If you’re reading this, I assume most of your hours are spent staring at an IDE, coding away. What about the times when you’re not building shiny new features. If you’re lucky enough, then you’re going to have a couple of hours of free time every now and then. What should you use that time for ? So many possibilities. If you want to become a better programmer, then these few hours can be incredibly valuable. I’m here to help you get the most out of that time.

Tinker with your process

This assumes you have a process you follow through your day. If you don’t have a process, build one. A good starting point is the organization process It doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s not going to be perfect. That’s OK. A good process should be a checklist you go through for every piece of work.

What makes a process useful is that it can be improved. So start with something, anything. Now think about your process. Did you miss anything lately? Did you break anything? Does your work take longer than expected ? Did you find yourself waiting for others for extended periods of time? These are all questions you should ask yourself, and improve your process to prevent that! Sticking to a process is hard work, however, it’s worth it!

Read around

Reading is an important part of your work. You should not underestimate the value of information. The world of programming is in constant shift. New frameworks, patterns and technologies emerge every day. If you want to be a good programmer, you should keep yourself up to date with the latest trends. The best way to do that is to read around.

You should, at least, read about the frameworks you’re using. Become a guru on the frameworks you’re using. Look at the documentation. How is everyone else using that framework ? Is there anything you can learn from them ? Reading the source code can be incredibly valuable at times. Take your pick, but get to work!

Think about dependencies

What is the next thing you’re going to work on and why ? More than once, I have started on a ticket only to find out there are hidden dependencies required, assets that I needed (which take forever to track down and acquire). Think about the next piece of work and the following ones. Is there anything you should do now to save yourself some time in the future ? There are lots of little things that have the potential of costing you lots of time later down the road. The earlier you think about them, the easier your life is going to be. And who doesn’t like an easy life?!

Think about potential issues

The hallmark of a good programmer is the ability to think about the bigger picture, not just what you’re working on at the moment. How does what you’re working on now fit into the whole project? Is the work you’re doing now going to cause any integration issues. I’ll give you a spoiler: Most of the problems with software can be found at the joints. What external services does your ticket (and project for that matter) depend on ? What happens if that service is down, or slow, or wrong or any of the myriad of possible ways of things to go wrong with a service. Catch them early and not only you’ll save yourself a headache (and possibly an embarrassment when the project goes live) and you will prove yourself as an awesome programmer. Two birds with one stone.

In conclusion, if you find yourself with some time on your hands, don’t waste it, use that time to improve yourself, like a knight sharpening its sword before a battle (I always wanted to say that!). Thse thins are valuable in the long run. Instead of stealing some moments whenever you have them, try to make them. Take a break from writing code and improve yourself. You’re going to be better at it! Your project is going to benefit! Everybody wins!

What do you usually do when you have a bit of free time on your hands ?

L.E. As with everything in life, common sense should prevail. This does not mean you should drop important work when important work needs to be done, nor does it mean you should completely abandon your other hobbies and focus on programming 24/7. If you need a break from work, you should take a break!