Here are the 9 things that I do every day to boost my productivity as a software engineer:

Being productive is a state of mind. No matter how much you hustle every day there will always be a few things pending or undone and we won't feel quite good about that. Hence in order to achieve optimal productivity, we need to do things that fill us with ecstasy and we feel content at the end of the day. Here are some of the things that I try to do daily, (though I miss out on a few sometimes)in my virtual working environment -

• Clean eating 🍽: The first thought on your mind- How does this even matter? Well, as soon as we start our day we usually get bombarded with calls, messages, emails, requests, and so on. And it is increasingly important to maintain our calm and focus while we deal with each of them. Our brains would need a steady source of fuel while we firefight with all of these. Hence, we should avoid anything that spikes our blood glucose levels and makes us go jittery (I usually, ditch the morning caffeine, am not a coffee person either, and I always stay away from refined food). The best bet is to power yourself with complex carbs with a bit of protein, fiber, and a tinge of fats too.

• To-do lists 📝: I keep three different lists of things to do: weekly, biweekly, and daily. How does that help? Well, I can always create smaller subsets of to-dos from larger lists that gives a clear vision, a roadmap, and a direction for me to follow as I set my monthly goals. If this seems excessive, at the very least begin with a weekly checklist and organize your daily tasks around it. I can't put into words how happy it makes me feel to cross those things off my weekly list on the weekends.

• Batching tasks & implement the Pomodoro technique : Multi-tasking is not always taken in a good sense due to its exhaustive capabilities. But we can still multi-task on things that have the same context and in that way can get a lot more done by finishing off a whole bunch of “similar effort-taking” tasks. During my work hours, I set aside 2 Pomodoros (=50 mins) to complete all the pending 2–3 code reviews or maybe some documentation updates as well as writing meeting minutes. Doing such related tasks in a certain order and in a set time period gives a huge kick of satisfaction and keeps away from piling up work.

• Engage more in meetings 🤝: All of us are sick and tired of meetings, especially in a WFH environment. But here’s the hack - try to interact and engage more than often in any meeting and take notes. Me, I always attend any meeting to ask questions or take notes for my own action items. Why does this make me more productive? - the point is to make your presence felt and appear more proactive. Being present, attentive, and focused instantly lifts up our mood and our sense of accomplishment. It works, do try it out.

• Sweat It Out 🦾: There’s no need for a High-intensity workout every day, although I am personally a fan of HIIT workouts and calisthenics. Many times, a simple, brisk walk can work wonders for us. Scientifically speaking, I just want to pump oxygen into my brain cells to release endorphins that make me feel good. As a result of that, the day seems to be productive anyway.😍

• Read, read and repeat📚: I was an avid reader of non-fiction books. Of late, the daily rate of consumption of information has become so high that I don’t feel like reading books every day. I try to grab a few during the weekends and skim through them. Otherwise, on my work days, I try to set aside some timed focus periods like 30 mins or so to read setting a target of 15 pages every day. All about trying to broaden the mental horizons from all angles and on various topics to feel more confident at the end of the day. (you can let me know in the comments if you want to know my list of personal favorite books☺️)

• Let your creative juices flow 🖌: Try something new. Everyday? Nope- not possible. Well, it can be depending on how can you plan that. I have discovered that plain and simple writing/journaling could spark a lot of ideas around how can I become 1% better every single day. (Honestly, this post is an outcome of that). I recently started my Youtube channel - Code With Ease to become a part of the creator community and try my hand at how creatively and effectively I can create easy-to-grasp, quality content.

• Spend time with family 👨‍👨‍👧‍👧: the most underrated activity throughout the day but extremely important. A few hours during my evenings are reserved for the same where we share thoughts and ideas, watch TV, and have dinner together. Simple things yet have a monumental impact on how our day wraps up.

• Talk to yourself 🧘🏻: After a full day of work, we do encounter multiple problems, challenges, and issues that keep on piling up and increase stress and anxiety. I try to remove all kinds of mental blocks by talking to myself leveraging the actual “me-time” at least thrice a week, in a place free of distractions. It’s a beautiful feeling to simply watch your thoughts flow and interact with a few of them to analyze and introspect on a deeper level.

Looking forward to knowing in the comments below, how many of the above points do you guys enjoy doing every day? You could also add a few more from your “productive” schedule.

Thanks for reading ☺️