All great and good computer professionals I have come across over time are very successful and that is because they value their time more than gold, but still, many of them have some bad behaviour they need to stop. Many professionals waste their time, but they don’t know because of some bad behaviours, doing these things, make them feel they are working but the truth is they spend unnecessary time on a project. These behaviours are discussed as follows.
1. PRIDE
Like the saying goes no man is an island on his own, many computer professionals have this belief they can do it all themselves, but the truth is they get stuck while working on a project, especially a new project. Many of them do not like to look for help and it's a bad habit. The best way out is after trying yourself the next task should be to search for it on the internet or seek outside help. No one can solve all problems. If you can’t solve a problem, sourcing for an external source is never a bad idea and doesn’t reduce your value as a professional.
2. COPYING AND PASTING
Many professionals especially programmers / developers copy and paste so many codes into their work. I was with a friend sometimes and I noticed a lot of copy and paste work into his project, then I asked is this how coding works that it looks so easy and the next question I asked was what the purpose of that code in his work and he is said he doesn’t know. Less than a week down a lot of errors and bugs started popping up in his work after running the code. Copying and pasting is not a bad idea, but the problem happens when a developer copy and paste without understanding it at all. This is a time-wasting habit; it can waste hours of your time. Every code has a purpose. When you copy a code from other sources without understanding it, you don’t know the full purpose of it.
3. FEW COMMENTS
Many have this time-wasting habit of not taking time to write a meaningful comment, they are always so lazy and always in a rush to move on to the next. The truth remains months down the line they would have to spend more time figuring out their own written codes. It takes a minute or two to write a meaningful comment and this can help to avoid unnecessary time wasting in future.
4. NOT USING IN- BUILT FUNCTIONS
In-Built functions are developed for a reason, it’s developed to save developer’s time and many more. 99 out of 100 times, a built-in function will perform better than your developed function. So, don’t waste time. If you love to develop things on your own, develop a side project or something else. And search on the internet or external sources, if you think there might be a built-in function for your solution.
5. PERFECTIONISM
To be a perfectionist is not a bad thing, in fact it’s a good habit but not when you are given a time frame to work with. Trying to be a perfectionist when you are given a time frame is time wasting. Everyone likes a perfect job but when there is a deadline to work with avoid been a perfectionist because it wastes not only your time but the time of other end users. Getting a good code that works fine, is better than trying to perfect your own code most especially when you are given a time frame to work with.
REFERENCES
· https://levelup.gitconnected.com/5-time-wasting-habits-of-programmers-6251c643e1d2
· https://dzone.com/articles/10-mistakes-beginner-programmers-make
