
Ask HN: Best methods and tools for becoming more productive? - ap22213
I&#x27;d say that I&#x27;m relatively effective and productive, but I&#x27;d like to step up my game to the next level.  What are some methods, techniques, libraries, and tools that I can use to become a wildly effective software developer?<p>Lately, I&#x27;ve been using a lot of:<p>Java 8
- IntelliJ, Gradle<p>Python 2.7 &#x2F; 3.4
- Anaconda, PyStorm, Jupyter<p>JavaScript (TypeScript)
- WebStorm, Node 4.2, Angular, Yo<p>Linux Mint
- Shell, Bash, Nano (I know - I&#x27;ve just forgotten all my vim)<p>Firefox &#x2F; Chrome
- Multifox, TabGroups, Postman<p>AWS
- cli, web console, custom JS scripts via SDK<p>Apache Spark<p>Databases
- DataGrip, Redshift &#x2F; Aurora (MySQL) &#x2F; Postgres, Mongo, Dynamo<p>Misc. 
- Google Apps, Slack, Jira<p>My problems are generally with managing a lot of open tabs, windows, projects, etc.
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anarazel
Personally the biggest productivity win was to

a) more regularly do some fun sport (bouldering for me). Not doing any
conscious work related thinking a couple times a week helps to be effective,
being healthier as well.

b) Separate private and work (including technical hobbies) helps me a lot.
It's something I struggle doing well, because I _like_ working lots. But
everytime I let things slip more than a few days I do notice getting less
productive. That does include taking holidays often enough, best without a
computer and a phone.

c) Managing interruptions. I.e. try to keep meetings to a specific time of the
day, with most of the rest being uninterrupted. Personally I put them in the
evening because I collaborate with west coast people, from Europe. Don't read
emails while working on other things, instead process them when you're
interrupted anyways; in the morning, after lunch, before stopping the day.

d) Try to keep a significant portion of your work day on fun stuff.

I know, thats not technical. But I think a lot of us are prone to
overestimating the effect minor tooling differences have, and underestimate
the rest.

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bikamonki
My proven tools: \- Facebook's logout button \- Gmail's logout button \-
Phone's airplane mode button \- Must-complete-no-matter-what daily to do list
\- Meetings/calls scheduled for first thing in the morning or last thing in
the afternoon \- Power nap

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brudgers
I think any change has to be relative to your current way of working.

How are you measuring productivity?

There are a lot of tools in the list, what _methods_ are you using?

