ABC: Always Be Coding - MoreGooderJava/MoreGooderJava.github.io GitHub Wiki

A-B-C. A-Always, B-Be, C-Coding. Always be coding. ALWAYS BE CODING.
--Glengarry Glen Ross (if it were about programming)

The #1 tip - and it really applies to anything you want to succeed at, just replace "coding" with whatever (though that probably kills the whole "ABC" effect). You don't even have to be at a computer. Just always have it in the back of your mind. What makes one way of sorting better or worse than another way? What's a way to prevent a race condition? How can you make your latest code simpler, more elegant, and/or more robust?