Unleash Your Software Developer Potential: Mastering Growth with the Ultimate Notion Template
Tags: productivity, careerdevelopment, career, softwareengineering
Published: 2023-05-24 00:17:26

## Why documentation is also important for software developer’s career growth

> The resistance to documentation among 
> developers is well known and needs no emphasis.

Software developers all desire good documentation, and we are well aware of how challenging it can be. However, have you ever considered the vital role that good documentation plays in one’s career growth?

Over the past decade, I have had the opportunity to work at lean startups, large tech companies, and even in different countries with their unique work cultures. Throughout my journey, I have consistently practiced collecting various types of notes. These habits have proven to be immensely beneficial for acing job interviews, securing promotions, expanding my professional network, and sharpening my technical skills. I have crafted these practices into a streamlined workflow in [this Notion template](https://devgrowth.gumroad.com/l/devgrowth-notion). My hope is that it can also aid in your career growth. In this post, I will guide you through the motivation and intention behind this template.

## The benefit of using this Notion template

- **Keep track of your achievements**: Previously collecting success stories for promotions or resumes often left me with days of frustration due to insufficient data points. This template basically prompts you to keep track of all your achievements, by the time you need it, it’s almost effortless to convert them into the success stories you need.

- **Write developer journals**: The idea behind it is that taking relevant notes as you go about your daily tasks can help the future you. You may remember the excitement when you finally find a solution to fix a tricky bug, however a few months later, you may not even remember what was the problem you’ve solved at that time. This template essentially guides you to write your own developer journals regularly.

- **Task management and knowledge management in one place**: This notion template also includes a task management section, you can link specific tasks from this section when building up your knowledge base. Essentially this notion template dashboard provides everything you need to work as a software developer. Having said that, if you already have a customized workflow to manage tasks, you could skip the task management section.

- **Harness the power of your network**: Your network connections, including managers, mentors, mentees, and peers, hold immense learning potential. I recommend maximize this opportunity by scheduling regular coffee chats with them and capture valuable thought-provoking exchanges in your notes.

- **Farewell to cluttered notes**: Have you ever jotted down a useful snippet, command, or config somewhere on your laptop, only to struggle to find it when you need it again? Say goodbye to the chaos of scattered notes and enjoy the convenience of having everything you need stored in one centralized place.
Based on my own experience, the habit of keep these notes and the ability to manage everything in one Notion dashboard has helped me tremendously to:
  - update my resume effortlessly
  -  prepare for behaviour interview round with plenty of stories
  - collect datapoints for promotions
  - build up my own knowledge base
  - capture valuable lessons from my professional network
  - be productive since I have everything needed in one place

I hope [this notion template](https://devgrowth.gumroad.com/l/devgrowth-notion) will help you to grow your career as well!

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I’ve compiled and curated a list of job hunting resources for software developers, it covers resources for writing resumes, applying and managing job applications, efficient ways to prepare for coding interviews, resources to learn system design, you can download the free PDF [here](https://devgrowth.gumroad.com/l/TheUltimateListofJobHuntingResourcesforSoftwareDevelopers).