This is a short post about one of the things I dicsovered a while back and it’s something I think might be useful to other developers. It’s certainly helped me a lot over the last few months.

What I’m talking about is the power of this command:

git commit

This is a command that we as developers use every day. I probably run it at least three to five times a day at work. For those unfamiliar with git this command basically places your code into the repo and creates an entry in the log along with your name and a commit message to describe the change.

What this means is when you run this command you’re saying:

  1. You are satisfied with it in terms of style and logical structure.
  2. You think the code you wrote won’t completely blow up the project.
  3. The work you've just done actually belongs in the project.

While at work this may not seem like much but when doing side projects where time and motivation are both limited it is incredibly powerful. Having the ability to say you’ve advanced the plot in whatever project you’re working on is quite uplifting, it’s the same mentality we have when we place things in to-do lists. Ticking off those tasks keeps you satisfied and keeps you going. There is a certain finality to the act of running this command.

What I’ve been doing with my side projects is telling myself that I should be running git commit on one of them at least once a day. This helps me drive each project forward and forces me to think of the things I need to do in bite-size chunks. Even if I only have half an hour after a night out I’ll try and fit in a small task. The momentum I’ve gained on all my projects by doing this is amazing. We all know that every small step counts towards the ultimate goal. Having this one little rule has helped me make incremental progress on things that would otherwise be standing still.

So if you’re ever stuck trying to deliver something, particular on a side project just remember: A commit a day keeps the stoppage away.