How do you balance your programming projects with your other professional and personal responsibilities?

Honestly, I have learned as an Engineer that work will always be there; hence, having an outstanding work-life balance is more important than trying to solve and prioritize your projects. That said, however, knowing your strengths, such as when to start on your project instead of procrastinating, is also crucial. Furthermore, based on the project's complexity, it might be tricky if you don't access or prioritize the work on time, especially if you are new to the stack. Still, if it's a project you are used to, things get easier and manageable, and you can come up with a solution at a go. Finally, always look at your work and see how long it might take you to solve that problem because this will determine when you can get started.

For some, the definition of a "project" may even have to change. Are we talking about and ENTIRE application, or a new feature set? Are we looking at only tackling technical debt? Or everyone's favorite ... DOCUMENTATION! The concept of a "project" can mean just about anything that adds some kind of value to the population that will benefit from the overall effort. And it may take multiple tries to reach something that resembles progress, or even reach a consensus on what that progress should look like. But no matter what, nothing will change without more than a modicum of effort.

Balancing and prioritizing our programming projects is crucial to ensure we meet deadlines and deliver quality work. It's like managing a to-do list, we tackle the most important and time-sensitive tasks first to stay on top of our workload. This approach helps us maintain our productivity and avoid feeling overwhelmed.

Kanban is excellent but I prefer Scrum. The Sprints give a holistic perspective of where the programming project is, the different teams working on the various (front/back ends) aspects of it and what progress have been made. Prioritising, being productive and looking after your well-being is a highly balancing task. It is not easy in a pressure situation when you have to maintain the three most important aspects of managing a Software development project (or any project in general): TIME, COST, QUALITY. There are situations where you can manage the project and the team and there are some, where you cannot, because of the external stakeholder's involvement. Finding the balance (not easy) is the KEY!

As a software developer, I've always found that prioritizing my projects is key. Using tools like Kanban boards helps me visualize and organize tasks effectively. By focusing on the most pressing tasks first, I not only meet deadlines but also ensure the quality of my work remains high. Balancing multiple projects becomes much more manageable when I know what needs my attention first.

In large or complex projects you need to set milestones to insure the project remains on schedule. Indentify the critical or difficult steps that may additional time to solve.

Absolutely, setting realistic goals and expectations is paramount when juggling multiple programming projects. It's like planning a road trip, we need to consider factors like vehicle's fuel capacity, driving time, and rest stops realistically. If you promise too much or set unattainable goals, it's like planning a cross-country drive without enough gas stations along the way. We run out of fuel (energy and time) and end up stranded. So, being honest about our capabilities and resources is crucial for a successful journey through programming projects. ??

If one doesn’t think enough about what is realistic, it becomes easy to plan on achieving great goals while getting very little done. It is better to have realistic goals and fewer features than to have many features on paper and not have an MVP due to time and headcountt constraints.

Learning the different expertise/strengths of your team is crucial. You need to be able to delegate tasks to the relevant team/personnel. Caution: If you don't know your team and what they are capable of, you will end up doing everything yourself. The result is: BURNOUT and your well-being goes out of the window! Spend some time to study the team you are working with. That will give you the insight into what you can delegate to whom; in line with the strategic vision and mission of the organisation you own or work for.

I totally agree with this! Automating those repetitive tasks in programming is like having a trusty robot assistant. It takes care of the boring stuff, allowing just focus on the creative and challenging aspects of our projects. And when it comes to delegation, think of it as building a team of specialists. We don't have to be the jack-of-all-trades. By bringing in experts for certain aspects. We will ensuring a well-rounded and efficient project. ??

Add to "simplify or automate" the aspect of revisions. Add to "delegate or outsource" the tasks of integration, acceptance testing, revision control, customer support, and customer training.

On top of learning and improving continuously, one must also teach and mentor continuously. Take what you've learned, teach it to others so that they can continue from there and you can learn the next thing. This also helps with the bus-factor, makes the team as a whole more resilient to failure or even to tougher problems, and helps with delegation (see the third suggestion).

This is perhaps one of the most common, but most ignored, programming tips that are often given out. It applies not just to programming - but to literally any endeavor. When you find yourself stuck, having stared at the screen for over an hour - just stop. Take a break, take a walk - get that blood flowing. Or, take a nap, rest - let your mind relax. Your brain is an HD that requires defragmentation. All good computer owners know that you should turn the computer off at night for its health - don't forget about your own.

When you are new to programming, there's no greater stress than being unable to complete your work at your given sprint without asking for your colleague's help. I spent most of my early years and Saturdays trying to solve problems, and if I could go back, I would do this differently. So, learning from my mistakes, I learned that I was hard on myself and should have given myself that grace. Now that I am more experienced, I approach things differently. I don't work on weekends anymore and spend most of my time mentoring others, offering my learnings to others, and telling my mentees to have a great WLB. So yes, take that break and have fun!

In my experience, it is important to master the power of balanced time allocation. This year, I co-authored two academic research papers, collaborated on developing an app, attended several conferences, worked an internship, and was a peer tutor - all while taking 20 credits per semester. I still had time to enjoy the college experience! The key was to divide my day into 3 different time segments: course work, independent projects/research, and self-care. By having your self-care time (social activities, hobbies, etc.), you make sure you never feel like you are always working. Additionally, having set times helps with procrastination since you are only allowing yourself to work on certain things within that time frame of the day.