This are my notes from part 2 of The Passionate Programmer: Creating a Remarkable Career in Software Development written by Chad Fowler.
Part 2 : Investing in your product
Learn to fish
How does it work ? Why does it have to happen ? You may not even be able to answer the questions, but the very act of asking them will put you into a new frame of mind and will generate a higher level of awareness about your work environment.
Pick one of the most critical but neglected tools in your toolbox to focus on. Allot yourself a small period of time each day to learn one new thing about the tool that will make you more productive or put you in better control of your development environment.
Learn how businesses really work
Get a basic book on business (e.g. "The Ten Day MBA").
Find a mentor
Be a mentor
Look for someone to take under your wing. Help out on an online forum.
Practice, practice, practice
topcoder.com
codekata.pragprom.com : work through the 21 kata's, keep a diary of your experiences with the kata. When finished write your own and share it.
The way that you do it
Pick a software development methodology, and pick up a book, read websites and join a mailinglist. Look at the methodology with a critical eye.
On the shoulders of giants
Studying the work of masters is an essential part of becoming a master. Pick a project and read it like a book. Make notes. Outline the good and bad. Find at least one trick or pattern that you can use from it. Find at least one bad thing that you observed that you will add to your "What not to do" checklist.
Automate yourself into a job
Pick a task your normally do repetitively, and write a code generator for it. Think of a way to raise the level of abstraction of what your generating. Research Model Driven Architecture (MDA).
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