Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: What are your favorite developer-efficiency tips?

news.ycombinator.com

61–70 of 532 posts

Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite developer-efficiency tips?

#61
post #25
post #23

Automate repetitive tasks that can be automated. A task may take ten minutes. Automating it may take hours, and thus seems too expensive. If this task is going to be done many times, then the automation WILL pay off. Running the automated task might take less time than the manual steps. And you can be doing something else. The more of these kinds of tasks that you can automate, the bigger of a lever it becomes. One o…

Relevant xkcd: https://xkcd.com/1205/

I actually expected it to be this one: https://xkcd.com/974/

Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite developer-efficiency tips?

#62
post #12

I usually comment with the same thing on these tip threads. And that is learn to rebind your keyboard. Make each key programmable modifier. Open apps, run scripts/macros instantly. My Karabiner config: https://github.com/nikitavoloboev/dotfiles/blob/master/karab... I go as far as binding keys to instantly type `console.log()` or `fmt.Println()` or the other language equivalent with my dot modifier key. Plus typing th…

Maintaining a Wiki or any sort of extensive note taking operation requires a lot of dedication and I guess practice? Do you have any tips for someone who wants to start out? Is there a smaller step that one could take initially?

Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite developer-efficiency tips?

#63
post #23

Automate repetitive tasks that can be automated. A task may take ten minutes. Automating it may take hours, and thus seems too expensive. If this task is going to be done many times, then the automation WILL pay off. Running the automated task might take less time than the manual steps. And you can be doing something else. The more of these kinds of tasks that you can automate, the bigger of a lever it becomes. One o…

Another advantage is that you are less likely to make errors while using the automated way.

Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite developer-efficiency tips?

#64

Mildly off-topic but I find that exercising in the morning or during lunch break gives me the biggest efficiency boost ever.

I play the Eleven Table Tennis VR game for ~1 hour at 9PM, become sweaty, take a shower and then I feel like I can very productively work until 5AM. Quarantine weird schedule, but it works :)

Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite developer-efficiency tips?

#68
post #53
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which one do people here recommend?

Been using Bitwarden Premium (which is really cheap anyway) for a couple of years, can't say anything bad about it.

+1 for Bitwarden, it's been my recommendation for a while now.

Re: Ask HN: What are your favorite developer-efficiency tips?

#70

I use a 4k TV as a monitor - I can easily see full size my code editor, terminal output, a page of documentation and the web app/site I'm working on all at once. It cuts down tremendously on the back and forth switching and reloading of things that don't feel like they take up much time but do materially eat into things.

Or better, use 3 4K screens :-) My record of the number of source files being opened concurrently was 10 when I was trying to understand a particularly nasty spaghetti code base.
Post reply on HN