The latest articles on DEV Community by iQuain (@that_quain_kid). https://dev.to/that_quain_kid https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F701605%2F1897337b-8ae2-4952-9289-665da73e8b7b.jpeg https://dev.to/that_quain_kid en iQuain Wed, 08 Sep 2021 11:33:44 +0000 https://dev.to/that_quain_kid/how-telling-bad-jokes-has-made-me-a-better-engineer-4717 https://dev.to/that_quain_kid/how-telling-bad-jokes-has-made-me-a-better-engineer-4717 <p>Hear me out. I know the jokes I make are bad, especially the ones that I blurt out mid-sprint planning, but, they've made me much better at my job.</p> <p>Let me start this off by saying that it is very easy for an engineer/developer/coder/(insert chosen job title here) to get wrapped up in the idea that our job revolves entirely around writing code, but it doesn't. I get it, it's a very large part of it and, it's the reason a lot of us do this job. I like writing code too. However, another part of our job is the interpersonal side of things.</p> <p>I don't know about you but on a daily basis I speak with lots of people when I'm in work (probably more now I am remote than I did when I was in the office). All of those conversations are important. Maybe, they are not all business related, but they're important.</p> <p>Lately I've been making a conscious effort to tell bad jokes on standup. I have taken the liberty of changing the days of the week to: ["Minecraft Monday", "Tetris Tuesday", "Wipeout Wednesday", "Tony Hawk Thursday", "Fortnite Friday"], and you know what? It goes down a treat and helps so much.</p> <p>Your team got some bad news on something? Saying things like "Damn, what a way to ruin Tetris Tuesday!" always gets a giggle, or at least a few smirks.</p> <p>I post memes and/or GIFs on our pull requests. A colleague had something ready for release so rather than the standard "Looks good to merge" you send one of these bad boys:<br> <a href="https://media.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fsr0z3d4nznukozbdjhe0.gif" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fsr0z3d4nznukozbdjhe0.gif" alt="Sheep It"></a><br> Now, I look forward to looking over pull requests so that I can post funny GIFs - so I'm more productive.</p> <p>My sentiment is just this: have a little fun in work, because fun is contagious. It helps to lift morale, bring people closer as a team, and to make the day go a bit quicker. Plus, it makes you so much more approachable and if you enjoy your work you'll do it quicker but also to a higher quality.</p> <p>TLDR: Make bad jokes, post GIFs and memes, because that makes work a little bit more enjoyable for everyone. A fun workplace is usually a productive workplace too!</p> productivity watercooler