Productive Developers Build Good Habits
Tags: podcast, productivity
Published: 2022-05-11 12:19:00

{% spotify spotify:episode:2J2AgU3TNtM93OIIz99rw1 %}

## What is HTML All The Things?

HTML All The Things is a [web development podcast](https://www.htmlallthethings.com/) and [discord community](https://discord.com/invite/jweMCx9) which was started by Matt and Mike, developers based in Ontario, Canada. 

The podcast speaks to web development topics as well as running a small business, self-employment and time management. You can join them for both their successes and their struggles as they try to manage expanding their Web Development business without stretching themselves too thin.

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## What's This One About?

This week, Mike and Matt sat down to discuss how good habits can make developers more productive. The duo go over how habits are not a one size fits all situation, but instead should be tailored to each individual that is looking to boost their productivity - whether that's simply setting up a meal plan, choosing to cut off your work hours at a certain time, or just getting to bed the same time each day - we are all different, and so not every habit is best suited for our unique needs.


## Show Notes

### What are habits and why are they important?

* Habits are set behaviors or routines that we perform almost instinctively (subconscious)
* They are usually formed after long periods of repetitive tasks
* There are both good habits and bad habits
    * Good habits
        * Showering every day
        * Brushing your teeth and flossing everyday
        * Eating healthy
    * Bad habits
        * Biting your nails
        * Eating too much
        * Sitting too long
* Good Habits can take you disorganized routines, unproductive days and struggle to learn, and flip the script.
* Find the motivation that you can use to start establishing a new habit
    * For me it is being more productive so that I can complete work faster and have more free time
    * My goal is to go down to a 4 day work week of 6 hours of work a day
    * I can’t do that overnight, and it would be irresponsible to just flip that switch and leave my clients with less production for the same amount of money
    * This is why I dove into building better habits


### I took stock of my day

* I initially didn’t change anything, I just started paying more attention and recording what I was doing
* I noticed that while I do have sections of productivity, they were not consistent
    * One day I might have deep work for 3 hours and another only 1
    * The time between my deep work sessions was random and some days I would go with no deep work
* I would get distracted easily by notifications that could be coming from clients
    * I would almost cringe and anticipate that any ding (email, discord, skype) could be coming from a client that needs urgent help
    * Of course most of these dings were unrelated to work but they would still derail me
* My YouTube was almost always open and playing videos that would distract me
    * For me YouTube isn’t the best background noise, I’m too interested in the videos of the creators I subscribe to
* My meeting times were random throughout my day and would derail me before and after the meeting
    * It would take time for me to prep for a meeting and also wind down from one


### How I started to change my routines/habits



* When I was productive I noticed that it was usually when 
    * I wasn’t expecting any calls/notifications (after or before work hours)
    * I was fairly calm/relaxed
    * I had something fun planned for after work
    * My working session was planned out with a accomplishable* todo list
* I took these findings and started to try to ‘emulate’/adjust to them
    * I would tell clients/team members I’d be unavailable at certain times
    * I would do something relaxing before starting (reading, going for a walk, cleaning)
    * I’d plan some time to hang out with my wife or friends after work
    * I started to write small todo lists before starting a working session
* I started to create a morning routine
    * Wake up, make breakfast for my wife and I
    * Do yoga
    * Make coffee
    * Check my todo list
    * Do w/e for 15-30minutes
* I created a after work routine
    * Check todo list
    * Create todo list for the next day
    * Commit and push all code
* I started to notice when I’d get distracted
    * Instead of going on reddit or YouTube I’d get up and do something else (clean, shower, pushups)
    * I turned distractions into something positive
* I started to write days off
    * Every once in a while I’d have a bad day where nothing would go right
    * I started to recognize when that was happening and just stop work for that day
    * This usually resulted in a ultra productive next day as I felt rested and didn’t feel bad for the day before

### Tips

* Start tiny
* If you can’t focus, get up and do something else 
* Keep task management super simple
* Set short spurts of focus initially (10-20min)
* Create a simple morning routine

### Books Mentioned

[Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg](https://tinyhabits.com/)
[Atomic Habits by James Clear](https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits)


## Thank you!

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