The Contagious Nature of Discipline
To become a better-disciplined software engineer, you can start by saying "no."
Recently, I have been running a lot and noticed increased productivity. Unfortunately, I have developed IT Band Syndrome, which is an injury to the outer layer of my knee caused by running. As a result, I cannot exercise in the morning, which is quite disappointing. However, I have realized that not exercising has caused me to care less about my eating habits. I have stopped eating healthy, leading to a lack of discipline at work. Consequently, I have been wasting a lot of time watching YouTube videos.
It is absurd how moving one aspect of your life will affect other parts of your life. If you want to eat healthy, you can start working out first. Once you work out, you want to eat healthy. Once you eat healthy, your thoughts become crystal clear, and you start to have mind-body awareness to improve your mind. By improving your mind, you become productive at work.
The aspect of your life is like a cogwheel. All you need is to rotate one small aspect of your life to create an imminent increase in efficiency in that part, and it will perpetuate the discipline in other aspects of your life.
Your life needs to be organized because if your life is not organized, it only takes one external interference to complete quagmire your whole life.
Discipline is Contagious
Discipline creates good habits. For instance, if you have financial habits, you will likely eat out less and eat healthier foods. Once you eat healthier food, you will also be obliged to cut out alcohol. Changing your financial discipline can lead to a healthy lifestyle.
I have exemplified how a healthy body increases productivity at work. If you are disciplined by daily exercise at the gym, you will also be more productive at work. Why? Because exercising helps decrease cortisol levels, hormones that cause stress, and increase testosterone. With an increase in testosterone, you will have more energy and focus. In addition, you have that sunk-cost fallacy with eating healthy food. You want to eat healthy food to make your workout "worth it."
When you have the discipline not to waste your time watching YouTube and instead use that free time to read books, write articles, socialize, or start a business, you will end up ending that compulsive habit of typing YouTube each time you want a dopamine rush, and transition that habit into something productive and good for your mind.
When you incorporate meditation at the beginning of your day, you will be more focused at work and have a better mood because your mind is clear. David Goggins says, "Once your brain is crowded, you cannot fit sh*t in your brain. No matter how big the motivation or discipline that you have, you won't be able to do sh*t. You cannot categorize and organize your thoughts. Thus, the motivation and routine are short-lived. It is not consistent."
Discipline Translate to Software Engineer
Engineers are not as disciplined. Therefore, there are vastly productive tools and methodologies to help us become disciplined.
More methodologies won't help software engineers' productivity because many products and managers in a company deliberately push quality down to achieve earlier releases. The system has rewarded us to write fast, buggy development code over a slow and professional. Many boot camp programs prevent their students from learning powerful but complex programming languages because they are "too hard" and "not as lucrative" instead of understanding how to create a professionally robust program.
To become a better-disciplined software engineer, you can start by saying "no." Engineers tend to say "yes" a lot and say "no" less often. This has exacerbated doing work that focuses on short-term goals instead of long-term gains, cutting corners, decreasing the quality of the product, and incurring scope creep.
Learning how to say "no" helps you to be a disciplined professional. It sounded like you were disagreeable. However, you want to stand up and make sure that things are done properly despite all the social pressure that comes from the product manager. Once you say "no," you have emptied more clutter from your day-to-day work, so you can start focusing on the tasks and projects that are most important for the business, and you can focus on creating a good quality product.
Conclusion
The key takeaway is the profound impact of discipline.
Discipline is not just a personal trait; it's a catalyst for positive change. By instilling discipline in one area, such as exercise or financial habits, we create a domino effect that organizes our lives holistically. When we exercise regularly, we not only benefit our bodies but also enhance our mental clarity and focus. This newfound focus translates into productivity at work, enabling us to accomplish tasks more efficiently.
Discipline is a powerful tool that can help us stay focused and make better decisions. By learning to say "no" to distractions, we can prioritize tasks, resist shortcuts, and maintain the quality of our work. This is especially important in a professional context, particularly for software engineers. The software industry can be challenging, with pressure for quick releases and a tendency to compromise quality. Professionals must remain disciplined and prioritize excellence over expediency to succeed in this field.
Discipline, therefore, is the cornerstone of a successful and balanced life. It not only shapes our habits but also influences our mindset and approach towards challenges. By nurturing discipline in various aspects of life, we not only enhance our productivity but also create a strong foundation for personal and professional growth.