How to Be a Good Programmer: Coding Habits That Boost Your Career
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TL;DR: your habits matter more than your stack. Clear commits, small PRs, reproducibility, methodical debugging, minimum tests that cover critical paths, documentation, solid communication… and reading more code than you write.
At the beginning of their careers, many developers believe growth depends on learning the newest framework or collecting certifications. In reality, what makes the difference are the everyday coding habits.
Small details, how you write a commit, the size of a pull request, or the clarity of your communication,carry more weight than you think. These habits are what transform someone from a promising junior into a trusted teammate, and eventually into a technical reference for the whole team.
Here’s a practical list of habits that will make you a better programmer and help you move forward in your career.
12 Coding Habits That Boost Your Career
1) Readable commits > heroic commits
A commit is not just code—it’s a log of decisions. Clear commits help your teammates (and your future self) understand what changed and why. Writing descriptive commit messages is one of the simplest but most impactful ways to show professionalism.
feat(api): add rate limit to /invoices to prevent abuse
- sliding window 100 req/15m
- returns 429 + Retry-After
- docs updated
Commit template:
# ~/.gitmessage.txt
<type>(<scope>): <summary>
- Why:
- How:
- Notes/links:
git config --global commit.template ~/.gitmessage.txt
2) Small Pull Requests with context
A PR should not be a 1000-line monster. Keeping PRs small makes them easier to review, reduces mistakes, and accelerates integration. A good PR also explains the problem it solves, how to test it, and the expected impact.
Quick PR checklist:
- Problem/solution in 2–3 lines
- Steps to test locally
- Evidence (curl/screenshots)
- Impact on performance/security
- Flags/migrations?
3) Reproducibility: one command to run it all
The classic “works on my machine” excuse is useless in a team. Automating your setup ensures anyone can run the project with a single command. This habit shows maturity and team-first thinking.
.PHONY: dev test lint
dev:
python -m venv .venv && . .venv/bin/activate && pip install -r req.txt
cp .env.example .env || true
docker compose up -d
test:
pytest -q
lint:
ruff check . && black --check.
Rule of thumb: if you repeated a process more than 3 times this week, script it.
4) Aliases and shortcuts you actually use
Shortcuts won’t make you a great coder on their own, but they reduce friction and free your mind for problem-solving.
alias gs='git status -sb'
alias gl='git log --oneline --graph --decorate -20'
alias dk='docker compose'
alias gsw='git switch'
alias gco='git checkout -b'
5) Debug like a detective, not a guesser
Effective debugging isn’t guesswork—it’s discipline. Reproduce, observe, isolate, hypothesize, and confirm with a test.
console.time('invoice#create');
logger.info('createInvoice:start', { userId, payloadSize: JSON.stringify(body).length });
// ...
console.timeEnd('invoice#create');
Debugging flow:
- Reproduce with the smallest case
- Observe with contextual logs
- Isolate using git bisect
- Write down 1–2 hypotheses
- Test that fails → fix → test that passes
6) Measure before optimizing
Optimizing without data wastes time. Measure first, decide later.
import time
t0 = time.perf_counter()
# run target
elapsed = time.perf_counter() - t0
print(f"elapsed={elapsed:.3f}s")
Golden rule: prioritize endpoints with traffic or broken SLAs (p95/p99).
7) Tests mínimos que te dejan dormir tranquilo
Tests aren’t a luxury—they’re your safety net.
// Jest
test('applies prorated discount', () => {
expect(applyDiscount(100, { type: 'prorated', days: 10, of: 30 })).toBe(66.67);
});
Bare minimum coverage:
Unit tests for critical logic
A couple of integration tests for happy paths
A regression test for every bug you encounter
8) Write for your “future self”
Documentation is not bureaucracy—it’s survival. A short README or a dev log with steps can save hours of frustration later.
Quick dev log template:
Done: …
Blocked: …
Next 3 steps: …
Notes: links/commands
9) Communicate clearly, like a senior
Clear communication reduces invisible bugs. Knowing how to give status updates and ask for help makes you stand out as reliable.
Yesterday: finished email validation + retry
Today: PR #1245 (rate limit), then load testing
Blocked: access to S3 staging
Need: @ops permissions before 3pm
10) Read more code than you write
Writing without reading locks you into your own mistakes. Reviewing PRs, exploring mature repos, and comparing solutions after trying your own will accelerate your growth.
How to do it effectively:
Review PRs and comment one improvement + one question
Explore solid repos: follow the flow entry → domain → persistence → tests
Collect patterns (naming, error handling, architecture decisions)
Try your own solution first, then compare
11) Estimate with honesty (and buffer)
Estimation isn’t about being perfect, it’s about being trustworthy. Break tasks down, highlight risks, and add a buffer.
Task: Large CSV export
Subtasks: endpoint+filters (0.5d), streaming/pagination (1d), tests/docs (0.5d)
Risks: large dataset, memory limits
ETA: 2d + 0.5d buffer
12) Basic observability and sane on-call
Being a good programmer doesn’t end at your editor—it extends into production. Dashboards, meaningful alerts, and living runbooks show that you think about the whole lifecycle of your code.
More than code: the path to being a good programmer
Convertirse en un buen programador no depende solo de los frameworks ni de los años de experiencia. La respuesta a “cuánto So, how long does it take to be good at coding? The truth: there’s no universal number. But one thing is clear, those who grow faster are not the ones who chase every new framework, but the ones who build solid habits.
If you’re asking yourself how to be a good programmer or how to be a great coder, the answer is in daily discipline: writing readable commits, keeping PRs small, scripting reproducibility, debugging with method, documenting for the future, communicating clearly, and reading more code than you write.
Becoming a trusted developer isn’t about flashy moves. It’s about consistent, reliable habits that compound over time—and that’s what makes you stand out in any team.