An effective source code editor is the foundation of developer productivity. Although there are many excellent options available, it can be difficult to choose which is the ideal one because it depends on your needs and goals. It's worthwhile to experiment with various code editors to determine which one best suits your workflow. The following are some crucial considerations…

• Which programming language or languages you are employing. You require a code editor with syntax highlighting for the required languages (at least as a plugin). In addition to syntax highlighting for programming languages, several code editors also include syntax highlighting for well-known technologies like React.
• If the environment of themes and plugins for your selected code editor is sufficient and offers the capabilities you require (for instance, a high contrast theme if you have low vision).
• Built-in Git capabilities might be helpful if you upload your work to a platform for sharing code, like GitHub or Bitbucket. For instance, Visual Studio Code enables direct GitHub commits without requiring you to exit the editor.
• It's also a good idea to choose a code editor that allows you to create or import code snippets and/or keyboard shortcuts if you want to use them.

2. START WITH THE MOST DIFFICULT TASK EVERY DAY

Developers sometimes procrastinate since it's simple to get bogged down in daily responsibilities, especially if you operate as a freelancer and are responsible for setting your own deadlines. As a result, it regularly happens that despite working all day, you come to the realisation that you didn't really accomplish much. If you build a hierarchy of daily chores and start with the most challenging task each day, rather than multitasking, you can avoid that.

Although multitasking had long been regarded as advantageous, it has since become clear that most people are not suited to it. Only 2% of people are skilled at multitasking, according to research, and the remaining 80% can lose up to 40% of their productivity as a result. Therefore, if you are one of the 2 percent, maintain multitasking; otherwise, prioritise your duties and concentrate on just one item at a time.

3. SCHEDULE YOUR TASKS IN ADVANCE

Making a detailed schedule for your work can also greatly improve your productivity. You may either set up workflows using a tool like Trello or create task lists and mark off finished activities using to-do applications like Wunderlist and Todoist. These days, you have a tonne of wonderful alternatives for combining various productivity apps, like Zapier and IFTTT (If This Then That).

You'll also need to experiment with task scheduling and consider what tools you'll actually require. It is possible to manage work using multiple apps, but there is a risk involved in using too many tools at once. In some circumstances, an excess of complexity can even result in decreased output.

4. TRACK YOUR WORKING HOURS

Even while not everyone enjoys keeping track of their working hours, if you struggle with time management, using a time tracking tool can be very beneficial. Because you can monitor potential distractions by seeing how you spend your time during the day, time tracking can enhance productivity. If you work as a freelancer, time trackers can also come in quite handy because they allow you to bill your customers on an hourly basis.

5. AUTOMATE REPETITIVE TASKS

The ability to automate repetitive processes is becoming a need for developers. DevOps (the nexus of development and operations), which is all about automation, is currently all the rage, which is not a coincidence. Although you won't need much automation during the development stage, there are a lot of repetitive processes involved in getting your development code ready for production.

For instance, as a frontend developer, you can utilise a task runner to have common activities like minification, image optimization, auto-prefixing, and others carried out automatically on your code. Although we just published an article on the top build tools for front-end developers, there are also a tonne of excellent back-end programming alternatives that are well worth looking into.

6. USE THE COMMAND LINE

It's a good idea to develop the habit of using the command line in your regular workflow in addition to automating activities. First, switching from a GUI to a CLI (Command Line Interface) will greatly speed up your productivity (Graphical User Interface). For instance, to expedite WordPress development and maintenance, here is a guide on how to set up the WordPress CLI. Second, being able to utilise CLI commands safely is a key programming ability that can be used to many other aspects of your job.

7. ELIMINATE DISTRACTIONS

The biggest enemy of productivity is distraction, so you need to find a strategy to reduce it as much as you can. They are unfortunately quite sly, making it very difficult to trap them. This is primarily because they frequently don't initially appear to be a distraction.

If you spend too much time on items that could be considered work-related, like checking your email hourly, viewing a new tutorial video on YouTube, or conversing with coworkers on Slack, you may find that you haven't actually achieved that much by the end of the day.

As a result, you must avoid distractions at all costs and take all reasonable safety measures. You might decide to turn off Slack notifications while working, limit how often you check your emails, or block websites that you visit frequently that are distracting.