You have all the good intentions of starting your very own Android app career. You have the idea in place and the content all ready. You even know how you want to market your app. So what is stopping you from starting your Android app career?
Many of us sadly get distracted way too easily, leading to our inevitable app making failure. In this post, I am going to highlight the main sources of distraction in the hope to keep you from making the same mistakes as many others have. It is time to put the distractions aside and begin your career in Android app making.
1. Social networks
You are all set to get your app development career plans up and running. Social media is perfect for marketing your android app career and building your audience prior to releasing your app. BUT, oh dear, you just can’t stop clicking over from your newly founded business profiles to your personal social profiles. Just that one second look to see if you’ve received a notification will take you off track for the next 10-20 minutes. You may very well think that split second look at your personal profile won’t set you back, but it will. That one second stops your concentration. It stops that train of thought and it takes time to get that back, losing you plenty of precious time. And by then, oh oops, you have clicked back to your personal page again, and that cycle of concentration lapses has repeated itself again.
2. Mobile phones
Beep, vibrate, ring. Oh, the joy of being connected. If you are not turning your phone off, or at least putting your phone on silent then you are setting yourself up for multiple disruptions. It isn’t just the two minute phone call that stops your train of thought. Once you have answered that call, how can you ignore those social network notifications? And how can you not click on to your favorite app? Do you have the urge to read that WhatsApp message on the school notice group, even though you know it’s about the upcoming trip and not relevant right now? Of course you have to click on it. Well, that’s another hour of work gone. Time to turn that phone OFF.
3. Lack of organization
Today on the to-do list you want to create a social media contact list for Twitter, you want to upload some new images, oh and you want to delete and rewrite just one paragraph. And don’t forget that you want to create a new logo and research branding ideas. Well, once again you find yourself clicking from one thing to another. If you are not clear on your objectives of the day or have too many conflicting ideas, then you will never get through the list and will spend your time clicking back and forth between each of the tasks you know need to be done.
4. Workspace
Your sofa is beautiful and ever so comfy, but it is NOT the ideal place for you to work from. If you want to work from home, you need to set yourself up a space that will provide comfort and no distractions. Having the kids running around, or seeing the breakfast bowls that need cleaning in the corner of your eye will simply keep giving you excuses to stop working. If you are at home there is always something that will distract you. The kids have the TV too loud, your partner is asking you questions. Stop. Clearing one hour with no distractions will benefit you much more than working through six hours of distraction. Find that time and place to work without distractions.
5. Multitasking
Don’t lie to yourself. What we term as we are “good at multitasking” isn’t good enough to support successful app development. It’s hard to concentrate on two tasks at once. When you get your mind from one task to another, it takes a while before you can focus. The problem here is that moving from one task to another disrupts your train of thought and you will have challenges getting back on track.
Besides, multitasking overburdens your cognitive load, making it impossible to process each task effectively. You can’t think optimally on either of the tasks and in this case, juggling between more than one task eats into your productivity.
6. Meetings
Meetings are serious time-suckers especially if they take more than an hour. Unfortunately, you will also find that in some meetings, you didn’t even have to be there. Besides, sometimes, there are matters that are simple enough to be addressed through an email or a chat.
6. Colleagues
According to contributions by programmers on Quora, a colleague seeking urgent attention accounts for a major of distractions at workplace. Unfortunately, it’s possible to experience countless interruptions by colleagues since each one comes with a different little matter that they need help with. It’s even worse with today’s open offices where anyone can just walk to your desk borrowing a pen, asking for an update, or simply saying “hi” but they end up sharing the latest gossip in town.
When we talk about interruption by colleagues, we might also want to consider remote workers. Many people have moved their offices to home and this has brought another level of challenge. You won’t lack people disrupting you. It’s going to be either your pet, kids, visitors, house chores, or someone next door trying to get your attention.
7. Tea breaks
When you are finally in your productive mode then you remember it’s time for tea. Probably, everyone else in the office is going out for their tea break and making some noise. This interrupts your flow of thought. Sometimes, the tea breaks take longer than expected. And when you get back to your seat, you need a few moments to resume from where you left. Those few minutes here and there eat into your productive hours and end up prolonging your project timelines.
8. Hunger
Yes, tea breaks will distract you but also undertaking your app development tasks on an empty stomach isn’t a good idea either. You will be unable to concentrate for long when you are hungry. Besides, you need the energy to keep your mind alert and your body able to withstand the demands that come with successful app development. So, your best option here is to plan your time well and make sure you include the time for your meals in your planning.
Conclusion
To give your developer career the right kind of boost it requires, you might want to start by identifying the factors that have hindered you so far. You will be surprised that the small things you do regularly are major time consumers and hinder your career progress. Identifying these and laying the ground rules to minimize the distractions will go a long way in boosting your app developer career. You can begin by monitoring your work habits and pointing out if you are a victim of any of the eight time-stealers highlighted above. No more excuses… Go and start your Android app career today.