5 Habits that Stop You From being a Good Programmer

In my previous articles, I have talked about many skills and programs that will help you become a good programmer or a hacker. But, there are also some habits that prevents you from being a good programmer. Let’s talk about them

1. No Experiments, No creativity, No Curiosity

Programming or Hacking also requires a person to be very creative about coding and development. Most of the people are very good with logics but not so creative. When you create a program, It is like a blank canvas and your paintbrushes are your programming languages, algorithms, frameworks, libraries, etc. You’re creating something out of nothing and this is a process that hinges on experimental fearlessness.

There is no “One True Way” to write good code or break the code. There are many ways to code a program and you should be open to experiments. Maybe, You’ll come up with more efficient technique to do it. If you don’t have a natural curiosity, you’ll always approach your coding problems from the same angle. This way programming will become rote work.

Read: How to become a Good programmer?

2. You can’t wait to become rich and famous

The time has changed, the competition is so high. There was a time when programming or hacking was a lucrative pursuit. The technology is changed and the security is improved. Today, It requires a lot of patience and hard work to become a successful programmer. You’ll need passion about your work. If your main target is to make a lot of money or become famous in the shortest amount of time, this is not going to happen unless you are Steve Jobs.

Some people are extremely lucky in this field, who becomes rich and famous overnight but you shouldn’t follow or copy their idea, it won’t help.

3. You Want Normal Work Hours

It may be okay if you are working for someone else and you are already good experienced programmer but if that’s not the case, you can’t have normal work hours. A good programmer or a hacker can’t follow a strict time table. If you are doing something interesting, keep on doing it.

Late night coding is a common thing in programmers life. Even if you are working for yourself, you’ll have to spend many daily hours if you want to stay ahead of your competition.

4: You Can’t Sit or Focus For Long Periods

It is a common thing that you’ll have to spend more time with your computer than your girlfriend if you want to become a good programmer. The nature of programming requires that you sit in front of a computer for a long period of time.

If you are not comfortable being in front of the computer, constantly typing and thinking than you may have to quit the idea of programming. There are some concerns when it comes to this kind of computer-related sedentary lifestyle and it can lead to serious health issues if you ignore it for too long.

5: You Can’t solve logic problems

The most important thing is how logical you are when it comes to solving problems. If you are very creative in creating programs then you should also focus on debugging. This fixing process, known properly as debugging, is the heart of programming.

Much of the reward in programming comes from fixing bugs also known as bug hunting (Check: Google Will Pay You $200,000 For Finding a Bug in Android). The more complicated the bug, the more rewarding it is when you finally solve it. If you find no satisfaction in this, then programming will be nothing more than an endless string of frustrations.