Learning how to code isn't the end of the journey for a software developer. It's just the beginning of a new journey. Developers need to open up their minds to learning new stuff at anytime. This would lead to growth and improvement of skill. These improvements would lead to overall career success.
The Software Industry is indeed fast-paced with lots of new technologies popping up more often. This kind of racing leads to a higher demand for top talent. What that means for developers is that they have to be willing to keep up with the pace in order to stay relevant to potential employers or clients.
But keeping up with this flashy pace is easier said than done. Also staying relevant requires some serious hard work plus consistency. In this article I'll share with you seven proven habits that will make you a better developer. These habits worked so well for me. If you are willing to put in the work, they will work for you as well.
Let's get started.
Read other people's code
Exposure to expert work will most likely make you an expert too, in one way or the other. You will be able to learn way too much from other people's code like new concepts, tricks, best practices, and a lot more. A continuation of this practice will inspire the ideas in your own code. Doing it is easy; Go to github.com, fork some repositories and do some deep reading.
Be clear about what you know and what you don't yet know
It's a good trait to let go of your geeky ego. Accept what you don't yet know. It's really a great way to open up yourself for learning. It's such a wonderful habit to adopt and it will come with multiple benefits for you as a developer for instance, You will have clear guidance to the questions that you need to seek answers to, Your focus will be pointed to the areas where it's needed most, You'll get quality answers to your questions since your questions will be exact, and more...
Share your knowledge and skill
No developer is an island. You need support from other developers and they need your support too. However trivial some contributions may seem to be, they will make a difference in the long run. Also, the community will be so proud of you. The next time you land an opportunity to give out something, don't hesitate. Contributions can be made in multiple forms like, answering a question on stackoverflow.com, replying to a tweet, publishing an article, commenting on someone else's article, contributing to opensource, and many more... The point is that; just share something with others whenever you get a chance.
Be social
Oh God I just can't believe I have to mention this! Don't forget to be human my friend. Whether it's online or offline. Making this a habit will open up so many doors for you as a developer.
On the humanity side of things; You wont suck. Many people will enjoy to be around you and engaging with you. You'll be able to impact the world in a natural way. You'll be carrying a positive everywhere you go.
And on the developer side of things. You'll be the coolest developer in town. To your team members, your manager, your boss, your clients and others, you'll be the right person for work. It's absolute that work naturally becomes a breeze when engaging with someone who's socially welcoming and easy to approach.
Build with other people
It's sometimes cool to build stuff alone. But building with other people is much more awesome. Try doing it and the benefits will present themselves. The most obvious benefit is the active support you'll get from others. It's priceless.
These folks will help a lot in clarifying your key strengths and weakness. Getting to know the areas where you strive will help you focus your energy in key areas. Guidance from other members also helps you learn faster.
Utilize your perspective
Your perspective is so important. It's what makes you standout from others. undermining your own views and insights in any way is a disadvantage. It's important to count on your own thoughts too whenever you're faced with a challenge. Whether in code or anywhere else. Before seeking help from elsewhere, first try your best to take on the challenge using your own perspective.
How's that beneficial to a developer who's seeking to be on top of the game?
You'll be able to discover a lot about your own thought process. Piquing your thoughts will lead to magical things in your day-to-day life as a developer.The process will you teach you good problem solving techniques. As a developer, this is what the world needs most from you.
The other thing is that you'll learn to reason about computer programs quite so well. This is a no-brainer! To a developer, the merits of this are self-explanatory. Every developer works harder to be able to understand every piece of code. Learning this habit will get you there.
Practice Practice, Repeat
Using your newly found knowledge to build stuff is useful too. Without practice your knowledge will not stick. Your skill wont improve either. So after going through the boring learning process. Make sure you craft stuff using that knowledge. Do it always. Whether it's out of curiosity or expression of your own ideas.
conclusion
Habits aren't easy to get used to. A little bit of work will get us there day by day. If you found the above points valuable, make them part of your daily routine. You'll ultimately become a better developer. If you think I forgot to include some relevant info, please share it with me in the comments below.
Thanks for stopping by.