25 Tips for New Developers: Advice from a (Mostly) Self-Taught Software Engineer

Note Taking

I take notes on everything. I take short-term notes that I won't keep forever in Google Keep. Then I can archive stickies when I'm done with them. If they're something I want long term, I take notes in markdown and upload them to GitHub. I take notes during meetings I'm in, on books I read, on courses I take, etc. It's good for learning, and it gives me a synthesized version of the material to come back to.
If I have an idea for a project or a blog post, I write that thought down, otherwise, I'll forget it. I even have a notebook next to my bed for this reason!
Related to notes, I also have checklists for everything I do -- for blog posts before I publish, for recording Egghead videos, for my morning and evening routines, etc. Making a checklist makes it so I don't have to think, I can refer to the list. I am not very detail-oriented, so having the steps for something written out is so helpful, so I don't forget anything.
My morning and evening routines are all written in large text on a whiteboard sticker on my fridge -- even just brushing my teeth is on there! I have my weekly workout schedule and chores list on there too.
For large projects, I usually use Trello to stay organized and motivated. I'll have checklists for each sub-task on each card. Breaking an enormous task into smaller ones helps me keep motivated and feel like I'm making progress.
I've heard great things about The Checklist Manifesto, a book all about keeping checklists for everything. I haven't read the full text, but reading a summary of it inspired me to start creating these checklists.