Stop doing things that don’t make us faster, better, more focused

What if every day you made a 1% quality of life improvement to your team's way of working? After a year, you'd be performing at a multiple of 37X.

Edge of the desert in Erg Chebbi, Morocco.

I have a certain no-nonsense sensibility about software development. It almost seems common sense, grounded in my second nature: eschew whatever seems like a diversion. Only do what is purely focused on writing fantastic code that actually works. Don’t put up with any distractions — if it’s not the shortest path to the right outcome, than don’t do it.

Maybe it takes years of writing code and managing teams to get it. Maybe it’s just that I don’t have patience for anything else.

But there are a lot of distractions — ad hoc meetings, poorly organized ceremonies, rework, and other demands. How do we defend our teams from this?

Awareness is key. Specifically, creating a laser-focused awareness about what is wasteful and what is valuable.

Years ago, I started doing an exercise with my own team to build that awareness. The goal was to figure out where our time was going — and stop doing things that didn’t make us faster, better, more focused. That exerc…