The 4 Developer Brains
Photo by Lidia Nemiroff on Unsplash
Sometimes, the bug just keeps bugging. You might not be able to solve a problem because you just can’t get into gear and can’t come to the solution.
It’s not because you aren’t into coding. It’s not even because you don’t know the solutions. It’s something else entirely.
That is, your performance as a software engineer depends on your state of mind. We all move between several brains each and every day and depending on your mindset you might react in a multitude of ways.
We are going to run through your developer brains and explore the scenarios that might result.
The Anxious Developer Brain
Scenario
Anybody. Anybody (and also nobody):
“”
The anxious developer brain:
“What’s the matter?”
“Why are they ignoring me?”
“What is happening?”
“What do they think about that bug I introduced to the code?”
Result
Anxiety takes hold. You start spiraling, imagining the worst possible scenario.
Who knows what is happening? You’ve got too much on your plate and maybe they are plotting to drop a Jira ticket on your desk that will take all weekend? Nobody knows.
This takes up all of your energy and at the end of the day, you are so exhausted that you cannot solve a simple bug. Eventually, you’re feeling overwhelmed by emotions.
The Sad Developer Brain
Scenario
Anybody. Anybody (and also nobody):
“I’m curious as to why this class variable visibility modifier is?”
The anxious developer brain:
“Why don’t they like me?
Do they think I’m incompetent?”
Result
Sadness sets in. You wonder if you’ll ever find a code buddy who doesn’t hate you for pointing out unhandled exceptions.
The Angry Developer Brain
Scenario
“Do we need to handle this null pointer?”
The angry developer brain:
“What’s their problem? So rude! I know my last PR wasn’t perfect, but come on, give me a break! I reviewed your PR and overlooked the issues in it.”
Result
Anger flares. You consider pushing some sarcastic comments into the team Slack channel, but thankfully, you remember your career goals.
The Rational Developer Brain
Scenario
Anything happens, from the expected to the unpredictable (unpredicted).
The rational developer brain:
“Things happen, good and bad. I’m not going to over-celebrate success and I’m not going to ruminate on failure.
These things happen. I guess I’ll go grab a coffee.”
Result
You move on, your mental health intact from whatever might be thrown at you. You are fresh and ready to tackle whatever fresh bugs await.
The key Takeaway
The situation itself doesn’t determine how you feel. How you feel depends on the thoughts you choose to have in response to the situation.
It’s a mental if-else block where your thoughts are the condition, and your emotions are the outcome.
It applies if you’re wrestling with a bug, a tight deadline or simply one of those days where nothing seems to go right.
Ultimately you control your thoughts, and this will actually control your developer experience.
Next time your code will not compile, you will decide how much headspace to give the problem.
Conclusion
Change your thoughts to change your feelings. Debug your mind as carefully as you debug your code.
Happy coding starts with a happy mind.