In this remainder time you have a choice: you can do More, Extra, or Nothing (i.e. surf the interwebs). And it’s with this decision that every reasonably happy, veteran developer I know distinguishes themselves. They all choose Extra. (View Highlight)
Extra is different than More. Extra is finishing those two screens, but then researching a new library for form validation that might reduce the boilerplate code. Or it’s learning ways to protect against common security vulnerabilities from data entry. These little off-ramps from the main highway of Normal Work could be dead-ends and not have any practical value to the project. But they might also be important contributions. And that’s the thing with Extra. While the tangible value to the project is uncertain (it could be nothing this time or it could be something), the value to you is real. (View Highlight)
The first rule is this: Extra must be balanced against Normal Work. Real stuff still needs to get done. This is how we get paid. Shirking our Normal Work in favor of Extra might be more interesting, but it makes us shitty teammates at best, and unethical at worst (View Highlight)
Note: there are a few “lucky” among us who find their way into roles where Extra is their Normal Work, and we call these people Architects. ;) (View Highlight)
The second rule of Extra is that it must be aligned with your Normal Work. If what’s on your plate is two form screens, Extra can’t be learning about evolutionary algorithms or building a mobile app for your side hustle. It’s got to be something that could help the project. It’s never something we need to hide, but instead it’s something we’re eager to share with our teams (View Highlight)
