When I thought about all of the conversations I’ve ever had with people about surviving the grind of enterprise software development, several themes emerged. My goal is to complete a series of articles that cover these themes. Unfortunately, each article takes several hours of dedicated time to draft, edit, proof, and publish; so I’m getting to these when I can. If you want me a write an articles, post a common on that article and I’ll move it up in my priority list.

Productivity

• Setting the stage for a productive day
• How to be productive during your commute
• Learning to focus
• The mental health benefits of being productive
• Knowing what you need to be productive
• Collaboration comes at a cost
• Techniques for avoiding interruptions
• Techniques to maximize sleep quality
• Boosting afternoon productivity by taking walks
• The need for a designated quiet room
• When estimation is counterproductive
• Concluding your day with a plan for tomorrow

Stress

• ​Knowing when to take a break
• Coping with constant deadline pressure
• How your stress level impacts others
• The danger of using to-do lists
• Knowing when to compromise
• ​Detecting and neutralizing coworker anxiety
• Calming aggressive coworkers
• Tuning your communication to the situation
• Surviving the “grinding” phase of a project
• Don’t shy away from verbal combat
• How to know if you are overreacting
• What to do when people want you to fail

Career

• Don’t be a fungible resource
• Emotionality erodes credibility
• Self-assessing if you are a team player
• Why your idea got shot down
• Why you didn’t get promoted
• ​Your title means nothing
• A “proven track record” means nothing
• The danger of “staying in your lane”
• A reality check for job seekers
• How to assess your level of expertise
• Why you never got an interview
• ​Etiquette rules for starting a new job