J. Timothy King’s Blog

The Mantra That Will Get Me Through My Last 4 Days

Today I discovered a mantra that I hope will get me through my last four days in this place. And I wrote it on my dry-erase board.

If you recall, I quit my job and struck out on my own. But I still have a few more days before my last. Four days, to be more precise. You see, the thing is, I had already prepared a smooth exit even before I gave notice. So everything’s all set for me to go. Except now they’ve got me hacking a new feature into another impossibly low-quality module. I’m somewhere inbetween demoralized and just plain exhausted.

Alistair Cooke said, “A professional is someone who can do his best work when he doesn’t feel like it.” This quote is sometimes used by the more pointy-haired to brow-beat their underlings into a sense of pride. And that’s complete B.S. Each of us, professional or otherwise, does his best work when he’s engaged and happy. A professional is someone who can do a competent job when he’s disengaged or unhappy. But he’s not going to do his best work.

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Seven Truths of Good Code

What is “good” code? Some define it as “beautiful.” Some equate it with experience. Some with cleverness. Some can’t tell you what it is. Others know it when they see it. For me, “good” means maintainable.

Good code, yes, has grace and beauty. But what makes it worthwhile is that it’s easy to work with. It’s easy to add to good code. It’s easy to take away. It’s easy to make changes. It’s easy to fix bugs. And bugs are rare. Good code does what you want it to, usually the first time. Good code is a joy, not a burden.

This should be the normal state of software. How many developers live in the opposite state? They think that adding a feature always takes a long time and many lines of code. They think that getting cozy with your debugger is part of the process. They think that long hours sitting in front of the computer screen means you’re doing your job. It doesn’t. Long hours means you’re doing your job poorly.

Consider these truths of quality code. The best developers know them without thinking. To them, good code is second-nature. They’ve internalized these truths. They’ve reached nirvana. They are one with the code.

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Yes, I’ve Left Normal

I gave my notice this week, and I’m now officially self-employed (almost).

My first reaction was, “How cool is this? I’m rockin’ now!”

My second reaction was, “Oh s***! What have I just done?!”

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