7 Productivity Tips for Developers

The new year brings a fresh start for small business owners. A new financial year has begun, and you’re (hopefully) well-rested after the holidays. You may even be ready to tackle a few professional resolutions and take your small business to the next level!

A developer’s productivity is an essential part of building success. Finding ways to improve your developer productivity could allow you to take on more clients and larger projects that help grow your business. You’re probably an expert when it comes to software developer tips, but you may find these office, admin, and general work tips useful too.

1. Schedule your day

Like many software engineers and small business owners, a flexible work schedule might be one of the perks of the job that you most you enjoy. While this flexibility helps you create a positive work-life balance, it can work against you at times. You may sometimes find it hard to focus and might try to stuff too many activities into a single day.

Time management for developers is an essential skill to improve. Scheduling each working day and staying consistent could help you become more productive. Setting realistic goals for how much you can get done also helps you better manage your time. You might also want to think about when you’re most productive and focus on specific tasks during those hours.

2. Minimize distractions

Technology is great (especially from a developer’s point of view!), but it can also be distracting. Constant interruptions from your phone and computer hurt productivity. It’s often difficult to restart a task once your focus is broken, potentially doubling or tripling the time it takes you to do your work.

Minimizing digital distractions while you work could help. Consider putting your phone on silent, removing social media alerts, and turning off email alerts during specific working hours. You may even go as far as blocking certain sites on your computer.

And don’t forget about non-tech distractions! Working from home is a challenge for many software developers and small businesspeople. If possible, set up your computer in a room where you can close the door and ask family members not to disturb you between certain hours or when you’re working on specific tasks.

3. Take breaks

Avoiding interruptions doesn’t mean that you should also avoid breaks. Taking time throughout the day to rest and recharge can also improve developer productivity. In fact, continuous work may actually hurt your productivity and your business.

Regular breaks help your mind and body reset. This may boost creativity, help you retain and process information better, improve focus, and reduce stress. You might find it easier to solve a complicated issue or catch a potentially expensive mistake.

4. Automate the repetitive stuff

This is one tip that you may be using already. Software developers routinely automate tasks like moving files, inserting generic code, filling forms, and testing to help them save time and avoid errors. However, there may be other areas of your business where automation might also be useful.

Automating repetitive office admin could also help you run your business more efficiently. For example, think about how you invoice projects. You may be able to automate invoice writing to quickly fill in basic services that apply to most of the projects you work on. Automated emails can be built to send completed invoices and follow up on outstanding payments.

5. Keep on top of industry trends

Software developers design and build software to make people’s lives easier. It only makes sense to use tools and apps in a similar way to improve your software developer efficiency!

Listening to industry trends helps you learn about new tools and technology that could work for your business. Industry newsletters and magazines, thought leaders, and social media are good ways to hear about the latest developments. User reviews may also be useful in helping you decide which tools to implement in your business.

6. Outsource work

If you still feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day, it might be time to outsource some work. Independent contractors or subcontractors could help you complete large projects or make important deadlines. Before hiring additional software developers, check the project contract to understand if the client allows subcontracting and if additional insurance coverage will be necessary.

You may also decide to outsource office admin tasks. What takes you an entire week to do properly may take a pro only a few hours. Small business owners often hire freelance bookkeepers, accountants, contract lawyers, web designers, and marketing assistants to help them run their businesses. They may only need to work a few hours each month to help you keep your business organized and on track.

7. Consider software developer insurance

Mistakes happen, and they could set a project back by hours, days, or even weeks. You may already take steps to check and test your work so that this doesn’t happen. However, if an error slips through, setting things right might mean more than just rewriting code. You could lose valuable time moving money around, defending your professional reputation, and taking other steps to safeguard your future business.

Software developer insurance—our name for the different types of coverage a software developer might consider—can help protect your business and your productivity. Instead of worrying if errors in your work, missed deadlines, or broken equipment might ruin your small business, you can focus on the task at hand. Software developer insurance provides crucial peace of mind that should an expensive claim or lawsuit come your way, you’ll be able to cover the cost with minimal disruption to your business.

BizInsure makes it easy and quick to find software developer insurance for your small business. We use tech to simplify the process of buying business insurance and create greater pricing transparency for small businesses.

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