7 Bad Habits You Should Avoid As a Developer
Avoid these five bad habits to grow into an outstanding developer.
Programmers do not need to follow a rigid set of rules. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with developing your programming style. However, falling prey to bad habits is something all of us have gone through. Even the best developers can rely on shortcuts, methods, and attitudes that may make their work more convenient in the short term but can cause problems for themselves, their colleagues, and their customers later on.
Throughout this article, I will discuss the seven worst habits developers should immediately abandon. Knowing these habits will help you avoid them in the future and ensure your success as a developer. Both successful and ineffective software developers can be prone to this unfortunate habit.
1. Duplicating Code
It is a common perception among programmers that if the software is working correctly, there is no need to fix duplicate code. The only thing you are doing is adding unnecessary bulk to your software. There is no doubt that most developers would argue that running a few blocks of code would only take a few milliseconds, a point we concur with, but only if you intend to use your software a few times.
Not only that, but Duplicate coding also affects the code quality. It makes your code smelly and increases technical debt. Repairing this debt involves paying a developer to simplify or de-duplicate it.
Always remember the less duplication in your code, the faster your program will run and the less space it will consume. The age when people used to wait patiently has gone away. Everything must run smoothly and fast now.
2. Doing Things Your Way
We all have our coding styles. However, despite the ease of doing things your way, others may not adapt to your code style, and if it isn’t common, someone who follows you may have difficulty using your work. The person who does it will not be as productive or happy to write code long-term, while you will still be motivated and eager to perform.
3. Putting Off Fixing Issues in Coding Style
A good programmer knows every bit of code is important, and in the quest for a fix, they would question the design and ideas behind features. Over the years, I have noticed that developers tend to delay fixing coding style issues more than other issues. Keep in mind that coding is a craft that has tons of bad habits that prevent even average developers from becoming masters at it. To improve yourself and be a better developer, you must understand your bad traits and work on correcting them.
4. Not Knowing How to Optimize Code
Developing an effective optimization strategy requires experience. The process requires exploration, analysis, and knowledge of each system involved. You should be aware of these things. Learn how to measure performance in general, algorithmic complexity, and database query evaluation.
Performance can be a huge issue in some situations, such as algorithmic complexity, inefficient database operations, using third-party APIs, or running N+1 queries. It is crucial to understand how to analyze performance problems, figure out what is taking time, and fix them as soon as they occur. Having an understanding of algorithms and data structures will be of great help to you.
5. Refusing to ask for help
In my experience, developers are most likely to engage in this habit. So, if you are wondering why these developers don’t ask their superiors or teammates for help? Well, two things lead to this factor. First, Pride, and second I think they are ashamed and do not want to give others the impression that they lack knowledge about a particular thing, which may affect their chances of promotion or pay raises.
To begin with, you don’t have to feel ashamed asking someone higher up for help. It is common to experience self-doubt, but it is not common to hold on to it. Have some self-confidence! If you are working with a team, it’s called a team for a reason! Whenever you have doubts, feel free to speak with your teammates or whomever you prefer. Keep a positive attitude and ask for help whenever possible.
6. Not Focusing on your Health
It is common for programmers to work late at night. Typically, that’s because most programmers work late at night so they can debug and compile without overloading servers, and no meetings take place during the day. Thus, programmers are usually most productive late at night.
However, working late at night even though you know you have to go to your job in the morning accumulates health issues. You may not feel like it now, but you should pay attention to your well-being if you spend too much time at work or coding for fun.
Sleep deprivation can lead to mental and physiological issues, leading to self-reinforcing cycles of burnout, depression, illness, etc. You can resolve this problem by getting enough sleep regularly, being refreshed, meditating, and learning to be productive and focused throughout the day.
7. Giving Up Easily
Are you having trouble solving a problem you can’t find a solution to? If you can’t think of one, you must be a terrible developer, right? That’s not how it works. Being stuck somewhere does not mean you are incompetent. Giving up, however, proves this notion to be true.
Always remember all problems can be solved with a code. It’s all about having the correct time and resources. Whenever you feel stuck on a problem, don’t give up, it’s probably just a matter of time and research before you can solve it.
“The cheerful mind perseveres, and the strong mind hews its way through a thousand difficulties.” — Swami Vivekananda
Hey there! Thanks for reading this article! Feel free to share developer habits you find irritating in the comments if you find this article helpful. Here are some more posts that you will find useful:
