Obvious Mistakes Every Junior Developer Should Avoid
Void⚡

Void⚡ @codewithvoid

About: Senior Dev

Joined:
Nov 5, 2022

Obvious Mistakes Every Junior Developer Should Avoid

Publish Date: Feb 14 '23
40 17

Mistake every developer should avoid

I asked tech twitter to share ONE mistake they wish they had avoided in their developer journey. I have documented the top responses in this article. Hope these will be helpful — especially for beginner devleopers.

Let's dive in! 🚀

TL;DR

Overwhelming yourself 😟

In tech there is always:

A new library
A new framework
A new buzz word

…to overwhelm you.

It’s ok to not know everything.

Learn to take things 1 at a time.

Setting unrealistic goals 🎯

No, you can’t learn JavaScript in 1 month.

Or Python. Or Kubernetes.

You want accomplishment, but you will get anxiety.

Instead:

Set small goals. Have low expectations.

And scale slowly as you gain momentum.

Not tracking progress 📈

Measuring progress doesn’t come naturally.

But, without it you will reach nowhere.

Track finished projects.
Track time taken for tasks.
Track happiness levels.

Remember:

You can only improve what you measure.

Not being consistent 🗓️

If you want to be good at something,

you need to stick to it.

Long term consistency > Short term intensity.

Don’t overcomplicate it.

Start today. Repeat tomorrow.

Not taking breaks ☕

Working without breaks leads to burnout.

So, disconnect from work.

Often.

Listen to music
Go for a walk
Talk to your friend.

Make time to recharge.

Wrapping up 📝

Hope you will learn from these mistakes and avoid them in your career.

If you liked this post, follow me for more of these. 🙂

Share a mistake that you wish you had avoided. Would love to hear it. 👇

Comments 17 total

  • Anthony Fung
    Anthony FungFeb 14, 2023

    Not tracking progress is a good one.

    I'm not new to this game anymore, but there are some days when I just feel that I haven't accomplished anything. But then when I look back over e.g. the past week, I find that I've accomplished more than I realised.

    Another tip: keep a high level daily work diary - just one liners on what you've done. Compile it compile it into a weekly block at the end of the week. Re-read it after a month.

    • Void⚡
      Void⚡Feb 15, 2023

      Great tip. Thanks for sharing Anthony.

  • Si Dunn
    Si DunnFeb 15, 2023

    Excellent advice. Thanks for posting this!

    • Void⚡
      Void⚡Feb 15, 2023

      Thanks for reading :)

  • Thanushkanth Shan
    Thanushkanth ShanFeb 15, 2023

    Below points are not mistakes to avoid but to follow as J.Dev (Correct me If I'm wrong)

    1. "Keep It Simple". Eventually it will get complicate when you finish your project so make sure solve your small tasks simple way as possible.
    2. "Follow Best Practices".
  • Viktoria Bors-Pajuste
    Viktoria Bors-PajusteFeb 15, 2023

    Great post! Honestly for me the hardest is taking breaks… 😕

    I can get “lost” in a task so deep and not standing up from the table for hours… Really bad “habit”.

    Any idea how to force myself to take breaks? (I tried to put alarm to take breaks in every hour but unfortunately I know how to ignore it.. 🙈)

    • Anthony Fung
      Anthony FungFeb 15, 2023

      I was going to suggest the Pomodoro technique (work for ~25 mins, break for ~5), but it'll be more challenging if you ignore the alarm.

      You could always try setting a device in another room to play a really annoying sound or song every so often - that way you have to walk away. Not so great if you're in an open plan office though :)

      • Void⚡
        Void⚡Feb 16, 2023

        Yes, pomodoro is a great way to structure your work sessions.

    • Void⚡
      Void⚡Feb 16, 2023

      Haha..try keeping the alarm across the room to ensure you have to get up and switch it off 😀. The other way is to have an accountability partner who keeps a check on you taking regular breaks. Also, you can start maintaining successful breaks streak for added motivation.

      I believe this will be required for a short time as you will see results of taking breaks pretty soon. Best of luck.

      • Viktoria Bors-Pajuste
        Viktoria Bors-PajusteFeb 17, 2023

        Thanks a bunch for the advice. Luckily I work from home so I can put lot of annoying alarms all over the house to get my butt out from the chair :) I am going to try it next week. Wish me luck!"

  • Prafulla Raichurkar
    Prafulla RaichurkarFeb 18, 2023

    Nice Thread, I would like to add to the below -

    1. Never just watch a tutorial, type along and follow it along to be better. [The above trick will help you alot if you are someone who struggles with syntax]
    • Void⚡
      Void⚡Feb 18, 2023

      Thanks Prafulla. Great add 👍.

  • adhanaAshu
    adhanaAshu Feb 19, 2023

    What is the best way to stay consistent and track your progress ? anything special or just spreadsheets

    • Void⚡
      Void⚡Feb 20, 2023

      You can check my blogpost on consistency here

  • Paul Gift Chibueze
    Paul Gift ChibuezeFeb 20, 2023

    'Set small goals'..... This I'm guilty of.
    Hopefully I'll learn to take things easy

    • Void⚡
      Void⚡Feb 20, 2023

      And that's ok. Try making it smaller than you think is necessary.

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