Many developers want productivity hacks. They…
- Make to-do lists
- Practice Pomodoro timers
- Build multi-monitor workstations
- Meticulously time-block their days
But being more productive won’t necessarily make you a better developer. Nor is it certain to get you closer to your goals.
More productivity for productivity's sake doesn't automatically mean you're focused on the right things.
The alternative is to find the important things to work on - wins for your company or that make your boss happy - and use your limited time & attention on those things.
This strategy often comes at the expense of other things you could do, but are less important. You'll have to strategically procrastinate or outright not do the less important tasks.
But I promise that checking more items off your to-do list won't make you happier or feel more accomplished. There will always be more things to add to the to-do list.
What matters is doing the most valuable/important thing for the current moment.