Habits are what make us who we are.

This is the second article of 9 Habits of a Highly Effective Developer. Read Part 1

Work on side Project

Side projects are very important for a developer. They help you to:

• Implement your learning on new technology.
• Build your portfolio.
• Develop a deeper understanding of the technologies you are working on.
• Accelerate your learning.

They can even be converted to successful startups and businesses. Have a look at this article How I Built my Side Project and Got 31,000 Users the First Week

Join an online community.

Communities help us connect with others who are in our situation, some who are just a bit ahead of us and some who are far ahead of us.

There are many advantages, from peer-programming to sharing knowledge, mentorship, sharing support, sharing tools, code reviews, answering questions, and much more. Also, you can spend a little time encouraging others, sharing your failures and, celebrating your successes.

Ask for help

Yes. You read that right. There is no shame in asking for help when you get stuck.

As developers, we all face bugs regularly in our code. Nevertheless, we must find a way to solve those issues and make our code run properly. Some people are so good at debugging — they can find bugs and solve issues on their own. But they, too, would have gotten to that level of expertise by having taken baby steps from the beginner level.

If you are stuck and are not able to solve it. There's no point spending a day or two on that single bug. Ask for help. Chances are that someone might have encountered the same issue before. A good place to start is to search the problem on Google or Stack Overflow. If you are still stuck. Ask a question on Stack Overflow or ask your peers. If you have joined any community, post your query there. There are a lot of people out there ready to help you.

Take regular short breaks

Once you sit down as a developer and start the work, it’s easy to get into the flow and forget everything around you. But remember, that your body is exceptionally reasonable, and if you feel something, it’s not a random sensation, your body is telling you something, and you should listen to it.

Taking care of your body is crucial. As soon as there is a physical feeling of sleepiness, discomfort, pain, or exhaustion – you must take a break. An essential habit is to take short breaks after regular intervals.

Hope this article helps you become a good developer. Do let me know if I have missed anything. I am always willing to learn.