How IT professionals work. Anton Charchenko, Technical Lead at EnglishDom

We continue to ask specialists about the mode of work and rest, professional habits, the tools they use, and much more.

It will be interesting to find out what unites them, in what they contradict each other. Perhaps their answers will help to identify some general patterns, useful tips that will help many of us.
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Today, our guest is Anton Charchenko, Tehnical Lead online English Learning School EnglishDom.

From 2006 to 2013, he worked at Full Stack / Back-End as a developer, participated in building architecture of high-loaded projects.

From 2013 to the present, EnglishDom combines management of the software development process, solving architectural tasks, organizing and automating project infrastructure workflows, and optimizing the performance of a web application.

What do you do in the company?

Our school is a modern platform for learning English, a startup at the junction of IT technologies and modern educational developments.

In order to dynamically increase the growth of subscribers and students, to work qualitatively with the already existing base, a large team of developers is working on constant improvements and innovations on the site.

My responsibilities include monitoring so that all processes work smoothly. In emergency situations I actively connect in the following directions: DevOps, Backend, PM, QA.

One word that best describes how you work:

"BelkaVkolese."

Practically from the first minute, when I go out to work online, tasks pile in, like from a horn of plenty. There is not particularly bored. It is necessary to simultaneously implement several directions, to solve and supervise dozens of differently directed tasks.

How many hours a day do you spend on work?

On average, up to 10 hours. Of these, 3 hours for research / self-education, 7 hours for the implementation and implementation of the tasks.

At least once a quarter I try to speak in front of a more or less mass audience, regularly attend events for core development. In general, I consider it necessary to allocate at least 25-30% of the working time for development and development, otherwise there is a risk of getting bogged down in current issues and losing the dynamics of professional growth.

Our profession is arranged in such a way that it is worth literally one step behind its colleagues, and you find yourself out of work, your project will hopelessly lose its relevance, and it is often almost unreal to catch up with.

How many hours do you sleep?

I get up at about 6 in the morning, and at 21:30 a reminder works that it's time to go to bed. Many IT people are famous for their night owls. But if you consider that the rest of the team lives in the usual work schedule, IT-Schnick, who lives the nightlife, creates a mismatch and inconvenience. I try to get enough sleep and keep my head to the top of the worker fresh and rested.

How do you have breakfast?

Quick, easy, freshly prepared. The most delicious breakfast is obtained when you cook yourself.

What are you doing on the way to / from work?

Listening to audio podcasts. Analyzing the achievements of the past and the tasks of the coming day. I try not to look through the social network, not to read the news - information and the flow of news during the day is quite enough;

What kind of todo-manager do you use personally?

Google Keep, Tomboy notes.

What applications and services can't you do without?

Google Calendar, Gmail, Google Keep, GetPocket, Trello, Asana, Slack, GitLab, Mindmap

What kind of task manager / issue tracker / repository do you use in the company?

Jira | Trello | Asana | Confluence | Git

What other tools and software do you use at work?

Ubuntu, Docker, phpShtorm.

Does the company have internal projects?

Today, in the company, custom bikes give way to the factory. To achieve results we use popular tools and technology stack.

What annoys you most when you work?

I try to avoid all sources of irritation and not perceive them as such. I believe that a well-established process in the development and communication pushes all the stimuli aside and helps to focus on the main tasks.

Of course, taking into account the fact that we have a large company, there are many current tasks, and we have to take into account the interests of the team so that no one is offended when his request or wish is postponed for later. But for this, I tried to initially explain to all my colleagues the system of priorities in my work, and she is respected.

What do you prefer: electronic reading rooms or paper books?

In order: if there is a paper copy available - I will select it. But if there is no such possibility, then E-ink device with TTS / audiobook integration.

What technique and why do you prefer at work and at home?

When choosing, I focus on the popularity of the device, the presence of the community and support.

What do you listen when you work?

Depends on the "fighting spirit", mainly background music. Music with bright accents or songs with lyrics distract, make you ponder, evaluate. It is rather for recreation. And at work, all the attention is riveted on what is happening on the computer screen or in the office, any trifle can damage the most complicated process involving dozens of people.

Which life hack allows you to be more efficient?

Time management and planning. When I understand that the forces are running out, and the work is not finished yet, I try to change the type of activity - exercise, just walk, go out of the office. Or if before that I was immersed in purely technical developments, then switch to communication with my colleagues — discuss some problematic issues with them.

What kind of professional advice for the future can you give yourself?

Keep pace Already said above that the dynamics of our profession is such that the lag even in small things can lead to loss of the profession, the loss of professional efficiency.

What would you recommend to a person trying to go the same way?

Love your business. Be able to motivate yourself and others. Constantly improve. Do not stay in the comfort zone.