Seven Productivity Tricks I Learned From a Lead Software Developer

Have you ever met paths with a senior or main software developer whose work style appears almost magical?

Imagine someone who easily converts hard issues into beautiful solutions with just a click, brainstorms ideas at lightning speed, or produces code as if their mind is perfectly merged with an intelligent assistant.

Witnessing such skill in action may be motivating and educational, exposing the secrets underlying their outstanding performance. Discover what makes these top-tier engineers stand out and how you can utilize their strategies to boost your career.

I was happy to work with a few such amazing individuals, and I did not miss the golden chance to watch and figure out their secret sauce. Believe me, it was like a masterclass in productivity.

Here are the seven tips I acquired from the ones that function on a whole new level:

1. The Art of Saying No

One of their major strengths? Context flipping with purpose.

They don’t get absorbed into every tiny job. They know when to concentrate, when to alter gears, and, most crucially, when to say “no.”

With 13 Slack channels screaming for their attention, they don’t let the noise rule their day. Instead, they prioritize like professionals.

When something doesn’t require urgent attention, it gets on their to-do list. But if it’s fast and vital, they bang it out right then and there.

It’s all about deciding when to engage and when to go on.

2. The Perfect Setup

Ever notice how they never appear to suffer with development setup issues?

That’s because they’ve devoted effort into creating the optimal atmosphere. Their IDE, terminal, and note-taking tools—everything is custom-tailored to their workflow. It's like honing their saw and keeping it ready to chop the wood in a shot.

They don’t run across setup mistakes or linting difficulties. Why? Because they spent an additional few minutes arranging things correctly from the start.

It’s that upfront effort that saves them hours down the road. Not only that, but even their setup, such as the mouse, the keyboard, the number of secondary displays, the orientation of each monitor, and all the other additional peripherals, would have been meticulously designed by them to help their mind and body perform the best. It’s not about using the most costly or the best. It’s about utilizing and retaining what works best for them.

3. Shortcuts Are King

We all enjoy shortcuts, but these programmers take it to the next level, optimizing everything—from keyboard shortcuts to bespoke command-line aliases. Even minor things like:

1. Having 100+ aliases for basic commands like:

2. Or provide a relevant name to each new bookmark you create.

3. Or instead of bookmarking every new website that comes to you, discover the pattern and bookmark the primary one. Instead of 50 bookmarks, they depend on five key ones and have a way to discover the others when required.

4. Or having the shortcuts of your chosen IDE on tips.

5. Even utilizing a keyboard instead of a mouse/trackpad.

6. Regarding repeated inquiries or tasks, they don’t depend on memory—they rely on patterns.

All these behaviors appear relatively insignificant, yet here is where the distinction lies. Most engineers get trapped in this everyday humdrum mess and waste time and energy, which slows them down. However, shaving off a few seconds and a few joules of mental energy from every activity you do multiplies quite nicely over time.

4. Building a second brain

Every senior programmer I’ve worked with has a great note-taking system, and although their choice of app varies, the app itself isn’t the key—it’s the framework they’ve developed. I have seen folks utilizing Apple Notes, OneNote, Obsidian, Google Keep, and even a Git repo. They all have one thing in common: an organized framework that makes finding and adding notes straightforward.

It’s not about the tool but the way. Their notes aren’t haphazard scribbles—they're structured, classified, and readily searchable. Need to locate anything from a meeting last month? It’s right there, ready to be recovered in seconds.

This systematic note-taking develops their second brain. Whether it’s brainstorming or problem-solving, their notes are the backbone of their productivity. The trick isn’t simply jotting things down; it’s establishing a structure that enables discovering and utilizing those notes fast and efficiently.

5. Automate Everything

If there’s a work that can be automated, believe me, they’ve probably already done it. They despise manual labor.

Whether it’s installations, testing, or simply sending regular emails, automation is their default style of thinking. Their minds continuously keep asking, “How can I make this take less effort?”

I once met someone who took this to an unexpected degree—he automated getting the daily snack and lunch menu emails at the workplace. Why? Just to prevent a few more clicks to acquire the same information. Yes, they’re that keen on reducing down effort.

You may even sit down for coffee with them, and they’ll propose methods you might use to automate your coffee-making routine. That’s the level of thought they operate at.

And it’s not just for fun—the exact same attitude makes them so productive at work. They find automation potential everywhere, from the most modest chores to the most massive systems. Once they receive an idea, their lightning-fast operating speed means they can execute it, sometimes before you’ve even worked out how to do it the “normal” way.

6. Seamless Multitasking

Time is valuable for everyone, but it's like gold dust for a primary software developer. As you ascend the job ladder, so goes the tally of meetings on your calendar. And let’s not forget about the 13 bustling Slack chats, quarterly planning meetings, and the odd fire to put out. That’s the everyday battleground of a lead engineer.

I took a peek at the schedule of one such legend, and it looked like a smorgasbord of back-to-back meetings. Finding a whole day when all those meetings could really be attended? Impossible. In this case, compressing many chores into a rare one-hour free time can only be a superpower. But wait, isn’t multitasking overrated? How do they manage to remain so productive?

Here’s where the secret sauce lies: multi-screen setups.

I once planned a brief call with a senior staff engineer to address a problem. As I uncomfortably toggled between my terminal, IDE, and browser window, one by one, he quietly delivered a bomb of wisdom:

“How do you even work like that? It’s so inefficient!”

Confused, I saw him fluidly bring up numerous windows side by side, working in tandem on the same screen. No more flicking back and forth, wasting time and mental energy. It was like unlocking a new level of efficiency—saving me seconds, cognitive capacity, and potentially the rest of my life from pointless irritation.

7. Decluttered Digital Space

One thing I’ve discovered about individuals and their routines is that how they manage minute-to-minute work reflects their mental state. One significant trait that sets senior engineers apart is their outstanding mental clarity.

But here’s the thing: that mental clarity doesn’t just materialize immediately; it’s perfected over years of practice.

How do they accomplish it? By keeping a tight check on anything that might produce mental congestion.

Got 100+ Chrome tabs open? Not on their watch! It’s like having a hundred open mental threads that continually compel the subconscious mind to alter context. They start a job, open just the essential tabs, and rapidly shut them after they’re done. This manner, people keep control over context switching with their conscious mind.

Whenever they download a new document or file, it meets its destiny within minutes. It either gets neatly sorted and saved or promptly consigned to the digital rubbish.

And then there’s their email—tidy and orderly. I’ve observed numerous staff and senior engineers that emphasize keeping their emails under control. Unread emails? Rare. Important ones? Starred and tackled instantly. Everything else? Archived or erased without a second thought.

In their digital world, less really is more.

Key Takeaway:

What we can learn from these engineers is not something that can be found in any book.

It’s a talent individually developed by every one of them via trial and error. It’s an attitude of clarity, concentration, and efficiency.

They’ve perfected the art of remaining productive by depending on systems, not memory. They don’t simply work smarter—they operate in a manner that maintains their energy for the jobs that actually matter.

“Remember, productivity is not a gift you receive—it is a skill you craft with every intentional choice you make. ⚙️”

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Happy Learning! 😊