When engineers level up in their careers, a lot changes beyond just title and pay.
More meetings, and less coding time. They get better at their job, but also more attached. And constant interruptions for quick chats wreck their focus.
Despite all this, senior engineers can't slack on quality. After all, their work is why they got promoted.
So how do they keep delivering quality work?
We were curious. So we asked 8 senior engineers. Here's what they said:
1. They don’t settle for a generic to-do list
Senior engineers believe that the first step to getting quality work done is planning the workday right. So, they take their to-do lists VERY seriously. They don’t just jot down tasks and move on.
This list often assumes senior engineers work in a perfect, uninterrupted flow, tackling tasks one after another. But the reality is different. Their day is filled with quick chats and unexpected interruptions between tasks.
To handle this, senior engineers make their to-do lists interruption-proof in two main ways:
- Adding context: They include details about the time and focus each task requires. This helps them understand the effort needed and plan accordingly.
- Tagging by urgency & importance: They categorize tasks based on how urgent and important they are. This lets them decide which tasks are worth shifting focus to and which can wait.
🎙️As, Akshay Khandelwal, Senior Software Engineer at Kognitos, says:
“For me, creating a to-do list by prioritizing tasks has been helpful. I divide tasks into sections based on their importance and urgency. If they’re important, I don’t take meetings at all until I get it done. Every day before starting work, I review and prioritize tasks, which makes me more efficient.”
A great way to ensure you tackle your most important tasks each day is to create a "North Star agenda." This is a list of key tasks you must complete, no matter what. Even if you're distracted by quick chats or other interruptions, your North Star agenda keeps you focused on the crucial goals. This way, you always get your top priorities done.
🎙️Shivam Mathur, a Freelance Senior Developer, shares:
"To handle constant interruptions, I keep my environment organized and set routines and alarms for specific tasks. The key for me is setting a clear agenda at the start of the day. Without it, I’d get pulled in different directions by unexpected messages and problems, leaving me feeling stretched thin. Even if I was busy all day, I often didn't feel like I'd accomplished much."
We wanted to explore what Shivam and Akshay mentioned in more detail. Specifically, how can engineers implement these ideas? So, we created a step-by-step guide on making better to-do lists. You can read the full guide here.
2. They don’t fight interruptions but accommodate them
Writing quality code requires focus. And this is hard when your job comes with inevitable interruptions. We found that senior engineers don’t fight this reality. Instead, they accept it and adjust their schedules to handle it better.
They do this by time-blocking and deep work sessions.
🎙️ Shivam Mathur, Freelance Senior Developer, says:
“Time-blocking is a game changer for handling interruptions. I set aside dedicated blocks of time for focused work—usually a few hours without meetings. During these periods, I turn off notifications and put on some music to help me concentrate. It’s about creating a space where I can dive into my work and get things done without constant interruptions.”
With time-blocking, you control your workday and prevent interruptions from killing your productivity. Similarly, deep work helps you align your tasks with your peak focus times, keeping you in control of your workday.
🎙️Anmol Tiwari, Senior Engineer at EPAM Anywhere told us: "I try to code in the mornings during sprints. My brain just works better for that kind of focused stuff early in the day. I save afternoons for meetings and talks, like product grooming or team catch-ups."
So, if you’re listing tasks without thinking about when you should do them. That's where you are going wrong. Not considering your daily energy ups and downs can really mess with your work.
The idea is to split your day based on when you're most focused. This is similar to how you split your task list by priority and focus needs.
🎙️Kishan Thesiya, Senior Engineer at Curefit keeps it simple: "I just divide my day into focus time and meeting time. Helps me stay organized and give enough time to everything. Nothing fancy, but it really works for me!"
We’ve covered more on time-blocking and how to discuss deep work with your team in detail. Read the full guide here.
3. They never slack off on documentation
When you're working on multiple projects and collaborating with different teams, it's easy to lose track of the finer details and decisions made during discussions.
This leads to more follow-up meetings and less time for actual implementation. And having less time means you end up on the same struggle bus again: less time, messy quality of work.
🎙️ Amey Telwane, Senior Engineer at Airbnb, told us about the importance of documentation:
"Documentation is another big part of my process. We often have to juggle multiple parallel discussions and by the time it comes to actual implementation, it's easy to deviate or lose track of the finer details we had aligned on earlier. So I make sure to document the core aspects of our thought process, decisions made, and the underlying rationale. I'm not talking about over-documenting everything, but just capturing the crux."
Just as you add quick context to your daily task list, add context to your projects and decisions.
Take it a step further by categorizing your documentation needs into:
- "Must Document" items - These are critical pieces of information that, if lost, could significantly impact the project or team's progress.
- "Good-to-Document" items - These are helpful but not crucial details that can provide additional context or insights.
By documenting key context and decisions, you and your team can keep track of the bigger picture across projects, ensuring everyone is on the same page and reducing the need for unnecessary meetings. This gives you the time and space to focus on what actually matters: your work.
4. They do team reviews religiously
Senior engineers say they often become more attached to their code as they advance in their careers. This attachment can make it easier to miss errors.
Their advice? Always have at least two reviewers go over your work before pushing it to production. This extra set of eyes helps ensure quality and catch mistakes you might overlook.
🎙️Zara Ahmed, Senior Engineer at Amazon, shares her team's approach:
"In my team, I have set the standard that any code going into production has to be reviewed by at least two people, and I am often one of the reviewers. This not only ensures that we push less buggy code to production but also serves as part of the mentorship for other engineers in the team."
If your team regularly does reviews, block out dedicated time for them. After all, reviewing code deserves deep focus, just like writing it. Setting aside time helps both the reviewer and the reviewee.
5. They rest now, so they can code better later
As engineers, you often get so caught up in your work that you forget one crucial aspect of productivity: rest. It may seem counterintuitive, but taking breaks is not the opposite of being productive; in fact, they feed into each other.
Akhil Verghese, Senior Software Engineer at Google, shares his insight: "Whether at work or outside of it, truly disconnect during social interactions. Be fully present in those moments and try not to think about work all the time."
Your break could be anything that allows your brain to "unfixate," such as:
- Watching an episode of "The Office" after 2 hours of deep work
- Listening to an AC/DC song after an hour of shallow work
- Allowing yourself 5 minutes of guilt-free doom-scrolling after every task
- Having a quick chai with your chai partner at the office
The point is to pay attention to activities that actually let you take a mental break.
What’s next?
So, all in all, what we found is that engineers aren’t necessarily struggling with doing quality work.
The real challenge is finding uninterrupted time, setting up effective systems for documenting and reviewing, and taking enough rest.
As mentioned, we’ve put together guides on planning and deep work strategies that dive into these ideas more. They’re based on advice from 21 top engineers and can help you get a handle on these aspects of your work. Feel free to explore our guides 1 & 2.
