Wrap my functions with conditional checks in JavaScript.
This is a great way to make sure that the function is only called when it's needed and when the DOM is ready.
Improve my code with better comments.
Before I started working fully remote at TMSW, I mostly worked alone on my projects so I didn't feel the need to comment code. I did once I lost track of my work and didn't remember exactly what I was doing and why.
The projects at TMSW are much bigger than the projects I've worked on before. Improving my skillset in commenting code became even more important for that reason.
I taught myself how to improve my documentation by reading the comments in the code of large open source projects. Usually, I adapted the same principles to my own code. It's been working great so far.
When I get back to work the next day or after a few days, I can easily pick up where I left off. It's also easier to explain my code to my colleagues when I speak to them about a feature I have been working on.
This also helps me to keep my code clean and tidy. I can easily spot code that is not needed anymore and remove it.
Keep improving my project management skills.
This is strongly related to my previous point. Web Development and any project requires project management skills whether you're a freelance working alone or a junior starting at a big tech company.
In 2023 I simplified Notion and my task management system. Read more about that here.
Avoid switching tools. Especially for project management.
I love new tools and I check them out regularly. It's so much fun for me that I even made an anonymous email account to sign up for all the new tools I want to try out. That way if I forget about them and they get hacked or something, I don't have to worry about it.
As fun as it is, I also know that switching tools is a waste of time. The tools are nothing but a distraction in the end. I try to avoid switching tools as much as possible. I only switch tools when I'm sure that the new tool will improve my workflow. I also try to keep my toolset as small as possible.
Learn new things.
This year I learned how to use 11ty. In fact this website is built in 11ty. I also learned about Github Actions. I use to deploy small projects to my staging server.