Feedback has been helpful in qualifying my own self-reflections and providing an external perspective on the effects of habits I'm identifying to work on. I just got off a call discussing this with my sister... I am not practicing healthy habits (I've known this, but of course it is difficult to change when the demands haven't necessarily), but I do feel that I've been making some conscious progress toward better balance in the last week. I am re-committing more time to be present with my partner and scheduling it intentionally. Likewise, while physical activity and getting sunshine had been significant and daily practices in my life before, they have been nearly absent in the last couple of weeks and I am working to build time back in for those priorities to better maintain my physical and mental health. Part of that does require getting better sleep, another aspect of my health that has fallen out of balance, so I am being more deliberate about not working too late at the computer and actually going to bed intentionally so that I'll have more energy to give the following day. As much as I value all of this and do feel that I need to get these points back in order, I still worry that taking all of the time back for these values is effectively compromising the technical work I'll accomplish.
What do you think are the traits of a good software developer? What are they like in the workplace? What would you as a co-worker think of this person?
I consider a 'good developer' to likely be an intelligent person who has honed communication to use a concise economy of words - generally more simple and deliberate, rather than jargon. I would consider this someone willing to take risks and embrace discomfort, resilient to the necessary points of failure. I expect this person to be technically proficient, yet on the edge and eager to learn about new and evolving technologies. Inspired rather than threatened by this surrounding progress, this developer is secure in themself and their knowledge. I imagine this person to have a structured routine and personal plan for achievement, while also needing to be able to relinquish control. This person would have to be resourceful and able to work efficiently alone, as well as being a respectful and calm collaborator.
What are the habits that this person demonstrates to embody the identity of a software developer?
Practicing communicating technical concepts to others (especially outside of the field) could help to build a clearer and more direct pattern of speech / writing, and ultimately devlop greater empathy and collaboration skills as well. This person must make a habit of iterative failures which are overcome in the pursuit of eventual success, building their resiliency and inspired humility. This developer may have a very consistent morning routine, fueled by intention and discipline to set up for a productive day.
Who do you want to be as a software developer? What kind of behaviors do you already have in place to be that person? What behaviors would you need to put into place? How will you do that?
Unspecific to being a developer, I want to establish a morning routine as described above. I have an idea of the calm, satisfying morning I'd like to have before actually beginning my work for the day, but find my intentions for a given morning too often compromised by poor choices made the night before (fighting to stay up and attempt to keep working too late, too-often unproductive hours of lost sleep). I need to overcome varying types of procrastination / freezing / avoidance to maximize the daylight hours and implement a cut-off time at which I can commit to wrap up my work and move toward bed for an actually restful night. Making commits more atomic / frequent to aid in this - I need to get comfortable with the practice of trying to run things I expect to break and following the errors to solve them, rather than trying to anticipate and resolve the issues without experiencing them for the failure, and hopefully leading to faster resolutions and implementation of cleaner, simplified code.
Bring self-awareness to your current habits by making a Habits Scorecard. Make a list of your daily habits (examples: wake up, turn off alarm, check phone, etc.) as a way to bring awareness to what you do. Then, decide how effective that habit is for you and your goal of becoming a software developer. Put a + next to habits that are effective; put a - next to habits that are not effective; put a = next to habits that are neutral.
Pick 1 new habit you'd like to build and create an implementation intention following this template: "I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION]." Then, stack the habit onto something you already do: "After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT]." (Hint: make this highly specific and immediately actionable)
Design your environment for success: what changes could you make in your space to better implement your habit? How could you remove any triggers for bad habits? How will you implement these changes?
Respond after a few days of this implementation: What are your results? How do you feel about this method? How will you move forward with this habit?