My presentation to new interns at Windward. It's not pretty, but it is very useful.

1. Tricks & Tips
How to be a more productive developer

2. If I Could Do 1 Thing
• Eliminate interruptions
• If left undisturbed, programmers will work for over 4 hours straight.
• A 30 second interruption is a 45 minute hit.
• Turn off IM
• Do not open facebook
• Close email or set to offline
• When online, turn off all notifications when email comes in
• Unplug phone (landline)
• Turn off ring & vibrate on cell phone

3. Eliminate Distractions
• Do not listen to music – it blocks finding the clever solution
• Don’t read email in the morning, wait till lunch
• Hide clock on taskbar
• Do not work on “something else” during a compile
• Don’t multi-task – everyone sucks at it
• If you have multiple projects, complete one then start the next
• For secondary projects, restrict when you work on them

4. The Best Programmers are…
• Lazy
• Find the quickest/easiest solution.
• Ask others how to solve the problem.
• Do as little as possible.
• Provide a C+ solution when appropriate. Not everything deserves an A+.
• Intense Focus
• Issac Newton’s strength was his focus, others were as smart
• K.I.S.S.
• Write code that is elegant in its simplicity
• If you can’t think of a clean solution, go swimming

5. Programming
• TRAPs
• if (log.IsDebugEnabled)
• Set debugger to break on all exceptions
• Can’t do this in Java – the runtime throws tons of exceptions.
• Let Google, StackOverflow, & MSDN do your work for you.
• If you can’t find an answer – ask.

6. Unit Tests
• Not everything deserves a unit test
• Not every unit tests deserves to be comprehensive
• On a bug
• Write the test (it fails)
• Fix the bug.
• Run the test (it passes)

7. Misc
• When something occurs to you, write it down instantly.
• When you leave each evening, leave yourself a note of where you are
for the next morning.
• When kicked down, the trick is to get back up and continue.
• Listen first, talk second.
• “Have you considered…” works much better than “We should…”
• When you screw up – say “I’m Sorry.”