is the opposite of productive.
when fixing bug, look for similar ones while solution is fresh in your mind
Ruthless prioritization, say no
provide context and relevant links when asking for help
link to old slack answers when providing help and document to most common in an FAQ or Readme.
create GitHub or slack issue templates to ensure enough info is provided
reduce tab, channel clutter
eliminate email back and forth (call, Calendly, pocket)
get enough sleep and exercise, take a walk over lunch or when you get stuck (or ask for help), don't work more than 50 hrs/wk, white noise, vacations
