Time Management for Web Developers is crucial. No matter whether we attach a price tag to it or not, time is valuable to all. But statistics revealed that after every 8 minutes, we are interrupted by something.
Just think about it: you’re your own boss. Nobody tells you what to do and what not to do; you can do whatever you like.
And that’s the real challenge.
We, as web developers, know about the obstacles you might find in time management. Let’s get to them and how to overcome them!
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If you are among those who spend a tremendous amount of time stressing about not having adequate time to complete your assigned projects, then read our most followed time management tips exclusive for developers.
Highly Effective Time Management Tips For Today’s Developers
1 Planning Comes First
Believe it or not, correctly planned things can produce amazing results. If you are a web developer, there is no place for lazy planning. For most people, planning skills come naturally, but some people really need to develop them to identify what should be their next priority really is.
Planning ahead will make your week much more comfortable as you don’t need to worry constantly about what needs to be done first.
Developing realistic short term and long term goals and giving yourself a time limit is a simple strategy that really works well for all. Create a to-do list using pen and paper or just use your smartphone device. Pick whatever suits you.
2 Break Things Down Into Pocket-Size Tasks
Anybody will be stressed down if a large project lands on their plate unexpectedly. Relax! The feeling of being overwhelmed is familiar.
Breaking the project into small and manageable tasks and numbering them in order of priority will remove stress from big projects.
While most people avoid difficult tasks, we advise you to take this challenge. Break your entire project into tiny deliverables and complete the easy ones as soon as possible. Save time with WordPress design workflow, and resolve project handoff issues. From signing an agreement with the client to theme selection and from fixing bugs to site maintenance, everything should be included in your grand workflow.
3 Break the Cycle of Distraction
We all know how distraction looks like today. The answer is Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Skype, and Email, etc. All the notifications popping up on your devices are giving you a hard time focusing on the project at hand.
If you want to manage your time efficiently, you need to get rid of your bad habit of keeping an eye on your phone. It only takes five minutes to take a follow-up with a client over email. Remember that professional clients are super-busy, and sending them emails more than three times a day will make you annoying.
Clean up your notifications (at night or start of the day), declutter your desk, turn off unnecessary devices around, and mute social media apps.
4 Track Your Time
Most web designers, who are poor at planning, track themselves. You can track whatever you are doing on a notepad or an excel sheet. This track-time technique will help you to found frequent interruptions, and you will quickly figure out where the most time has gone. There are several free online time tracking time management tools available on the internet that you can use.
A lot of developers use GitHub, an online code hosting tool that makes version control stress-free. With this tool, you can track your code as well as the changes on your code, especially for big projects like WordPress. Instead of working on the official source code, a good version control system like GitHub allows you to duplicate some part of the source code you want to work on through techniques like merging and branching.
5 Good is Better Than Perfect
If you are someone who intends to set their bar way too high, we would like to tell you that unattainable and inflexible are not necessarily the secret to discuss.
On the flip side, it doesn’t mean doing a mediocre job or delivering poor quality work. Instead of putting all the time in making your shopping website appealing, divide your attention to all the aspects of a website, including securing your E-commerce website, which is often neglected.
Make sure you implement multi-factor authentication and make it harder for fraudsters to gain access to your site.
We believe that good enough will allow you to get the job done on time. But many artists and web designers are obsessed with the notion of perfectionism, which is just an illusion that impairs your performance.
Get the job done on time, and you always have the option to add more features later.
6 Give Yourself A Break to Loosen Up
Almost all web developers feel overworked. Don’t do it; it’s useless. Our body needs a balanced diet and rest to function, productively physically and mentally. Working 24 hours a day and sometimes, even more than this, will lead to irreversible health issues. Make sure your brain is well-rested before switching on your devices.
Many web development experts personally use the Pomodoro technique as a time management method. There are so many free “Pomodoro” timer apps available on the internet that you can try to keep yourself focused and fresh.
So how does this technique work?
You create a list of tasks for the day, and set a timer of 25 minutes and work without any distractions on your task. As the time limit is over, you can give yourself a 5-minute break. Taking a few small coffees and snack breaks during the day will improve your performance when you get back to work.
7 Learn To Say No
It’s tempting for web developers to become a ‘Yes’ man, especially when they receive a business pitch. But be mindful of how much work you can deliver within the specified time. You cannot make everyone happy at the same time. So, it’s always better to say no in a polite tone without a guilty feeling instead of damaging your relationships.
8 Figure Out A New Technique
Time management isn’t a one-size-fits-all deal. Likely, some of the approaches listed here might not work for you. You must not hang up on a particular method. Try new tricks, identify the time of the day that you’re most active.
Web developers always look for new time management ways exclusively by taking content support on platforms like Academist Help and Australian Master to deliver better results to their clients.
9 Don’t Forget To Reward Yourself
Praising yourself is a good thing. After all, we all work for a return, and that’s why we work for others than for ourselves.
People procrastinate less and accomplish their goals sooner when they promise themself a reward.
For instance, you can enjoy a relaxing massage in a spa or watch an exciting movie on Netflix when you finish developing a new site or feature.
The Bottom Line
In our highly crazy fast-paced lives, we are always running out of time. We hope that our collection of tips about time management for web developers will help you to reduce the time spent on every project, and you will do more of a task in less time.
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