6 (crazy?) ways to become more efficient as a developer

Adopt 60‑minute Pomodoro sprints. A full hour gives you time to load context, reach deep focus, and finish a meaningful slice of work.

How to run a power hour:

• Block a 60‑minute slot on your calendar and turn on Do Not Disturb.
• Close chat/email; keep only the tabs and tools you need.
• Write a one‑line outcome for the block (e.g., "Implement auth middleware").
• Work for 60 minutes, then take a 5–10 minute break: stand, stretch, do 10 pushups or squats, hydrate.
• Repeat 2–4 times, then take a longer break.

If you’re interrupted:

• Jot a one‑sentence context note (what you were doing + next step), reset the timer, and re‑enter focus.

Pro tips:

• Track completed focus hours per day—what gets measured gets managed.
• For heavy context loading, try 45/15 occasionally, but default to 60/5–10.
• Scope work into hour‑sized outcomes so each block ends with something concrete.
• End each block with a 60‑second recap: commit/push, note TODOs, and line up the next outcome.

Choose strict, statically typed setups. They catch bugs earlier, make refactors safer, and lower cognitive load once you’re past ~10k LOC.

Recommended options:

• TypeScript with strict settings.
• Python with type hints + a checker like mypy or pyright.
• Ruby with Sorbet.
• Advanced/FP picks: ReasonML or PureScript.

A solid TypeScript baseline:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "strict": true,
    "noImplicitAny": true,
    "strictNullChecks": true,
    "noImplicitThis": true,
    "noUncheckedIndexedAccess": true
  }
}

Why it works:

• Fewer runtime surprises and safer refactoring.
• Better IDE autocomplete, navigation, and refactor tools.
• Types double as living documentation, reducing mental overhead.

Practical tips:

• Treat types as a design tool, not just a safety net.
• Fail CI on type errors; turn warnings into errors.
• Keep boundaries (APIs, events, DB models) strongly typed; generate types from OpenAPI/GraphQL where possible.
• Avoid loose settings (e.g., overusing any) that create a false sense of safety.
• Adopt gradually in dynamic codebases: start with critical modules and expand.

Go light early; go systemized as you grow. In the earliest phase, keep docs lightweight (concise READMEs, decision notes, onboarding checklists). As you approach ~10 people, make documentation a first‑class system to support onboarding, async work, and knowledge sharing.

Where it should live:

• Use a dedicated knowledge base as your single source of truth: Notion, Google Docs, Confluence, or Archbee.
• Avoid relying on scattered repo markdown or GitHub wikis for cross‑team knowledge—they don’t scale well for search, structure, ownership, or contribution.

How to keep docs useful (and not stale):

• Assign clear owners and review cadences for key pages.
• Use short, focused pages with templates: How‑to, Runbook, ADR/Decision Record, Onboarding.
• Link docs to code, PRs, dashboards, and runbooks; keep them close to where work happens.
• Prefer iterative updates over big‑bang documentation; small, frequent edits win.
• Maintain a simple doc home (table of contents) and an “edit needed” queue.

Bias toward integration and end‑to‑end (E2E) tests, and be selective with unit tests.

Use unit tests when:

• Functions are pure and single‑responsibility.
• Business rules are complex or bug‑prone.
• You’ve had regressions in a specific utility or edge case.

Invest heavily in integration/E2E:

• Validate real user flows from UI through the database (e.g., Cypress or Playwright).
• Cover critical happy paths and key failure paths end‑to‑end.
• Prefer straightforward, functional code over deep class hierarchies to reduce unit test surface area.

Working rules of thumb:

• Let a strong type system eliminate many unit‑level bugs.
• Keep E2E suites reliable and fast: seed data predictably, run smoke tests on PRs, full suites nightly.
• Add unit tests where logic is intricate or historically fragile; don’t chase 100% coverage if it slows delivery without adding confidence.

Shift toward asynchronous collaboration and defend your calendar.

Tactics that work:

• Go async: replace status meetings with written updates; set response‑time norms (e.g., same‑day, not immediate).
• Calendar hygiene: block daily 60‑minute focus slots; make mornings meeting‑free when possible.
• Notification control: enable Do Not Disturb, hide badges, silence Slack/Teams, keep your phone in another room.
• Communication habits: batch checks 2–3 times per day; use a true “urgent” channel only for real emergencies.
• Team process: keep ticketing lightweight; avoid reorganizing boards for the sake of it; set office hours for quick questions.
• Environment: full‑screen your editor, use site blockers, close the door or wear headphones.
• Scope smartly: break work into hour‑sized outcomes so each block produces something concrete.

Helpful script for teammates:

Heads up: I’m in a 60‑minute focus block 10–11 and 2–3. I’ll check Slack/email right after. If it’s truly urgent, call me.