DEV Community: Christian Foster

7 Habits of Highly Effective Programmer

Christian Foster — Thu, 05 Aug 2021 07:31:07 +0000

During my first real-world job after college, I work at a Japanese manufacturer of consumer electronic components. This company has amazing work ethics and they value the training of their employees.

One training that I attended is all about the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey.

And I think, it’s a good idea to mash up this learning of mine with a technological touch. So if you haven’t read or heard about these great lessons, or you already knew it but wants a fresh and new angle of explanation, this blog post is for you!

Disclaimer: I didn’t mean to falsely identify every meaning of the book as mine, I’m just giving my own opinion and make it understandable in a programmers point of view. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is owned by Stephen R. Covey.

Habit 1: Be Proactive

Technology is ever-moving, and so a programmer needs to be agile. As I always say as my motto, “Stagnation is a sin”. You can always learn something new. Take the initiative to develop your skills, and be proactive enough to make drastic changes in your programming life. If your boss tells you to do something difficult but possible, try not to discuss the difficult part, and try your best to deliver the possibilities – you’ll be amazed as how the universe will conspire to help you finish the task!

Habit 2: Begin With The End In Mind

This is very much applicable when coding. When you are solving an algorithm or developing a new system, it’s a very good practice to know what is the final output you wanted to achieve, instead of just shooting for possible outcomes. It should be a clear goal where you want to steer your program, and always look forward to the finish line – remember to add “Stop” to a flowchart!

Habit 3: Put First Things First

Do you know the 80/20 rule? It states that 80% of the result comes from the 20% task – thus the remaining 80% of the task were just a waste of time, effort and resources! So you should identify and refactor the code you are adding to the program, and just remove the excess line of codes that can be omitted. Focus on the 20% important codes, and you can get the 80% of the best result from there.

Habit 4: Think Win-Win

Think Win-Win all the time! If you think helping others is just a waste of your time because you have never gained anything in return, think again. Remember that what you sow is what you reap? So if ever a problem arouse and it will affect a great amount of people, try to compromise. Do what is best for all of the concerned parties.

Habit 5: Seek First To Understand, Then To Be Understood

Empathy, although not totally visible in our programming life, should be practiced. We as programmers tend to just invoke our “silence”, and didn’t matter if others are talking to us, especially when we are in the zone! Try to communicate more, understand more. If you just talk about yourself and doesn’t accept other’s opinion, say example your officemate showing you a refactored algorithm, try to understand his/her intention. This way you can manage more how to speak up your mind and try to be understood by others. And by understanding, you can gauge more efficient and provide sound response when you fully understand an issue.

Habit 6: Synergize

We are all a puzzle piece. If we can engage others in what we do, we can learn from them more than doing it alone. In programming, we can collaborate with other members, share and catch different perspective and harness individual powers. We should set aside our differences, and work on to use that harmoniously. As the saying goes, “Two heads are better than one!” Let’s volt in!

Habit 7: Sharpen The Saw

By applying the other six habits into one, and doing it consistently, you are practicing it to be your destiny. Also, go out and have a life! The world is a big place, try to go out of your “zone” and conquer new heights. You are not just a programmer, maybe you are a father like me, a son/daughter, or you are yet to find out your other purpose, instead of just typing syntax. Focus also in your health, so you can code more and debug more!

So that’s it folks! You got me to cover the 7 habits of highly effective people by Stephen Covey, and try to match it with our niche to have a deeper understanding. If you find these helpful don’t hesitate to write your thoughts in the comments section!

“And that’s one blog, stay hungry!”

“We see the world, not as it is, but as we are──or, as we are conditioned to see it.”

Stephen R. Covey

7 Benefits of Work-From-Home, and its 7 Drawbacks

Christian Foster — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 08:54:06 +0000

1K Blog Marathon: Day 7

“Kriiing… Kriiing… Kriiing…”

It’s 5:30 in the morning. I should run panicking to the bathroom. I should brush my teeth while foaming my hair with shampoo and pouring water on my body. Within 10 minutes I should be getting dressed, and by 5:50, I should be waiting on the 6 o’clock Jeepney on the street. After an hour of sleep, I should be getting off the vehicle, going up the stairs of our building, and logging my thumb mark on the Biometrics. I should be doing this as an office employee. But not now.

Not today folks!

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, we are prompted to work from the comforts of our home. Our boss allowed us to take home our computer units – a CPU Tower, 2 monitors, mouse and keyboard, few cables and a UPS. Right now, I am a remote employee, a Work-From-Home App Developer.

It’s been 3 months since I woke up 6:30, brushing my teeth, optionally taking a bath, and logging on to my computer. And these 3 months gives me diverse experience and a new way of life. Let me start…

Benefit #1: I am not rushing every morning!

To me, this is a benefit that is very practical – I don’t have to rush to the street just to take the early jeep so I won’t be late (for the record, I am rarely late!).

Drawback #1:

Because I don’t feel the need to rush, I rarely take a bath in the morning! ^_^ (Exception: if the weather is hot, I take a bath early morning, during lunch time, and in the evening – wait, why do I have to explain myself?)

Benefit #2: I now get more sleep

Because of benefit #1, I can stay in bed until 6:59! (But I have to jump before it hits 7 o’clock!). My sleeping time is either 10 pm (if I don’t have any house chores left) or 12 pm (if I have to help my wife do the laundry). I can still get my 6 to 8 hours of sleep, vs getting up at 5:30 am where I can only get 5 to 7 hours.

Drawback #2:

It may sound counterintuitive, but I also lack sleep. Why? Because my mind is set to thinking that “tomorrow, I can stay in bed until 6:59 am, so…”

“I can stay late until… 3am!”

Benefit #3: I have more time with my family

Yes! It’s my greatest benefit so far! I’ve always wanted to work from home, so I can still see my daughter grow, I can still help my wife doing household chores, and I can still monitor the changes that will happen in our house. Lately, we had house renovation. We changed few of our old roofs, getting ready for the rainy days.

Drawback #3:

Working from home right? That means my daughter is crying while I’m having a Zoom meeting, hopefully it’s okay to turn off video and microphone. I’m the best daddy of the year!

Benefit #4: I discovered (and acquired) new skills

Level up! During these times, I have plenty of hours to learn more. But I’m not talking about things that I see or read on the internet, oh not sir. I’m talking about the “manual” skills that I acquired, such as:

Carpentry. I reminisce in my mind the “New Yankee Workshop” that my uncle used to watch when I was young. My loving wife’s hobby is gardening, and I’m the one who created her plant cabinet, greenhouse and plant box. I also put pencil in my ear, signaling that I’m “in the zone”.
Masonry. I love listening to podcast about secret societies, and I always wonder how it feels to be a Freemason. I hold spatula, mixing vigorously the cement and sand, pouring water gently so not to damage my little “volcano” that I created – only to realize that the mix is saturated with more sand and less cement (I wonder if it will become concrete). I guess I’m now a level 1 “Mason”.
Gym Instructor. Despite my dad bod, huge belly and two chin, I exercise. I don’t go to gym, but because of my spare time, I downloaded an app that helps me lose weight. I choose the Advanced Level of Abs Program. When I go back to office, I will boast my 1k pack abs!
Stuffed Toy Whisperer. My daughter likes to sleep in my arms. She also likes to make her toys sleep in my arms, with matching pillow and blanket. Did I tell you that I memorized “Rock a Bye Baby”, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and “Skidamarink”?
Botanist. Because my wife loves gardening, it also follows that I should love gardening. Did you know that you need to disinfect first your cutting tools before removing rot in Keiki? You can use 70% Isopropyl Alcohol or Hydrogen Peroxide. But if both were not available, you can kill bacteria by heating your knife or scissor with flame from lighter or candle. While propagating succulents you can blah blah blah….

Drawback #4:

Smashed finger, inhalation of cement dust, excess weight (I craved for more food after I exercise), Last Song Syndrome and Paranoia (when one rose dies). If symptoms persist, consult your doctor.

Benefit #5: I can save more money

One of the best part of working from home is that you don’t have to spend for your transportation. You don’t have to buy expensive food, fearing to be seen “cheap”. You don’t have to join impromptu gatherings where you will shell out money.

Drawback #5:

What’s a drawback in saving more money? ^_^

Benefit #6: I don’t have to wear uniform

It means less laundry, less spending for laundry soap (again, benefit #5), and after 3 months my uniform still looks new! I also don’t have to buy clothes for Friday (wash day). I usually go to work (in our home) wearing shorts – no top!

Drawback #6:

Because you don’t use it, you don’t have time to check its status. Be aware of bugs and rats or else you will buy another uniform!

Benefit #7: I finally got the drive to start blogging!

I’ve always wanted to work online, start my own business, or start my own blog. I remember 3 years ago I created my first free WordPress blog – it only has 3 post. I created another one last year, on my birthday, but it didn’t have any following post. But this time, having more time because I’m working from home, and with the inspiration, I challenge myself for a 1K Blogging Marathon. I wish I can continue blogging every day until I finish my goal. I also wanted to learn more in content writing. I wish I don’t have to come back to office again (just kidding!)

Drawback #7:

It’s a challenge. It’s been 7 days but I experience writers block. But here I am, writing my last drawback in my last benefit of WFH!

Working from home definitely suits my lifestyle – it’s one of my dream. How about you, what are your benefits and drawbacks in working from home?

“And that’s one blog, stay hungry!”

“Working from home is great for a lot of people because they get to spend more time with their family, their kids, and their pets.”

– Brian Peters, Strategic Partnerships Manager at Buffer

This is originally posted in my tech blog, Curbside Coder