Top Ten Developer No-Nos

10. Not having fun. If you’re not enjoying your work, you’ll never be great at it. You can be mediocre. But why bother.
9. Thinking you’re the first to think of it. Whatever it is, someone thought of it long ago. It’s just as much about timing as it is about having good ideas. Keep your eyes and ears open until the time is right.
8. Thinking that your tools of choice are better than whatever else is out there. Whether it’s what language you prefer, what operating system you like or what editor you use, get down to brass tacks and make the tools work for YOU.
7. Thinking you won’t burn out. There are only so many 12-20 hour days that you can take. You won’t realize it until you’ve experienced it. But that doesn’t make it any less true. Work at a pace you can sustain. The occasional push is OK.
6. Thinking you can do everything alone. Even if you can, you won’t want to forever. Let others share the fun.
5. Thinking you’re going to get it right the first time. You won’t. Plan to throw the first one away.
4. Turning everything into a framework. Frameworks get complicated in the long run and don’t save as much time as you thought they would.
3. Writing something from scratch instead of taking the time to learn how to use the best tool on the market. Even though you think it’s a great idea now to write your own, your idea too will have shortcomings that will be just as much a pain to your client. Save everyone some time and just sit down and rtfm.
2. Thinking you know better than your client. They still sign your checks.
1. Over-engineering. Some problems just aren’t that complicated.