Top 10 Tips to Fasten Your Software Developer Workflow (Without Selling Your Soul to AI)

Let’s be real — writing software isn’t always about being “productive.” Half the time it’s Stack Overflow, the other half it’s deleting semicolons in frustration. But hey, you're here because you want to tighten your workflow, and I’m here to help you do that without becoming a robot or regurgitating LinkedIn clichés.

So, let's slice through the noise and dive into 10 battle-tested tips to make your workflow so efficient, even your past self would be jealous.

1. Automate the Boring Stuff (Seriously, automate it)

If you’re doing it more than twice — script it.

Whether it’s setting up a dev environment, renaming files, or formatting code, just make a script. Stop doing things manually like it's 1999.

Example:
Instead of spinning up your local backend, frontend, and database manually, use a make start command or a bash script. Or go cooler — use a Procfile and something like foreman.

# start.sh
#!/bin/bash
cd backend && npm run dev &
cd ../frontend && npm start &

Then just bash start.sh and you're flying.

2. Master Your Editor like a Super Saiyan

I don’t care if you use VS Code, Vim, Emacs (okay, wow), or JetBrains — know it inside out. Learn the shortcuts. Set up extensions. Configure themes like your life depends on it.

Example:

VS Code: Use Cmd + Shift + L to select all matching text.
Vim: :w !sudo tee % — save a file as root like a boss.

Spend an hour learning your editor. Save 100 hours later. Time travel, baby.

3. Stop Writing Boilerplate — Use Snippets

Still writing your React component from scratch every time?

Behold: user snippets.

In VS Code:

"React Functional Component": {
  "prefix": "rfc",
  "body": [
    "import React from 'react';",
    "",
    "const $1 = () => {",
    "  return (",
    "    <div>",
    "      $2",
    "    </div>",
    "  );",
    "};",
    "",
    "export default $1;"
  ],
  "description": "Create a React functional component"
}

Next time you type rfc, boom. You just saved 30 seconds and two eye-rolls.

4. Learn Your Terminal Like It's a Video Game

The terminal isn't just black and white letters — it's a full-blown productivity playground.

Level up with:

fzf — fuzzy file finding.
z — jump to directories based on usage.
tmux — sessions that never die.
Aliases — the low-key cheat codes of bash/zsh.

alias gs='git status'
alias gc='git commit -m'
alias serve='python3 -m http.server'

Congratulations, you just became 23% cooler.

5. Git Like You Mean It

Git is not a mysterious deity. It’s your friend (who happens to be emotionally unstable).

Work smarter:

Use git stash like a Post-it note for messy work.
Use branches aggressively. Treat main like a VIP section.
git commit --amend is your second chance at a good first impression.

Also, please, for the love of clean diffs, use .gitignore.

6. Be Lazy with Intention: Use Linting + Formatting

Let tools babysit your code style, so your brain can focus on logic and naming things poorly.

Install once, forget forever:

Prettier for formatting.
ESLint, Flake8, or RuboCop for linting.

Bonus: Automate this with pre-commit hooks using Husky or pre-commit.

npm install husky --save-dev
npx husky install

You get prettier code, and nobody has to argue about spaces vs tabs ever again. Peace on Earth.

7. Kill the Notification Hydra

Slack, Teams, Gmail, YouTube, that one weird browser tab from last week — all competing for your brain.

Fix it:

Schedule Do Not Disturb blocks.
Use browser extensions like LeechBlock.
Mute every Slack channel except the one where people yell when prod dies.

Flow state is real. Guard it like a dragon hoards gold.

8. Use a Second Brain (Your Actual Brain is Tired)

You’re not going to remember that random API endpoint or that one bash command you Googled three times last week.

Write it down. Somewhere. Anywhere.

Use:

Obsidian for markdown-based notes
Notion if you like pretty pages
Even a scratch.md file in your repo

Just don’t trust your brain, it’s busy worrying about semicolon placement.

9. Refactor Mercilessly (But Like, After It Works)

Get things working, then make it beautiful.

First commit: init or it works lol
Second commit: refactor: cleaned up mess from 1am
Third commit: fix: broke everything during cleanup

Jokes aside, good refactoring is where the real polish happens. Don’t be afraid to:

Break things into smaller functions.
Rename poorly named stuff (we see you, final_final_final2.js).
Delete dead code. If it’s important, Git remembers.

10. Learn to Say “No” to Yak Shaving

What’s Yak Shaving? It’s when you start fixing a CSS bug and somehow end up configuring your system clock or rewriting your build process.

Don’t do it.

Practice restraint. You don’t need to optimize everything right now. If it’s not stopping you from shipping, write it down and move on.

Bonus Tip: Get Feedback Early (And Laugh at Your Own Bugs)

We’re all terrible at some point. Get your code reviewed. Show your design early. Laugh when something explodes instead of crying (unless it’s Friday at 6:59 PM).

We’re human. We mess up. We fix it. Then we Google how to fix it better.

Wrapping Up

Fast dev workflow isn’t about flashy tools or turning into a productivity robot. It’s about removing friction. Saving mental energy for the stuff that actually matters — logic, architecture, naming variables like bananaCount.

So take what works, toss what doesn’t, and remember: even the best developers Google “how to center a div.”

Now go forth and build cool sh*t. And if all else fails… reboot it.

Wanna know pain? Build Git from scratch. Wanna enjoy the pain? Do it with CodeCrafters. It’s like CrossFit for devs.

PRANTA Dutta @pranta