Six Months to Being a Better Dev?

Adam Machanic — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 23:22:00 GMT

So just like poor Hugo, I've been tagged by the menacing Denis, asked to describe the steps I will take to becoming a better developer over the next six months.

I gave this some thought, and decided that I won't commit to reading any more technical books--I have a huge shelf of books I've already read or am halfway through. And I won't commit to posting any more blog posts--I will try to post more, but no guarantees. And I won't study anything new or do anything at all with technology.

No, instead I'm going to go the other way entirely. I've buried myself far too deeply in the study of software development over the past few years, and I believe that if you're too obsessed with a single topic that you're going to end up either burned out or with tunnel vision. Luckily I think I've narrowly avoided both so far, but I don't want to risk getting there. So to become a better developer, I'm going to do the following:

Start going back to the gym. I realized the other day that it's been over a year, and I've managed to pack on about 10 pounds as a result. Disgraceful.
Start working with music again. I have thousands of dollars of gear sitting right next to me as I type, and it has grown dusty with disuse. How sad is that?
Read one non-technical book a month. I haven't read a novel for over two years, because I've had my head buried in database books. I'm going to change that. I just got a copy of Freakonomics and I'm going to start there. Not fiction, but at least it's not technical.
Start homebrewing again. Another hobby of mine that I have a bunch of equipment for, and it's sitting there gathering dust. And I'll be thirsty after all of those gym visits...

I hypothesize that by increasing the non-technical influences in my life I will return to development with greater vigor and more focus, and therefore will be a better developer. I'll let you know how it turns out.

No tags, I'm going to let this one die right here. But Denis, watch out. Next time something like this crosses my path you're it.

Adam Machanic : Better Developer

Six Months to Being a Better Dev?