Every change you make begets more time spent to implement that change—and we always underestimate it. Ask the question “Does it multiply your time?” If the answer is no, and things are working, then stick with what you’ve got.

The general principle in operation is one you might call the ‘efficiency trap’. Rendering yourself more efficient – either by implementing various productivity techniques or by driving yourself harder – won’t generally result in the feeling of having ‘enough time’, because, all else being equal, the demands will increase to offset any benefits. Far

Most of the big last gains in software productivity have come from removing artificial barriers that have made the accidental tasks inordinately hard, such as severe hardware constraints, awkward programming languages, lack of machine time. How much of what software engineers now do is still devoted to the accidental, as opposed to the essential? U