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7 Tools that Make Me Productive as a Software Engineer
Originally published on Medium As a software engineer working at a start-up, my days are a whirlwind of coding, debugging, planning, and numerous discussions with the team. In this fast-paced environment, productivity isn't just a nice-to-have but an essential component for delivering high-quality code efficiently and maintaining sanity. Being skilled is valuable, but the right tools can amplify those skills, leading to better output for the same effort. Here are the indispensable tools I use daily that have immensely helped me boost my productivity over the years! 1. Calendar You probably didn't think I would start off with such a basic tool that everyone has on their phones, but at the end of the day, generating exceptional results doesn't require some fancy magic pill - it simply requires doing the basic mundane tasks efficiently and reliably. If you are forgetful like me, Google Calendar is a lifesaver! Whether it's creating a meeting, a reminder, or a plan for the day, it enables you to stay on top of your tasks and ensures that missing deadlines becomes a relic of the past This is actually what my calendar looks like for March 2025 These days I find myself using Apple Reminders a lot more than I used to though, due to the seamless integration of voice commands with Siri 2. Pomodoro Be Focused is a time management app that uses the Pomodoro Technique to help you stay focused and productive. It breaks down your work into intervals, separated by short breaks. This technique has been a game-changer in terms of productivity & focus and also ensures that you don't burn out by working for long hours at a stretch. Even if you are not using a Mac, you can get any Pomodoro timer app from the internet, personal suggestions being Pomofocus 3. Product Management Tool This one might be controversial - most people prefer using Notion over Jira, but since I started using Jira much before Notion became popular, I stuck to my guns Regardless whether it's integration with GitHub and Slack, keeping track of the sprints, or simply documenting various guidelines, Jira has never let me down so far. 4. Notes App Keep is a free note-taking app by Google that helps you capture ideas, organize lists, and even set reminders. Whenever I need to jot down ideas or break down tasks, Google Keep is my go-to tool. 5. IDE Have you heard of anyone using Notepad (on Windows) or TextEdit (on Mac) for coding? Me neither! An IDE is a developer's best friend, and VS Code is the most popular one out there. With its vast library of extensions, themes, and Git integration, it's a non-negotiable for any developer. The best part is that it's free & open-source, so if you feel like you need a new feature, you can always build it yourself! There are hundreds of IDEs available on the market, but the level of customization and ease of use that VS Code provides is unparalleled because it supports all programming languages unlike PyCharm or WebStorm, which are language-specific (but considered superior to VS Code for their respective use-cases). 6. AI Tools After the hype with AI, it should be evident by now that AI is here to stay. As a reminder of the popular saying: "AI won't take your job, but someone using AI definitely will!" Using these tools can boost your productivity multifold, whether it's generating code snippets, automating repetitive tasks, or even refactoring your codebase. My go-to tool for development is GitHub Copilot as it's a great pair programming buddy, and comes free for Open Source developers - I have a few contributions to Open Source projects at Material UI, Microsoft, Amazon, Webhint, and numerous others (read: shameless self-promotion). Occasionally I also find myself using ChatGPT for fixes & suggestions and Gemini for image generation too. 7. Communication Professionally, Slack is hands down the best communication tool out there. It's a great way to keep in touch with your team, have quick calls, share files, and even integrate with other tools like Jira, GitHub, and numerous others. Given the team I work with is spread across the globe, I find the scheduled messages feature extremely handy, as it ensures that I can send messages to my team members without annoying them in their wee hours That's all folks!
Originally published on Medium
As a software engineer working at a start-up, my days are a whirlwind of coding, debugging, planning, and numerous discussions with the team.
In this fast-paced environment, productivity isn't just a nice-to-have but an essential component for delivering high-quality code efficiently and maintaining sanity. Being skilled is valuable, but the right tools can amplify those skills, leading to better output for the same effort.
Here are the indispensable tools I use daily that have immensely helped me boost my productivity over the years!
1. Calendar
You probably didn't think I would start off with such a basic tool that everyone has on their phones, but at the end of the day, generating exceptional results doesn't require some fancy magic pill - it simply requires doing the basic mundane tasks efficiently and reliably.
If you are forgetful like me, Google Calendar is a lifesaver! Whether it's creating a meeting, a reminder, or a plan for the day, it enables you to stay on top of your tasks and ensures that missing deadlines becomes a relic of the past
This is actually what my calendar looks like for March 2025
These days I find myself using Apple Reminders a lot more than I used to though, due to the seamless integration of voice commands with Siri
2. Pomodoro
Be Focused is a time management app that uses the Pomodoro Technique to help you stay focused and productive. It breaks down your work into intervals, separated by short breaks. This technique has been a game-changer in terms of productivity & focus and also ensures that you don't burn out by working for long hours at a stretch.
Even if you are not using a Mac, you can get any Pomodoro timer app from the internet, personal suggestions being Pomofocus
3. Product Management Tool
This one might be controversial - most people prefer using Notion over Jira, but since I started using Jira much before Notion became popular, I stuck to my guns
Regardless whether it's integration with GitHub and Slack, keeping track of the sprints, or simply documenting various guidelines, Jira has never let me down so far.
4. Notes App
Keep is a free note-taking app by Google that helps you capture ideas, organize lists, and even set reminders. Whenever I need to jot down ideas or break down tasks, Google Keep is my go-to tool.
5. IDE
Have you heard of anyone using Notepad (on Windows) or TextEdit (on Mac) for coding? Me neither!
An IDE is a developer's best friend, and VS Code is the most popular one out there. With its vast library of extensions, themes, and Git integration, it's a non-negotiable for any developer. The best part is that it's free & open-source, so if you feel like you need a new feature, you can always build it yourself!
There are hundreds of IDEs available on the market, but the level of customization and ease of use that VS Code provides is unparalleled because it supports all programming languages unlike PyCharm or WebStorm, which are language-specific (but considered superior to VS Code for their respective use-cases).
6. AI Tools
After the hype with AI, it should be evident by now that AI is here to stay. As a reminder of the popular saying: "AI won't take your job, but someone using AI definitely will!"
Using these tools can boost your productivity multifold, whether it's generating code snippets, automating repetitive tasks, or even refactoring your codebase.
My go-to tool for development is GitHub Copilot as it's a great pair programming buddy, and comes free for Open Source developers - I have a few contributions to Open Source projects at Material UI, Microsoft, Amazon, Webhint, and numerous others (read: shameless self-promotion).
Occasionally I also find myself using ChatGPT for fixes & suggestions and Gemini for image generation too.
7. Communication
Professionally, Slack is hands down the best communication tool out there. It's a great way to keep in touch with your team, have quick calls, share files, and even integrate with other tools like Jira, GitHub, and numerous others.
Given the team I work with is spread across the globe, I find the scheduled messages feature extremely handy, as it ensures that I can send messages to my team members without annoying them in their wee hours
That's all folks!
