Habits I recommend to succeed as a developer

My personal take on good habits for developers.

Read at least one book a month

Good books contain concentrated wisdom from developers with years of experience.

Set aside 20-30 minutes daily for reading. This small habit compounds dramatically over time. Start with classics in your specialty, then branch out to adjacent fields.

Don't just read technical books. Mix in books on communication, psychology, and business to develop a well-rounded perspective that will set you apart.

Always be building something

Nothing improves your skills faster than building real projects. Theory only takes you so far, you need to put in the reps.

Keep a side project active at all times, even if you can only dedicate a few hours weekly. These projects let you experiment with new technologies without the constraints of work projects.

The key is consistency. A little progress each day is better than sporadic marathon sessions. Your GitHub profile becomes a portfolio of your growth journey.

Write regularly to solidify your learning

Writing forces clear thinking. It's one thing to understand a concept, but another to explain it clearly.

Block off dedicated time (I like taking one full day every other or third week) for writing, reading, and reflecting. This reflection time helps you internalize what you've learned and identify gaps in your knowledge.

Writing helps you find opportunities too. Blog posts about technical topics show employers and clients what you know and how you think, often better than a resume can.

Do things in public

Share what you're working on and learning about. Being open about your work creates opportunities you'd never get by keeping to yourself.

Get in the habit of putting your code out there, writing about what you're learning, and joining tech discussions online. Getting feedback from others helps you grow faster.

In tech, who you know matters as much as what you know. Go to meetups, help with open source projects, or join online communities. Build relationships consistently, don't just reach out when you need a favour.

Consistent sleep schedule

As developers, it's so easy to mess up your sleep schedule. I know it myself. When you got some hardcore bugs especially that you badly wanna solve, you can stay up all night.

But honestly, it's not worth it. A good sleep schedule is what will make you extremely productive as a developer.