Every Tuesday at 9pm EDT, we host the #DevDiscuss Twitter chat. This week the community shared the habits that hold them back as software developers, as well as those that uplift them. These are some highlights of last night's awesome chat.
As professionals, most of us have reached some sort of equilibrium between good habits and bad ones. Our triumphs are a product of the former, our limitations a product of the latter.
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One of the evident themes was devs letting the perfect be the enemy of the good:
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Another was spreading one's attention too thin:
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Sylvia Killinen@skillinen
Bouncing around. This tool here, that script there, another language a little further on. Costs time, energy to rel… twitter.com/i/web/status/8…14:50 PM - 19 Jul 2017The Practical Dev @thepracticaldev
And another was not focusing enough on good communication:
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More specifically, devs admit they don't write enough tests:
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And need to get better at git:
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Oh god. Merging with master instead of rebasing 😱😱
I know I know but I had one bad experience w/ rebasing and just… twitter.com/i/web/status/8…09:28 AM - 19 Jul 2017The Practical Dev @thepracticaldev
But hey, we also do some things right! So we also asked about the positive:
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Lots of devs are proud of how careful and deliberate they can be when learning:
Nick Rameau@r4meau@ThePracticalDev When I read technical books, I read each chapter twice, first time fast, second time is slow while… twitter.com/i/web/status/8…01:52 AM - 19 Jul 2017
🎨💻@varpaint@ThePracticalDev I'm thorough. I always read through my pull request code before opening one and QA my work before sending it to PMs 😇01:48 AM - 19 Jul 2017
And despite the industry's reputation, many devs are good at not taking on too much work:
@ThePracticalDev Knowing when to take a break.
Your noggin can only handle so much. Sometimes a walk is better th… twitter.com/i/web/status/8…01:34 AM - 19 Jul 2017
Enrique Reyes@enriquereyes@ThePracticalDev It might seem counterintuitive, but I try to avoid multitasking and say no to things that just are… twitter.com/i/web/status/8…01:51 AM - 19 Jul 2017
Don't forget to maintain a friendly demeanor at work!
A Man Has No Name@preetness@ThePracticalDev Being a kind, caring pairing partner, and one who tries to uplift and applaud my teammates.03:13 AM - 19 Jul 2017
@ThePracticalDev When I notice myself getting upset at someone, I pause and try to respond positively and kindly, even when they're wrong.01:36 AM - 19 Jul 2017
And while some cited documentation as a weakness in the first question, plenty also noted it as a strength:
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Nitish Dayal@nitish_dayalGetting better at writing documentation. Step 1 is getting info right. 2 is writing technical docs in a casual pros… twitter.com/i/web/status/8…02:55 AM - 19 Jul 2017The Practical Dev @thepracticaldev
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Overall it was one of the most spirited discussions we've had, and one that has plenty of useful sub-conversations. If you need more inspiration, some of dev.to's most popular articles have been about building good habits:
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So keep honing your best habits and try to limit some of your worst ones. And remember...none of us are perfect! ✌ï¸
Top comments (2)
Thanks to everyone for a great chat last night!
Yay, #devdiscuss roundup! Great way to catch up on it.