I’ve been a frontend developer at Palantir for the past 5+ years.

In this post, I’ll share habits that helped me go from overwhelmed junior dev to confident senior dev.

Ready?

Let’s get started! 🎉

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Habit #1: Educate yourself outside of work

If you’re not learning outside of work, you’re falling behind.

Even if you have the best employer in the world, your education is your responsibility.

So, at least once every 2–4 weeks:

• Pick up books like The Pragmatic Programmer, Effective TypeScript, or Advanced React

• Read blog posts from experts like Matt Pocock (Total TypeScript), Josh Comeau (joshwcomeau.com), Kent C. Dodds (Epic React), etc.

• Watch courses to review your basics (Udemy, FrontendMasters, etc.)

The more you learn, the more efficient you’ll be at work.

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Habit #2: Work on different projects and skills every month

The worst thing that can happen to a frontend dev?

👉 Getting stale.

Especially in the age of AI.

Working on the same type of project over and over slows your growth.

Why?

• You have fewer tools to solve problems

• You get less flexible and adaptable

• You become easier to replace

Try new things every month. If you can’t at work, explore with side projects.

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Habit #3: Get enough rest

The less sleep I get, the more bugs I ship 😅.

Your brain needs rest. And what that looks like depends on you.

But one thing’s for sure: you can’t cheat sleep.

Getting enough rest keeps your mind sharp and your code cleaner.

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Habit #4: Stay in touch with what’s happening in the frontend world

I still see devs who ignore AI (and other new tech trends).

This breaks my heart 🥲.

Most devs who ignore change will eventually get replaced by it.

You don’t need to jump on every trend. You don’t need to use the latest framework.

But you do need to stay aware. Pay attention. Adapt when it makes sense.

Otherwise? You’ll slowly become obsolete.

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Habit #5: Review code regularly

Code reviews are underrated 🙂.

Not just for the code author, but for you.

I’ve learned countless patterns and tricks just by reviewing code.

It’s a simple way to grow while helping your teammates.

No access to reviews at work? Browse open-source projects on GitHub and read PRs.

💡 Check out these examples of large, production-grade open-source React apps.

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Habit #6: Teach back what you learn

“If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.” — Albert Einstein

Teaching forces you to understand things deeply.

I’ve often thought I knew something—until I tried to explain it.

That’s when I realize I don’t actually get it yet.

Teaching is a shortcut to mastery.

• Run internal sessions at work.

• Write on a blog.

• Record short videos.

Anything works 😉.

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Habit #7: Avoid tutorials and copy/pasting

Tutorials are fine—in small doses.

But they quickly become a way to avoid learning, not to encourage it.

Instead of binge-watching, try to build something. Use tutorials only when you’re stuck.

Same with copy/pasting code.

If you don’t understand what you’re pasting, you won’t remember it. And you’ll keep repeating the cycle.

💡 Quick tip: if it’s a piece of code you use often but don’t want to memorize, save it as a snippet (like in VS Code snippets).

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Summary

Becoming a great frontend dev takes time.

But these 7 small habits can make a huge difference over the long run.

What’s next?

Pick just one—and try it this week 🙂.

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