12 Years of Coding Wisdom in One Article: Why You Should Stop Writing Code!
As a software engineer with over a decade of experience, I’ve written hundreds of thousands of lines of code, debugged endless bugs, and optimized countless algorithms. But here’s a hard truth that took me years to realize: You should stop coding.
Now, I don’t mean literally never write another line of code again, but understanding when and why to stop coding can dramatically improve your development process. Here’s why.
1. Understand the Problem Before Touching the Keyboard
Many developers rush to code the moment they receive a task, thinking that the faster they produce code, the better. This is a huge mistake. Coding without fully understanding the problem is like running in the dark — you might be moving fast, but you’re bound to hit a wall.
Before jumping into code, take time to deeply understand the requirements and goals.
Example of what happens if you code without understanding:
pythonCopy code
def get_discounted_price(price, discount):
return price - (price * discount)
# Trying to apply a 20% discount
print(get_discounted_price(100, 20))